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Essential New Themes for Online Marketing and eDetailing

DUBLIN-(Business Wire)-June 18, 2008 - Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/4968d7/keywordpharma_conf) has announced the addition of the "KeywordPharma Conference Insights - Online Marketing and eDetailing 2007" report to their offering.

The first eyeforpharma conference, Online Marketing and eDetailing, was held in Berlin in 2006 It focused on a 'new era of enlightenment', with internet technology at the forefront of communication with European physicians. The general feeling was that, after a decade of hype and expectation, e-marketing was going to begin to deliver tangible benefits. The pharmaceutical industry appeared to be entering a phase of active implementation of e-marketing strategies with realistic expectations. Pilot programmes had been successfully completed, the importance of integrating e-marketing into the rest of the traditional marketing mix was accepted and pharmaceutical companies were deploying 'e' solutions such as e-detailing, customer relationship management (CRM) and consumer compliance applications.

Twelve months on, and the 2nd Online Marketing and eDetailing Europe conference provided an ideal opportunity to see how much further the pharmaceutical industry had progressed along the road of embracing online marketing.

Many of the themes discussed at the conference were familiar, but they remain key to the successful utilisation of the online channel: how to integrate e-business with other commercial activities, how best to measure effectiveness and the thorny issue of return on investment (ROI), and how to maximise impact with the e-audience.

However, the conference also covered new issues, such as the benefits and potential pitfalls of adopting the set of principles and practices known as Web 2.0. The concept of social networks means that users generate much of the content and that control passes more completely to the customers, be they physicians or patients. With this in mind, what are the opportunities facing pharmaceutical companies?

This Conference Insights reviews some of the major presentations that were made at the meeting, discusses exactly how far the pharmaceutical industry has moved on in the past 12 months and looks at what the future holds online for pharmaceutical companies

Executive Summary:

The pharmaceutical industry's commercial strategy has long been dominated by the sales force. The combination of an over-reliance on traditional sales and marketing methodology and a naturally conservative industry mindset has seen the industry remain a slow adopter of new technologies. Yet, as usage among customers and patients alike continues to increase, the need to exploit the e-channel grows with it. The pharmaceutical industry must develop a new approach beyond the field force and deliver on the undoubted promise of e-marketing.

The pharmaceutical industry has made limited progress with online marketing and e-detailing. Pilot programmes have increased significantly in number, but despite their undoubted success, national roll-outs remain rare. Equally, as the sector becomes more familiar with customer relationship management (CRM) and its benefits, and the coordination and integration of e-marketing initiatives into traditional strategies improves, widespread support for the e-channel has yet to emerge. The e-approach is producing true, demonstrable results, yet uptake remains sluggish.

To cloud the argument further, the rapid advancement of online technology has led to what experts have dubbed 'the Web 2.0 phenomenon'. Internet capability has become more sophisticated, opportunity has increased and the way consumers use the internet has been revolutionised. The pharmaceutical industry is challenged with maximising new, dynamic and interactive technology, almost before it has embraced the opportunity provided by the web in the first wave.

This Conference Insights review assesses the eyeforpharma conference, Online Marketing and eDetailing Europe, held in Berlin, 18-19 April 2007. It summarises a wide range of expert insight into the industry's e-marketing progress in the past 12 months, providing case studies of some of the most successful recent attempts to exploit the e-channel. It examines the online behaviour of the industry's customers, the growth of CRM and the promise of e-detailing. The report also offers solutions to the many challenges facing the sector - not least how to capitalise on the opportunities provided by Web 2.0.

It concludes that the industry's biggest barrier to progress is not, in fact, technology, but its own mindset. Pharma must accept and adopt a new culture. Its customer base, long considered more conservative than pharma, adapted to the new environment a long time ago.

Key Topics Covered:

-Online Marketing and eDetailing Europe - programme

-Introduction

-About the author

-A customer-centred experience

-Beyond 'share of voice'

-Communicate with the customer in the way they prefer

-Online CRM systems

-Physicians' online behaviour

-e-Detailing

-Challenge the marketing mix

-Launching a product with only e-detailing