To be able to measure the RoI on digital in pharma, it is necessary to understand customers as individuals and create newer segmentation based on these needs and interests. This calls for the NextGen RCPA of data collection and personalized communications that engage customers, based on which pharma must create customer experiences that matter to them. If your content does not scratch, where it itches the customers, digital or phygital, customers will not feel at home (comfortable, delighted, and wants more), which is what matters. Not a digital euphoria, which will soon die down as customers simply ignore it as they did when pharma launched a plethora of webinars.

The pill is now a commodity that many of these companies provide at heavy discounts, making money off everything ‘beyond the pill’. Investors are betting heavily on the potential of technological innovation to transform the way healthcare is delivered. The Economic Times reported that in 2021, India recorded investments of $77 billion across 1,266 deals including 164 large deals worth $58 billion. While the money reduced in 2022, the reason wasn’t a lack of faith in this business model. Meanwhile, the pharmaceuticals industry that is most affected by this quiet but rapid change, is grappling with its entrenched culture. Its current business is so profitable that everything else pales in comparison. ‘Build, measure, learn, build again’ – a mantra of the health tech industry is alien to pharma that doesn’t learn, build or measure after launching a product. Pharma also thinks of its customers as doctors alone and does precious little to connect with patients, or caregivers. People who are not sick do not feature on their radar at all. These are cultural values that keep pharma focused on the pill and discourage thinking beyond it. A social media poll conducted by MedicinMan showed almost predictable responses. 100+ respondents who work in the pharma industry in India were quite clearly divided. 48% of them wanted to know what beyond the pill actually meant, while 23% wanted to know how to execute it. The rest felt that the ultra-competitive environment in the Indian generics market required very high share-of-voice tactics (19%), or that their customers demanded product information (9%).

Is Pharma’s business model like McDonald’s? Doing things over & over again without innovation? McDonald’s is famous for its Hamburger University, a training facility at the McDonald’s Corporation global headquarters in Chicago, Illinois. It instructs high-potential restaurant managers in restaurant management. More than 5,000 students attend Hamburger University each year and over 275,000 people have graduated with a degree in Hamburgerology. Sound familiar? Pharma’s training has been on similar lines – hire people continuously and put them through the grind of mugging up essentials of drugs for diseases that the particular company sells. While the McDonald’s model is ideal for its business of replication, it has outlived its utility in healthcare and drug companies are in danger of being reduced to mere suppliers of drugs to new digital platform businesses unless they learn to innovate.

In the dynamic world of pharmaceutical marketing, staying ahead of the curve is essential for success. As technology continues to evolve, so do the opportunities for innovative campaigns. One area where pharma marketers can make a significant impact is in raising awareness about non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and promoting real-world studies and clinical trials.

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1. Market Overview The oncology sector remains the most dominant...

Introduction For decades, leaders and organizations have relied on the...

India pharma is crucial for global healthcare, providing affordable...

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1. Market Overview The oncology sector remains the most dominant...

Introduction For decades, leaders and organizations have relied on the...

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1. Market Overview The oncology sector remains the most dominant...

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