Beyond content: The latest digital strategies in B2B pharma to drive HCPs to your platform

After over 15 years of working closely with several big pharma companies, I have been fortunate to see how their strategies have evolved to strengthen their existing healthcare professionals (HCP) relationships and attract new ones.

There is an incredible amount of quality content available on pharma digital assets, and pharma companies are getting better and better at producing engaging content with their partners, especially after COVID. However, only a select few companies are truly exploring bold strategies to encourage HCPs to engage with this content.

Some companies cite limited resources as a barrier, while others prefer to allocate their budgets to marketing or hiring extra sales representatives instead of investing in fancy web portal features. 

However, according to a survey conducted by Boston Consulting Group, BCG (For Physicians and Pharma, Hybrid Engagement Is the New Normal), it's clear that even though face-to-face is back, having digital only or face-to-face only is not the most effective approach to sales and engagement.

In addition to face-to-face interactions and standard campaigns, pharma companies can boost their engagements by equipping field sales reps with better tools and creating platform features that HCPs find beneficial instead of relying only on good campaigns for long-term relationships. 

To ensure this article remains objective and concise, I will highlight some key digital capabilities we have successfully implemented for pharmaceutical companies in recent years. These initiatives focus on aligning with the needs and wants of healthcare professionals (HCPs) rather than overwhelming them with excessive information through lengthy articles or short-term campaigns. Such campaigns often lead to temporary engagement but lack ongoing value, resulting in decreased HCP involvement over time.

In summary, returning to the title of this article, HCPs, like many of us, seek experiences and features that can assist them in their daily tasks, save time, and enhance their knowledge and skills related to their profession.

E-Learning

One of the most powerful tools you can incorporate into your website to bring HCPs to engage with content and other features. I have overseen the implementation of these types of tools for three pharma organisations across over 20 countries each. 

One of the biggest successes came from creating a blended learning experience, where HCPs had a cohesive journey to learn about a specific disease, treatment, and product while also hearing from a Key Opinion Leader (KOL) via a webinar. This modular journey combined online and offline training entirely available within the main B2B. According to a November 2023 Medisafe Survey, nearly 74% of HCPs are now consuming educational content; so this is a key space to be explored with more investment and research.

This strategy didn't work for all regions and products, so we had to test and learn to identify the best mix for each therapeutic area or product and, especially in EMEA, where the landscape varies by country. The e-learning content and targeted audience were refined through analytics platforms every quarter.

Additionally, in regions where e-learning with accredited points to the HCPs license is applicable, this served as a hook to drive HCPs to use the platform beyond static content campaigns.

Online Ordering

Several pharma organisations do not want to join the e-commerce world for multiple reasons, such as strict regulatory requirements, complex pricing and contract negotiations and a preference for sales models with HCPs and hospitals. However, simpler features like Sample Order can simplify HCPs' lives when managing sample products, and with this embedded into the company's B2B portal, increases the likelihood of engaging content being consumed during an HCP visit.

Overall Customer Services Features

I am not suggesting a specific feature, but an individual analysis of each organisation on the main reason HCPs contact your customer service department and how frequently they do so. With that in hand, you can determine which services can be incorporated into your B2B portal under an HCP login mechanism. This can include order history, credit notes, prescription guidelines, etc. 

At CI&T, we have helped implement the capabilities mentioned above and more for our pharma clients, where a lot was learned from the digital strategy and technical point of view. 

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