Digital HCP Engagement: A Comprehensive Guide for Pharma Professionals

Healthcare professionals (HCPs) are increasingly relying on technology to stay up-to-date with the latest information and resources.

As a result, pharmaceutical companies need to adapt their marketing strategies to effectively engage with HCPs in a digital environment.

In this article, we’ll explore the importance of digital HCP engagement in pharma and their marketing, as well as some of the best practices for making your efforts successful.

To get you started with effective digital HCP engagement, in this post we'll cover:

What is digital HCP engagement?
Why is digital engagement important?
Current challenges
4 Best practices for effective digital HCP engagement
      1. Qualify visitors and target them accordingly
      2. Offer easy online appointment scheduling
      3. Connect with HCPs virtually
      4. Give personalized recommendations
How to get started?

What is digital HCP engagement?

Digital HCP engagement refers to the use of digital channels, tools and platforms to connect with healthcare professionals (HCPs).

This can include a variety of tactics, such as providing online educational resources, edetailing, behavioural targeting and interactive portal content.

"Engagement can range from allowing HCPs to book meetings with product experts (sales) to targeting HCP by area of expertise to sign up for a credited event. It can even be simple as asking HCPs what they would like to see more of on your pages."

Christian Lelo, giosg Customer Engagement Manager

By leveraging these different digital engagement tools, pharmaceutical companies can create targeted and personalized interactions that deliver valuable information and resources to HCPs.

Why is digital engagement important in pharma?

Digital HCP engagement is a critical component of any modern pharmaceutical marketing strategy.

It allows you to establish yourself as a trusted information source and build stronger relationships with HCPs.

Additionally, digital HCP engagement offers a more cost-effective and efficient way for you to reach your target audience, when compared to traditional marketing channels, like print advertising and in-person events.

But to effectively engage with HCPs in a digital environment, you need to take on a strategic approach that caters to the unique needs and preferences of your target audience.

By following the best practices for digital HCP engagement, you can build trust and credibility, and create an engagement strategy that delivers value to HCPs.

Current challenges in digital HCP engagement

One of the main challenges that many companies are experiencing is getting HCPs to find and engage with the relevant content to them.

Research has found that 77% of pharma companies find providing real value, a major challenge for digital HCP engagement.

This can lead to HCPs favouring content from third-party or independent providers, due to them being easier to find and therefore seeming more credible and trustworthy.

To gain back the HCP's trust, it's crucial for you to invest in establishing yourself as the go-to resource for HCPs to be guaranteed to find everything they're looking for.

Engaging HCPs when and where it matters most and offering end-to-end personalized portal experiences enables better and more effective HCP engagement.

But to be able to do this, there is a need for more effective use of HCP engagement platforms and related strategies.

In fact, research shows that pharma companies experience limitations in not just their digital and analytic capabilities but also in the specific elements related to their strategy, culture, and organization.

The solution to closing these gaps and helping you drive your HCP engagement efforts to the next level, is:

• a customer-centric mindset
• understanding the role of digital in the broader business
• and taking on the best practices for digital HCP engagement. 
  
  

4 Best practices for HCP digital engagement

So in this section, we’ll share our four proven best practices for boosting your HCP digital engagement.

By incorporating these practices you can establish your value in the industry, interact with HCPs more effectively and strengthen your relationships.

1. Qualify visitors and target content accordingly

To start off with, a key to effective digital HCP engagement is to qualify your portal or website visitors and target your content accordingly.

This approach involves identifying the specific needs and interests of HCPs and tailoring your content and channels to meet those. One of the best ways to do this is through omnichannel engagement and data.

Essentially, this should form the base for the rest of your HCP engagement efforts. By doing so, you can significantly improve the relevance and effectiveness of your engagement efforts.

To make the most out of your qualification and targeting strategy, consider these factors:

Understand your audience 👥

Start by gaining a deep understanding of your target audience. This may involve analyzing data on their demographics, interests, and behavior, as well as gathering feedback directly from HCPs.

