Create a “Surround Sound” Brand Experience with Better HCP Targeting

Today’s life science manufacturers are crossing the threshold into the next era of digital and omnichannel innovations in healthcare provider (HCP) marketing. As channel options and data sources continue to multiple, the task ahead is not only to turn those resources into actionable strategies, but also build a strategy that speak directly to each brand’s specific market situation.  

Whether it’s spreading the word about a newly launched product, managing a competitive threat, helping physicians navigate complex eligibility criteria, or maintaining market share in light of pending LOE, each brand has its own goals for HCP engagement programs. Yet the common thread across all these situations is the need for the brand to stay top-of-mind throughout the physician workday, to deliver the brand information most relevant at each moment, and to focus efforts on the HCPs mostly like to act on brand information – an omnichannel approach that delivers a “surround sound” experience. Here’s how that could look for your brand. 

The Surround Sound Experience: A Day in the Life of the HCP

As the day begins, Dr. Smith is catching up on today’s headlines on his favorite national news website, when he comes across a display ad for your brand embedded alongside articles of interest to him. It’s not a brand he frequently prescribes, but it’s in his specialty area, so he takes notice. 

Dr. Smith then arrives at his practice ahead of his first patient visit. Because he likes to be prepared, he uses this time to pull the electronic patient records for his upcoming visits and starts to formulate potential treatment plans and options. In reviewing the record of one patient, Jane Doe, he observes that her condition is not well-controlled on her current therapy and switches over to his web browser to do some further desk research. While on an endemic site related to your brand’s primary indication, he sees another banner – this time about clinical results from your brand that show an improvement in outcomes for patients with certain profile characteristics. He clicks through to the brand’s physician website to learn more and makes a few notes to keep in mind during Jane’s upcoming visit. He also learns that your brand has been recently approved for a second indication. 

Later that morning, he’s meeting with Jane and discussing her symptoms and current medications. As he pulls up her chart in the EHR, he’s reminded again via a banner message about the relevant clinical results for your brand, and asks Jane a few questions related to her condition, while also reviewing her most recent lab results. Based on her answers and labs, he determines that your brand is the appropriate next treatment step, and moves over to the e-prescribing workflow. Once he selects your brand, he can see that there is a copay card available to reduce medication costs, and includes that information as part of the prescription he sends to the pharmacy. When selecting the pharmacy, he also receives a notification that your brand has a limited distribution network, so follows the guidance given to ensure that the prescription is routed appropriately.

Dr. Smith finishes his morning schedule, and quickly steps out for lunch. While eating, he pulls up his social media accounts, and sees an ad on Instagram for your brand’s second indication. He then returns to his office for his afternoon patient schedule. During the afternoon, he meets with a patient that presents with symptoms that align with your brand’s second indication, but requires lab tests to confirm diagnosis. He orders the testing for the patient, and then reaches out to your brand field rep directly from his EHR to learn more about the prescribing and dosing guidelines. The field rep mentions she’ll be in Dr. Smith’s area later in the week, and they set an appointment for an office visit to answer all his brand questions. 

The Path to Omnichannel Begins with HCP Targeting

The example above shows how leveraging an omnichannel approach across the EHR, social networks, and endemic website allows your brand to engage physicians with a throughout the day, so you’re part of the conversation where and when it matters most. And because the focus is on information relevance – not content frequency – the result is a positive brand experience that actively support patient care decisions.  

But, in the excitement of channel expansion, it’s easy to overlook critical HCP targeting questions such as:  

• Do you know which physicians are mostly likely to take action on brand information? How frequently does this change? 
• Do your targeting approaches allow for cross-channel matching or overlap? Will you need multiple targeting approaches to implement your omnichannel program? 
• Can you align brand content delivery to current physician information needs? 

The right targeting methodology not only helps you answer these questions confidently, but also gives your brand the reach and precision needed for effective omnichannel engagement. From pre-defined NPI lists to dynamic, AI-generated lists, there are a range of HCP targeting methodologies available to life science brands, each with various benefits, limitations, and channel reach. The trick is to determine the right complement for your brand’s unique market situation.

Interested in learning more about various HCP targeting approaches, and how they enable a “surround sound” brand experience? Download our free guide to four powerful targeting methodologies, or connect with our team for an initial discussion.