Importance of Doctor data in pharma marketing

This article is a continuation of Gapsule's article on the "Digital Data Protection Bill." Now that you are already aware of the impact of the digital data protection bill on pharma marketing, Let’s understand how pharma marketers can focus on building first-party data for future doctor engagements, as they need to have specific permission to engage and personalize content.

We are all aware that each doctor has a different focus area for treatment and will only prescribe products related to that disease. Even in dermatology, there would be some doctors who would look for hair problems, while others would focus on skincare, and still, others would focus on atopic dermatitis. A product manager needs to work along with the medical rep to identify, specific doctors with these specialist traits and then target those doctors with one or two specific brands. It is pointless to switch brands every month; the doctor will be confused and may refuse to prescribe even if the medical rep meets with them on a regular basis.?

Here are some ideas that pharma marketers can use to start collecting doctor data.?

1. Implement a robust CRM: Before collecting any form of data about the doctor, it is important to have a robust CRM, where all the collected data can be stored. This CRM will allow the pharma marketer to manage all of the data gathered and how it will be used in the future to engage doctors.?
2. Medical reps for data collection: the pharma industry is the only industry in India that has far better connections with its customers compared to any other industry. Medical reps can help collect all the first-point data and permissions needed to engage with the doctors. They exactly know what the doctors like and dislike, their hobbies, the sports they like, and important dates in their lives.
3. What type of data can be collected? In this section, I will attempt to list what data can be collected or which can be collected over time from the doctor in order to build better customer personas.?

• Contact info: name, contact number, WhatsApp number, email address, social media profiles, etc.
• Content of interest: This can be research papers, video bytes from KOLs, surgery-related content, medical case studies, medical abstracts, etc.
• Personal details: hobbies, support for NGOs, sports, stock market trading, etc.
• Treatment focus area: Not all doctors practice what they specialize in; for example, not all ophthalmologists treat patients with cataracts or glaucoma. Hence, it is essential to understand the focus areas; this will help you market your brands in a strategic manner.
• Invitations they would be interested in from the pharma company: type of CME program, advisory board meetings, round table meetings on a molecule, etc.
• Family-related details: family birthdays, anniversaries, and important days in their lives
• What type of content do they prefer to receive via digital channels, and at what frequency?

4. Unable to collect all of the data points: Now that you have established the process for data collection, we know that we may end up collecting only 30% to 50% of the data, depending on how good the relationships between medical representatives and doctors are. Hence, the next stage of the campaign is to use digital tools like data.com, fullcontact.com, etc. to fill in more secondary information about the doctors. Medical representatives can also, over a period of time, give product samples or gifts for retrieving more information from the doctor.

5. How to plan a campaign based on the data collected Once you have critical data in place, what you would need is a marketing automation team along with the medical content team to create campaigns based on the interests the doctors shared. This data will even help the medical representatives plan their future visits with doctors. Now, medical representatives would only introduce products related to the doctor's primary treatment area. Also, in each meeting, the medical rep needs to keep delivering new information based on that brand only for relevancy and recall.

In an era when doctors are receiving personalized communication from Amazon and Netflix, it is high time we pharma marketers start focusing on how we can better engage with doctors with their permission. But most often in the pharma industry, it happens otherwise based on the gut instinct of the brand managers.

Last but not least, a focused approach works; don't spray and pray; be focused and personalized.