As the pharmaceutical industry repositions itself to be more patient-centric, resources devoted to social media and the Web have swelled. After all, the Internet is where so many people are looking for health information and social networks are helping people with chronic and rare conditions connect with each other. But in answer to the commonly asked question — how can we attract consumers to our website? — a survey this month suggests timing is everything.
In a survey by Makovsky Health and Kelton, 51 percent said they went to a pharmaceutical company’s website after a diagnosis. They were less likely to visit a pharmaceutical website before filling a prescription (23 percent) or after symptoms developed (16 percent). Physicians were the biggest source of referrals, according to 42 percent of respondents. They also were spurred by news articles (33 percent), recommendations (30 percent) and TV advertisements (25 percent). Web ads (11 percent) and social media (6 percent) were much less likely to drive consumers to pharmaceutical websites. The survey also found that only 9 percent visit pharmaceutical websites for health information.
Even though it’s an interesting finding, pharmaceutical companies have so many more tools in their toolboxes to find out what’s motivating consumers that it doesn’t need to be about driving them to their websites anymore, although I’m sure they wouldn’t mind attracting them there.
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The survey findings could also explain the growing investment in physician social network and education companies such as QuantiaMD and Medikly. Pharma marketers are keen to work with these companies to get their messages across.
The survey also found that U.S. consumers spend roughly 52 hours searching for health information online each year. Pharmaceutical companies have been shifting resources to mobile and digital formats in a multipronged strategy to better track consumers. It includes app development for physicians and consumers, observing consumers online behavior — what search keywords they use, and the types of healthcare (and pharmaceutical) concerns they voice. There are so many tools to track behavior that it was a big focus of the Digital Pharma East conference in Philadelphia last year.