Adopting the ‘new normal’- marketing challenges for pharma & healthcare industry After Lockdown

There are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks where decades happen

The New Normal or The New Abnormal?

Sometimes it takes 10 years to get that 1 year that will change your life. Just a few months ago, we were celebrating the beginning of a new decade, a new start to a better life. Little did we know what this year had in store for us. We are halfway through this year and our perception of life as we know it has changed drastically. Where India was the country of crowd and chaos is now seen struggling to maintain social distancing. The entire world shifted on to the digital platform within a matter of days. Even those who didn’t own a computer had to shift to this huge platform in order to keep up with the changing times. So are we ready to accept this as the new normal or the new abnormal?

For many companies in India, the month of March brings the stipulated closure of the financial year. Little did they know that this year it would bring closure of several routines which has been practiced for many years?

With the rapid spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) around the world, we are seeing a lot of uncertainty. Healthcare systems are reaching their limits and have even gone beyond something we have not seen before. The sales and marketing teams are struggling to keep their head above water and waiting for normalcy to return. The advent of the pandemic has forced thousands of pharma marketers to embrace the advance of digitization.

Relearning the Art of Healthcare Marketing

Pharma and healthcare companies heavily depended on their door to door salesperson who would visit the doctor’s clinic or pharmacies to educate them about the new medicines and medical practices. They heavily relied on in-person marketing. However, we have observed a rising trend in ‘online pharmacists’ after the lockdown. The reluctance to step outside the house and rules of social distancing have forced the consumers (both regular and doctors) to shift to the digital platform. Here are some challenges and solutions for the pharma and healthcare industry.

Challenges

• Integrating the traditional marketing functions with digital ones to optimize your reach and progress hand in hand with the changing times.
• A change in the keywords pattern. Where people used to search for pharmacies using the words ‘near me’ before, has now changed to ‘order online’ search.
• A surge in video content, as the content consumption habits, have shifted to video platforms such as TikTok and OTT.
• An enhanced digital experience. Your customers will be comparing your newly created digital pharma experience with one of those that has been in the digital race for a long time (e.g. Amazon).
• The tremendously rising competitions. With many industries clamouring to adjust to the new normal, there will a sudden rise in digital sales, thus providing tough competition for your brand. Each brick and mortar company will be thinking of going online.
• The strict Google and Facebook marketing guidelines for the healthcare and pharma industry. Due to the spreading panic of the pandemic, digital platforms have now set strict rules for the kind of content that can be published on social media handles.

Solutions

• Increasing your online presence by creating a well-designed, easy to use the website for your online consumers. This will help you integrate your traditional marketing techniques by reaching out to your prospective consumers via blogging, video, podcasting, infographics, email, visual content, e-books, slide share presentations, quizzes/tools, checklists, courses, webinars, slide decks and social media posts.
• Optimizing your website and other online content to consist of the new keywords to increase your online visibility and rank higher on the search engines.
• Creating attractive videos of your upcoming medical products and services to appeal to the mass audience through various OTT platforms.
• Enhance your digital presence and content with the help of a professional digital marketing agency who have the necessary skills to give you an edge over the rising competition and who have proven expertise in the healthcare domain.
• By approaching an expert digital marketing partner, you can guarantee that your content adheres to the newly set guidelines and rules for Google and Facebook and still manages to generate leads and traffic. A digital marketing agency has complete knowledge of the changing market trends and guidelines and can help you create attractive content and visual aids to increase your sales in this new and changing consumer world.

Let the Gurus of healthcare digital marketing handle your transition to the new normal with excellent marketing techniques and state-of-the-art facilities. Yashus Digital Marketing will check and regulate the pulse of your healthcare or pharma business and make sure you shine in this drastically changing world by making you the superstar of the digital platforms. Contact us (https://yashus.in/request-proposal/) today to overcome these post-lockdown challenges and grow your business via innovative digital marketing.