The traditional model of pharmaceutical marketing is dying. In its place is a new paradigm, spurred by the rapid growth of
the digital world and built around consumers whose influence is growing with every click. These five top trends take a closer
look at the paradigm shift, and provide a prescription for Big Pharma to better understand—and master—this new digital reality.
Lynn O'Connor Vos
Consumerization of Healthcare
The mass consumerization of healthcare is the biggest trend affecting pharmaceutical marketers today. In his book, Microtrends, Burson-Marsteller CEO Mark Penn calls today's consumers "do-it-yourself doctors." The Web makes it easy for them: they can
research their own symptoms, diagnose their own illnesses, and administer their own cures. In a way, some patients have almost
begun to treat doctors like ATM machines, showing up for appointments with full-color descriptions of their conditions, found
online, and asking for prescriptions they already know they need.
http://e-marketer.com/, 30 million Americans consider the Internet their first source for health information. This has an enormous impact on patients'
relationships with healthcare providers, emboldening them to feel and act like equal partners to the experts.
As a result of these factors, patients today—not the organizations that serve or market to them, not even their doctors—are
in control of their health. They decide who their trusted source of information will be.
It All Starts with Search
Consumers' new health mantra? "Search and ye shall find!" The Internet is patients' overwhelming choice for researching ailments
and drug information. Web site
http://e-marketer.com/ shows that one-third of the US population—100 million people—research health issues online each year.
Today, the majority of healthcare seekers go to search engines first, even before visiting their doctors—and most go back
to the Internet after their appointment to learn more. These numbers reveal one immutable fact: Dr. Google and Nurse Yahoo
are now essential components of the nation's healthcare system.
The bad news for Big Pharma is that people aren't looking to them for health information. One reason is that consumers never
seek industry Web sites. According to
http://e-marketer.com/, only 4 percent of consumers turn to pharma Web sites first when researching health issues. Many pharma sites were set up
years ago, and are not optimized for searches. Most need face-lifts, if not major overhauls. Other times, consumers shy away
from industry sites because marketers haven't gained the trust of online communities' patients.
By using a combination of organic and paid search engine optimization tools, and by making it desirable for consumers to talk
online, companies can ensure that patients, doctors, and others make it to their online destination. It's critical that pharma
companies stop carrying on a monologue and start a dialogue with customers.