MCM Mix & Training in the Pharmaceutical Industry ı You can't be a digital marketing expert, without any marketing expertise. Be wary of recent attention from digital experts which does not start and end with sound principles of marketing...
Back to marketing basics
It is still very true that we need to know how to capitalize on our strengths and minimize our product offer's weaknesses within a competitive environment characterized by specific opportunities and threats. But from now on we must also take the new opportunities into account, including additional channels, enhanced interaction using interactive content, and systematic collection of our customers’ needs and preferences to better focus our organization’s future activities.
To this end, several questions may serve as a guide: What are the revealed insights, on which our competitors are failing to act upon? What is the continuous loop that allows us to take advantage of those insights and outperform our competition?
Which marketing channels should be used?
This may not be the right question.
Instead, ask yourself what information or content is valuable to your customer and how that content is best consumed. For example, complex content is best explained either face to face or in a remote call. Highly scientific information may deserve a presentation at a scientific meeting or webinar. Clinical papers are best consumed independently but may be provided in hard copy, on-line, via email or in a portal.
You have certainly already heard that you should create content only once and make it within reach everywhere. Yes, this is an interesting recommendation but not always practical. For instance, sharing the highlights of a clinical paper is possible during a sales call but allowing the doctor to read it requires independent access.
Marketing channels do not make the same impact
Some channels have more impact than others and they normally come at a higher cost. By weighing the cost benefit you can make smarter decisions on budget allocation.
But what about customers who prefer the rep channel? There is not a single correct channel per customer. All customers appreciate a mix of channels, depending on the type of content and how it is accessed. Even relationship-centered customers are influenced by non personal channels.
How to get the channel mix right?
Getting it right means understanding our customers in depth. To this end you need to answer to 4 fundamental questions concerning your customer:
- What information does this customer want or need in order to be better informed on how my product and services can help address their needs?
- How should I design my content to best address these information gaps and also respond to the additional needs which are continuously revealed by interaction data?
- How does my customer prefer to access information – are there channels already being used by them for different types of content?
- What is the right mix of channels that creates an integrated user experience for the customer and supports my brand’s communication strategy?
The answer lies within the channel mix, and not one channel itself. Getting the mix right will make the difference between a traditional communication strategy and one that outperforms the competition.
MCM training: what is the best method?
At Actando, we strongly believe that effective learning and training relies on mindset and behavior change. In order to change their behavior people need to practice what they have learned. But implementing new skills and knowledge directly in the real world can be tricky and risky. With this objective in mind, we develop customizable learning solutions that best respond to this need and facilitates the adoption of new behaviors.
This is why we launched a smart simulator (also called a Serious Game) to help you and your team practice multi-channel marketing in a virtual and safe environment.
A smart simulator to learn Brand Management
In this new business simulation players are guided to build and implement a complete marketing plan. From patient flow to P&L forecasts, participants will apply all the multi-channel marketing concepts in a real-world-like environment.
This smart simulator is based on complex algorithms developed by experts of the pharmaceutical industry. You can customise it to best fit your specific brand management processes and mcm training needs. If you want to learn more, you can download our Simpact Brand Management brochure by clicking the button below. Feel free to browse our serious games library here.
To go further we thought you might be interested by this article to get a closer look at MCM: 5 Key Success Factors for Multi-Channel Marketing Implementation.
The Actando Consulting Team
