Top digital marketing trends in emerging markets
This article was originally published in Scrip
Pharmaceutical marketers in China, Japan and certain emerging markets are experimenting rather seriously with digital channels for engagement with healthcare professionals, with up to a quarter of marketing budgets allocated for digital spends by those ahead of the curve, according to a new study by Indegene.
The study, which covers more than 95 respondents, mainly decision makers from the top 30 life sciences companies, reveals the temperament of marketers in each of these countries and their specific multichannel marketing adoption, preference, planning and budgeting trends.
Indegene, which offers marketing and analytics services to big pharma, has given Scrip exclusive access to its first-ever peer-based multichannel marketing (MCM) benchmark study on leading trends: Top 5 MCM Trends in China, Japan and Emerging Markets Report.
The report highlights how digital spends of life sciences companies are structured across the region, with the highest digital budget allocation in the Middle East and Turkey (MET) region (17.5%) followed by Japan (16.5%).
Indegene's CEO, Manish Gupta, told Scrip that the study serves as an unbiased and fair guideline to all life science marketers in these countries to measure their current approach against a peer-based index.
''As the study reveals, marketers definitely need to relook at budget allocations, channel optimization and investing more in discovering the ideal MCM for their organization, '' Mr Gupta said.
The study notes that the most preferred channels were Key Opinion Leader (KOL) webinars, healthcare professional (HCP) portals, and e-mail marketing. In China, WeChat was one of the most preferred and used channels for HCP engagement.
KOL webinars were most adopted in Rest of Asia territories –India, Malaysia and Indonesia and Australia, followed by the Middle East and Turkey regions, and then by Japan and China in close succession.
Japan led the pack in terms of self-detailing channel adoption, while Latin America showed a high preference towards tele-detailing, short messaging /texting. Self-detailers are generally pre-done smart presentations that can be initiated by the HCP by clicking a link in an e-mail whenever he/she so chooses. It is considered useful in certain settings typically where reach and contact frequency may be inadequate or the physician is not inclined to meet pharma marketing reps.
growing spends
The study also revealed that about 54% of the respondents indicated that 15-25% of their firm's marketing budgets were allocated for digital spends, while 28% of respondents suggested that 10-15% was allocated for such spends.
Those allocating 15-25% towards digital spends appeared to prefer third-party websites [such as healthcare information websites like webMD] and KOL websites, with e-mails getting the least preference.
Almost five in every 10 dollars were spent on third-party websites, Indegene told Scrip.
For those allocating less than 10% to digital spend of the overall marketing budget, almost seven in every 10 dollars went towards e-mail marketing.
Most of the respondents preferred e-mails as a tactic to provide value-added services to HCPs, while the most preferred channel for brand promotion was KOL webinars.
Fast moving consumer goods/OTC, devices, and diagnostic companies also appeared to be exploring uncovered markets by deploying multichannel marketing tactics, with the most preferred tactics to reach these markets being HCP portals, e-mails, and third-party websites.
Significantly, though, 70% of the respondents said that demonstrating return on investment was the main barrier against deploying digital marketing programmes, while 62% cited integration with existing systems as a key block. Resistance from sales teams and low response rates from health care professionals were also among the other key challenges, the study noted.