COVID -19 - Is this going to change the way we live & work

I am sure most of the readers would be reading this at home as because of precautionary measures most of us are working from home, as the slogan around the world is stay home stay safe, unless you are a health care provider, a worker working in factory producing medicines , sanitizer , masks or associated with basic needs of human i.e food supply .

11th March 2020, WHO declared COVID -19 as pandemic, which they should have done much earlier.

Streets are empty, there is hardly anyone on streets but, the business to survive must go on.

By the business must go on, I am not inferring to the fleet of flights which are grounded, hotels which are shut, but I want to touch upon pharmaceutical industry who has the responsibility of providing essential medications to humanity.

It has been almost a month or a half when the regular visit by medical representatives to doctors has been restricted, & the work from home has been announced as most of the doctors are too busy saving humanity than taking calls , also none of the hospitals have extra times for doctors to see the med reps & neither any of the pharmaceutical companies is in mood to risk valuable life of any of their reps in this condition. With every passing day, this scenario is taking a new turn extending the lock downs and the precautions to the new dates. But is this the norm of the day or is this going to be the new norm where med reps might not have easy access to doctors & the pharmaceutical companies need to come out of their traditional way of marketing and come up with the new way.

Hospital administration always has been wanting to limit the doctor medical representative interaction & this scenario has set the tempo, which is most likely to continue when this ends too. It might be sounding astonishing but believe me or not, post demonetization in India the use of e pay, online transactions, credit debit card has gone up. Taking cue from the same post this scenario the way we have been operating in pharmaceutical market is bound to change.

Digital marketing which has been in its embryotic stage in pharmaceutical industry needs to be explored in a much better way in the coming future. Post this, hospital administration may not allow easy calls to medical representatives, making pharmaceutical companies explore the unexplored tools to be in touch of their customers. e CMEs might be the new thing in rather than just the normal CMEs. Social distancing is the new norm, and this may set the trend. I must confess till a few months back people used to curse the digital connection & encouraged social connection, but the world had already started living in the virtual world and e friends which made the adaptation to the current scenario much easy.

Still most of the pharmaceutical companies are ready with roll out of their next financial year plan with the same traditional engagements & promotogram , but they forgot that this change might be the new norm & their plan B of online or virtual touch with the customer is going to be the new norm, those companies who will adapt to this fast will be the real winners & those who still are running after their brand managers & marketing managers for so called the traditional parameters might get a bolt from the blue .

Internet is going viral with the joke that uninstall 2020 and reinstall , as it has the virus, but the virus which has hit 2020 is not just a computer bug which plays with data but a real virus which is threat to humanity. It took decades for health care professionals to educate to people to wash their hand properly and maintain good hygiene, but this virus taught the world in weeks & this is very much clear from the sale of sanitizers, masks & gloves going up across geography.

Change is the new norm, many of the pharmaceutical companies had already shifted to the digital forum to touch their customers & engage  their consumers with direct patient centric activities using call centers or other means ; they have quickly adapted to the scenario & are least affected. Health care sector is least likely to be affected by this compared to the other sectors, but we can’t deny this sector too being not getting affected as the purchasing power is likely to go down with a down trend in the economy. Chronic medications will not see a down fall as WHO & all major bodies have announced it aloud, that these are the most high-risk patients.

It’s better pharmaceutical industry across the globe need to think & come up with innovative way of customer touch & engagement than the old traditional ways in this new decade of 2020. Those who will, be the leaders & those who don’t they will cease to exist.

It might even lead to the new venues of e consultation, or the online pharmacy which has been struggling since its inception. When entire industry is bleeding e commerce has seen a good upswing. So may the COVID -19 is the real announcement of the digital era with a clear message for all. “Adapt or cease to exist “