Pharma marketers and sales reps have noticed a stark decrease in the number of doctors willing to spend time with them. These so-called “no-see doctors” have placed restrictions on who can visit them, when, and for how long.
While the recent pandemic impacted pharma sales reps’ abilities to connect with doctors
in-person, the phenomenon of no-see doctors
has been going on since before 2020.
For instance, a 2017 report found that doctors who barred visits from sales reps went from 36.5 percent in June 2016 to 40.6 percent in 2017. Physicians who work in hospitals and health-system-owned practices are the most likely to prohibit in-person visits from pharma reps.
The challenge for marketers and pharma reps, then, is communicating with the growing number of doctors who are unable or unwilling to meet with them face-to-face.
3 Ways to Boost Your Physician Outreach
During the pandemic, physicians became more accustomed to communicating with sales reps and marketers outside the office. That means that many practices that strictly prohibit in-person visits use other means of communication to learn about new pharmaceutical products on the market.
The trick is figuring out which alternative communication method will work with different doctors. It’s important to remember that doctors are people too and will respond better to a personal approach that considers what doctors want from their pharma reps than a generic, impersonal campaign.
Here are three of the best ways to connect with no-see doctors.
Email marketing
The ROI of email marketing is an impressive $36 for every $1 spent across industries. Healthcare is no exception.
Just like other professionals, physicians check their emails throughout the day. They are likely to open emails with eye-catching subject lines that speak to their pain points and challenges. You can segment your email list to target specific audiences. For example, you could have one email list for oncologists and another for surgeons. That way, you can ensure that the email message is relevant and timely to different audiences.
Direct mail marketing
Email is great, but snail mail can also be a powerful marketing tool. Direct mail boasts an impressive 90 percent open rate. This may be because most businesses have shifted to a strictly online digital marketing strategy, meaning that there is less mail for physicians to open.
It’s possible to make the analog marketing tool of direct mail more digital. For example, you can add a QR code to your direct mail flyer for physicians to scan if they want to learn more about a particular product or offer. This lets you track open rates and gives you a better sense of which physicians are opening (and reading) your mail.
Native advertising
The digital advertising landscape is flooded with companies vying for ad space. Native advertising is an effective solution to ensure that your ad gets seen by people who are interested in learning more about your offering. With the right strategy, you can ensure that your digital ads are seen by physicians who are likely to engage with them.
Take an Omni-Channel Marketing Approach for No-See Doctors with HealthLink Dimensions
The best way to get in touch with no-see doctors is by taking an omnichannel approach that incorporates multiple touch points. After all, physicians are busy people, just like everyone else. They may need to see your message a few times before taking action.
HealthLink Dimensions can help you develop an omnichannel marketing strategy that ensures your marketing messages get seen by as many no-see doctors as possible. Contact us to learn more about our programmatic marketing solutions.