Omnichannel odyssey: Trends redefining marketing in 2024
In today’s world, customers are bombarded with advertisements everywhere they turn. Open any social media platform, and there they are. Check your email inbox, and there are more of them. It is hard to escape from the constant flood of product suggestions.
This can be a double-edged sword for many businesses, including those in pharma and life sciences. To cut through the noise, it is important to understand how customers prefer to interact with brands across multiple channels.
As co-founder and CEO of Viseven, a leading MarTech company serving pharma, I have compiled a list of major omnichannel trends. These insights will help you better meet the needs of healthcare providers (HCPs) and patients in 2024.
Omnichannel marketing trends to watch out for this year
Four customer trends below reveal where the pharma sector’s collective head is at the moment. Without further ado, let's jump right into them.
Personalised experiences
These days, personalisation is not just a matter of customer preference – it is their expectation. Did you know that 80% of consumers are more likely to buy from a brand if it offers personalised customer experience (CX)? In fact, most of them get frustrated when interrupted by irrelevant information or suggestions.
The solution? Successful pharma brands create marketing campaigns that their customers would be glad to be exposed to. Our content experience platform, eWizard, empowers clients to analyse the performance of content modules and choose those that resonate the most with their audience. Patients and HCPs see value in personalised content and therefore engage more meaningfully with the brands that deliver it.
According to McKinsey, the focus on personalised experience results in up to a 15% increase in revenue. However, the personalisation strategy not only improves the company’s bottom line, but also ensures that customers have access to the information they need to get and stay healthy.
Chatbots and virtual assistants
Chatbots and virtual assistants are bridging the gaps between pharmaceutical brands and patients or HCPs. Customers crave real-time communications and these technologies allow them to immediately receive answers to simple questions, like possible side effects or dosage. Timely communication is increasingly important in healthcare, as it encourages patients to seek care promptly, increasing their chances for positive clinical outcomes.
Notably, chatbots are a goldmine of data for pharma companies. Examining the most frequently asked questions by patients and HCPs can provide invaluable insights that can then be used to create solutions that improve CX at each stage of their omnichannel journeys.
Chatbots are also a perfect example of how marketing tools can be effective for internal teams as well. In fact, some of our clients use our solution, eWizard, to create content that is specific to their company and at a large scale.
eWizard is integrated with a Large Language Model, which in turn connects directly to the client’s database. This lets our clients deliver compelling omnichannel campaigns that consistently use all the right abbreviations, jargon, and product titles - you name it.
Video content
Video content is booming, whether it is short clips or live streaming. Statista shows that over 92% of customers engage with this type of content.
Pharmaceutical companies can leverage the video format to build deeper connections with their customers. By sharing videos featuring behind-the-scenes or inner processes, it is easier for life sciences businesses to convey the message that their brand is transparent, accountable, and authentic.
To give you an example, Pfizer has released a video introducing people who make their clinical trials possible. In doing so, the company highlighted the human side of its brand and demonstrated the effort it takes to deliver its drugs to market.
The use of video content is also highly effective for educational purposes. Instead of diving into lengthy articles, patients and HCPs can watch videos that convey a thousand-word story in no more than two minutes.
Life sciences brands may capitalise on this customers' preference by showing how their products work and their key advantages. This helps not only raise awareness about their offerings, but also establish themselves as experts in their field.
Yet, despite these obvious benefits, many businesses have been slow to incorporate video content into their omnichannel strategy. Several reasons contribute to this doubt.
According to Statista, 43% of pharma brands lack in-house competence in editing and filming. Besides, budgetary constraints do not allow them to cover the salaries of the entire video production crew.
Our platform, eWizard, aims to change that by making video content more accessible to pharma players. Its artificial intelligence (AI)-driven avatar solution empowers companies to create attention-grabbing videos without any need for human actors.
All they have to do is select an avatar, enter the text for it to speak, and choose the preferred voice and language. The videos appear incredibly realistic, just as if a real person were talking to the audience from the screen.
Interactive elements
Customers no longer want to passively receive information from pharmaceutical companies. They strive to take an active part in the discussions.
Using interactive content helps life sciences companies connect better with their audience and keep their attention. It also lets them understand what their audience needs, so they can later improve their marketing strategy and products.
As an example, pharmaceutical companies often add interactive elements, like quizzes, videos, animations, and assessments, to their eDetailers. This way, they not only boost customers’ engagement, but also figure out what they like, what they do not, and what they might not know yet. Then, marketers can use this data to craft relevant, personalised, and engaging stories for future campaigns.
Viseven’s Digital Content Factory delivers different types of content, including eDetailing. Our team members prioritise interactivity in both remote detailing and self-detailing to support captivating storytelling and shorten the customer journey to the brand.
Our solution allows MedReps to determine the best time to send interactive content to an HCP and through which communication channels. This approach helps to forge strong connections with HCPs without adding to their workload and distracting them from their main duties.
Take action on omnichannel
A deeper understanding of trends is essential for crafting outstanding omnichannel strategies. And a trusted pharmaceutical MarTech provider will not let you sleep on the latest trends, helping you rise above your competitors and drive the sales flywheel.
Viseven prides itself on delivering cutting-edge omnichannel solutions. Our tools empower users to not only create compelling, personalised content from scratch and at scale, but also automate costly and time-consuming tasks as video production.
Viseven's solutions let clients craft engaging eDetailers either by using creative pre-designed templates or by autonomously building them without any programming knowledge. Pharmaceutical brands can then send these eDetailers at the right time and through the right channels, ensuring HCPs will come across them and, importantly, stay engaged.
Looking for a smooth omnichannel journey in line with the zeitgeist? Drop us a line, and our team will get back to you as soon as they can.
About the author
Nataliya Andreychuk is the CEO and co-founder of Viseven, a global MarTech services provider for life sciences and pharma industries. She is one of the top experts in digital pharma marketing and digital content implementation and has more than 14 years of solid leadership behind her belt. Andreychuk is among the strongest female leaders in the marketing technology world. She has been contributing her vast expertise to developing smart digital solutions and software, which are now serving clients in over 70 global markets, delivering intelligent, personalised content across channels, platforms, and countries.
About Viseven
Visevenis a future-inspired global MarTech Services Provider for Pharma and Life Sciences industries with more than a decade of experience. Viseven's digital transformation centre offers innovative solutions for companies of different sizes and digital maturity levels by merging marketing and digital technology expertise with innovation and strategic capabilities. The company's solutions, products, and services are actively used by the TOP 100 Pharma and Life Sciences companies in more than 50 countries around the globe.
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