Use targeting and qualification tools 🎯

Utilize an HCP engagement platform, like giosg, that offers tools for targeting and qualification.

This will allow you to connect HCPs with your experts. These tools can also help you identify the most relevant content and communications for each HCP, and ensure that they receive personalized attention from your team.

Leverage personalized content 💎

Use the insights that you gained from your qualification efforts to target relevant content for each HCP. This may include targeted pop-ups, whitepapers, case studies, or any other content that addresses their specific needs and interests.

Provide value ⭐

Ensure that the content you provide is valuable and relevant to your visitors. Avoid using generic content that is not specific to their needs or interests, as this can lead to low engagement rates.

Measure and optimize 📐

Make sure you measure the effectiveness of your qualification and targeting strategy and refine your approach based on the results.

For this, you can use analytics tools to track the engagement metrics, such as click-through and open rates, and adjust your content and communications accordingly.

Check out how giosg's tools can help target content and successfully boost HCP engagement.

2. Offer smooth online appointment scheduling

Next, one of the crucial parts of digital engagement in pharma is providing easy ways for HCPs to schedule appointments online with sales representatives and Medical Science Liaisons (MSLs).

By making sure you have a calendar integration on your portal, you can streamline the process of scheduling appointments, reduce wait times, and improve HCP satisfaction.

Our top tip for making this process as smooth and efficient as possible is to target your scheduling system to the relevant HCPs that you have identified with your qualification tool.

This will help you make sure you target and reach the right people and for your HCPs to engage with the relevant information.

Here are some tips to consider when implementing a calendar integration:

User-friendly interface 😊

Ensure that the online booking system is easy to navigate and user-friendly. HCPs should be able to find the feature quickly and make their bookings without extra hassle.

Integration with other systems 🔗

Your calendar should integrate seamlessly with other systems on your portal. This will ensure that the process is seamless and that you have all the necessary information in one place.

For this, you need to make sure you’re using an HCP engagement platform that can be easily integrated into your existing systems.

3. Connect with HCPs virtually

To boost communication efficiency and avoid frustrated HCPs, make sure you’re providing personalized and readily available support.

Whether it's through an edetailing software, simple contact form or a live chat solution, make sure you are there for your audience.

One way to make sure you’re accommodating to all your HCPs' needs with your live support is to offer a range of communication options.

For example, in addition to a simple chat or edetailing function, utilise a platform with one-to-one video and voice calls. With these different options, you can ensure your HCPs get support and guidance in the most effective way possible.

Here are some of our top tips for how to make the most out of your live chat:

Ensure availability ✅

Make sure that the support resources are available and easily accessible to HCPs. This may involve providing web support during particular hours or integrating an automated edetailing functionality directly into the busiest sites on your website or portal.

Provide targeted support 🤝

Use the information you have on HCPs to provide personalized support and assistance. For example, you may use their medical speciality or clinical interest to provide targeted information or resources.

4. Give personalized recommendations

The final item on our list is to provide personalized recommendations.

By providing personalized recommendations, such as suggesting specific products or resources based on the HCP's past behavior, preferences, or other relevant data – you can improve the relevance and effectiveness of your content, and increase HCP engagement and satisfaction.

With giosg, you can utilise the data on HCPs' behavior, interests and preferences as they interact with your portal to provide personalized recommendations with interactive elements like bots, pop-ups and quizzes.

With the right engagement software, you can provide recommendations for different kinds of content, such as product pages, articles, videos, or webinars that are triggered at the right place at the right time for the right audience.

Boost your digital HCP engagement 

By implementing these practices, you can engage and establish relationships with HCPs with intention and efficacy. These techniques employ the best tools, software, and content formats available to guarantee that your material is of superior quality and captivating for your specific audience.

Feeling inspired? See giosg's effective solutions for boosting digital HCP engagement, or get in touch with one of our experts and start building the best strategy for you! 😊

Want to learn more? Check out our latest guide Digital HCP Engagement for Pharma Marketers! 👇