New world, new strategies?
Face-to-face meetings with doctors have long been the preferred way for pharma companies to communicate the benefits of their products. Although the goal has always been to create and deliver a varied and impactful promotional mix, there can be no doubt that medical reps and SMLs have had a dominant influence.
COVID-19 has changed that game, with national lockdown restrictions preventing reps from meeting with doctors. The question is, will this unprecedented situation accelerate the long-anticipated digital transformation of pharma sales and marketing? Possibly. It will certainly encourage attempts to maximise the use of digital channels to create an approach that is less reliant on the physical presence of the rep in the doctor’s office, if not because of quarantine than for long-term cost-saving reasons. At CEEOR, we monitor pharma sales channels and quantify their impact. Not surprisingly, since the beginning of the mid-March lockdown, we have seen a complete shift from face-to-face meetings to emailing and—to a lesser extent—phone calls in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. Such unique market conditions have created an opportunity for us to study how the sole use of remote communication channels impacts doctors’ attitudes toward promoted products and whether remote channels can be an acceptable substitute for the physical presence of a rep.
It is still too early to measure the long-term effects, but some trends have surfaced already. Prior to the lockdown in the Czech Republic, a major positive impact on the intention to prescribe was achieved in 29% of all face-to-face meetings compared to just 18% of emails. Nothing too surprising there. But, what happens when those face-to-face meetings are no longer possible? In the first four weeks following the introduction of isolation measures, an astonishing 44% of doctors reported a positive impact of email promotion on their prescribing intentions.
Certainly, we know that the impact of traditional detailing varies based on the digital content and delivery techniques used. In increasingly overloaded inboxes, emails may quickly lose their appeal, and the search for new channels and strategies will continue to be a key focus for marketing strategists. While it is too early to know what the ideal promotional mix and use of remote detailing will be in the future, it does appear that there are promising alternatives to face-to-face meetings.
