4 minutes
Omnichannel communication strategies deliver improved, and tailored experiences for HCP education by providing the right medical content at the right time and place.
The learning environment for Medical Education continues to shift back and forth from face-to-face to online and digital experiences.
However, for the modern HCP, it is not one or the other, but the integrated orchestration of multiple channels, with dynamic content that is offered in flexible and engaging formats.
With time as such a scarce resource for HCPs, it is time for Pharma to realign and shift traditional activities to a holistic and different way of supporting these audiences.
An omnichannel perspective enhances audience engagement by making medical education more accessible, convenient and relevant, all via a fluid, seamless experience. This new model has the potential to rapidly become the standard for medical training and communications, setting new expectations for how these programs are designed and rolled out.
Content is still the King
While Medical Affairs teams are increasingly adopting omnichannel strategies, the content creation component has often shown to be harder to execute than other parts of the omnichannel delivery puzzle.
To truly succeed with an omnichannel approach, pharma companies need to make sure all engagements touchpoints and content are aligned with audience interests and preferences, and accessible in the right formats.
- Aligned with audience interests and preferences
- Accessible in the right formats and channels
- Consistent in quality and tone, building trust with audiences
- Delivered promptly, with the frequency needed for ongoing engagement
Achieving this requires a systematic approach to planning, designing, and delivering medical content efficiently and with impact, as well as leveraging primary analytics and audience insights to fill possible program and knowledge gaps.
Gaining insights and building audience personas
Gathering data from previous projects, external consultants or medical communication agencies, and augmenting it with primary analytics to fill insight gaps, is fundamental in the development of personas.
These insights ultimately will ensure that the content plan meets audience needs. By building systems that collect and respond to real-time audience feedback, pharma can also ensure that the audience's understanding is refined as the content is deployed.
As the program evolves, targeted content deployment can also transform every piece of medical content into a source of data, based on how and when the HCP audience interacts with it.
Content development strategy for HCP education
A more robust content planning is needed to ensure great medical content production and that it addresses identified HCP needs and preferences in a relevant, engaging and motivating way.
The omnichannel content strategy for each audience segment is defined based on the previously developed insight-led personas. These, alongside medical content topics, will guide the production of content that is aligned with individual preferences and personal learning styles.
Pharma Medical Affairs teams are used to the challenges when delivering high-quality medical communication materials; however, resourcing constraints, limited experience with data-driven content and internal back-and-forth for approvals may restrict the potential implementation of an effective omnichannel strategy.
In this scenario, having an agency partner who understands how to design and implement programs that deliver on your goals, while being an expert on the evolving ways HCPs consume information, becomes essential.
Implementing this approach
Omnichannel communication is often based on local factors, such as the market's audience, regulatory environment, and available channels. However, as Pharma programs are becoming increasingly more global in their deployment, it is also critical to include dynamic content that can easily be translated and adapted to omnichannel frameworks of local markets.
To reach, engage and impact HCPs, pharma must re-evaluate the audience's understanding and reassess the medical content development process, ensuring value and relevance are provided in the omnichannel world.
By delivering more value to HCP audiences through an omnichannel approach, every interaction can become an opportunity to move HCPs forward on their educational journey: from awareness, to trust, to loyalty and advocacy.
https://www.pmlive.com/pharma_thought_leadership/delivering_content_to_fuel_omnichannel_engagement_1450139
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