Marketing to Physicians? Think Education and Email

marketing to doctors (Originally published via MedCityNews.com.)

Here’s some advice for companies trying to get new medical products in front of the eyes of physicians: Aim to educate them rather than trying to sell them, and do it via email or direct mail.

marketing to doctors (Originally published via MedCityNews.com.)

Here’s some advice for companies trying to get new medical products in front of the eyes of physicians: Aim to educate them rather than trying to sell them, and do it via email or direct mail.

The face of medical sales is changing as physicians get busier, other clinicians step into some of the their roles, and the Sunshine Act becomes reality. Pharmaceutical and medical device companies, who are dealing with shrinking sales forces of their own, are moving away from traditional direct sales and trying different ways of marketing their products.

The good news is that busy doctors still want new information about drugs and medical devices as long as it’s relevant and useful. They would just rather receive it through email or direct mail, according to a survey conducted by HealthLink Dimensions.

A majority of the 124 physicians and nurse practitioners (in internal medicine, general surgery, cardiology, OBGYN and family practice) who responded to the survey said they most prefer information they can review on their own schedule. They were slightly less fond of in-person visits and generally frowned upon phone calls.

They also said the information they want most is regarding industry-sponsored accredited CMEs, patient education materials or disease state information.

That content must be flexible though, as most said they communicate with patients mostly in traditional ways rather than through email. A white paper put together by PharmaLeaders using the data suggests that the best marketing materials will be sent to a physician in a way that’s easy to translate to the patient in-person or over the phone.

It’s not surprising that busy physicians like materials they can review on their own schedule, but it is a little surprising that most of the respondents said they read their email primarily on a desktop; only one in four said they use a mobile device. But the white paper is quick to point out that that will likely change, so the flexibility of content is especially important to keep in mind.

Here are some of the findings spelled out in an infographic.