Physician Research Module from Manhattan Research

ARCHITECTING AN ONLINE SITE STRATEGY

Developing an online content strategy for physicians can be a complex undertaking. Between biopharma corporate sites, product sites, unbranded sites, and online customer service portals, creating a surround-sound online promotional mix for the physician audience can be challenging. This module looks at best practices for site design, as well as physician interest and use of different types of online content.


ARCHITECTING AN ONLINE SITE STRATEGY

Table of Contents


INTRODUCTION

I. PHYSICIAN CHANNEL MIX: WHERE DOES PHARMA FIT?
  • Percent of Physicians Who Are ePharma Physicians
  • The Role of Pharma Product and Corporate Sites
    • Frequency of Use of Various Online Sources
    • Who Are The Physicians Visiting Pharma, Biotech, or Device Corporate or Product Sites?
    • Top Specialties Accessing Pharma Corporate or Product Sites
  • What about a Customer Service Portal?
    • Physician Use and Interest in a Customer Service Portal from a Pharmaceutical, Biotech, or Device Company
  • Sources Preferred by Physicians   
  • Sources from Which Physicians Prefer to Learn New Information About Products or Indications
  • Physician Preference for Learning About Various Types of Information from Pharma, Biotech, or Device Companies   

II. THE CURRENT “E” LANDSCAPE
  • Today’s Top Product Sites
    • Reach and Relevance of Product Sites Visited by Primary Care Physicians
  • Top Corporate Sites
    • Reach and Relevance of Corporate Sites (among all ePharma Physicians)
  • The Landscape for Customer Service Portals
    • Top Customer Service Portals Visited by Physicians
    • Frequency of Visitation to Top Pharmaceutical Customer Service Portals
    • Companies from which Physicians Would Use a Customer Service Portal
    • Top Customer Service Portals Visited by Physicians
    • Frequency of Visitation to Top Pharmaceutical Customer Service Portals
    • Companies from which Physicians Would Use a Customer Service Portal
  • Which Companies “Get” Online Promotion?      

III. HCP PORTAL FEATURES AND TOOLS
  • Top Features of Interest on a Customer Service Portal
  • Physician Interest in Customer Service Portal Features  
  • What About Email?
  • Parties with Which Physicians Report Sending or Receiving Email

CONCLUSION


Excerpt

A review of the cadre of sites owned by a typical biotech, pharma, or device company, and aimed at a physician audience, reveals a stunning truth – most companies have little to no strategy in place to think about their web sites collectively. In other words, sites are built even if there is not a strategic need and often exist in “maintenance” mode until a point when the site has clearly outlived its value to the market. At that point, it’s time for a re-launch – or the graveyard.

This research module touches on the various physician-targeted properties owned by biotech, pharma, and device companies and seeks to point out opportunities where companies can link the sites from a strategic planning point of view. After all, if physicians are likely to encounter multiple properties from a particular company, there is a strong argument those sites should build on one another while also providing unique value in their own right – rather than just replicating the same static content throughout various properties.

And while there is certainly no magic bullet to a physician site strategy online, it is clear there is significant room for improvement – at least from the point of view of the physician end user. While physicians are generally satisfied with professional journals online, physician-targeted portals, and online CME, they remain underwhelmed when it comes to sites and properties offered by biotech, pharmaceutical, and device companies. Why? Part of the reason is that many companies still struggle with what content and services to offer a physician audience online. Do they need breaking news? Do they want journal reprints? Do they want a PDF of the product insert? Do they want patient education?

Although physicians want and expect a diverse set of features online, what can be offered by a company and what should be offered by a company can be two different things. For example, while the demand for clinical news remains strong, a typical physician online has many competing options on that front. If nothing else, a simple Google keyword alert can bring all relevant news articles directly to their inbox on a daily basis if desired. That brings up the argument of partnering with “best practice” service providers if possible to avoid trying to replace or replicate other services they use today. If you find a great application, perhaps offering it through the portal may be part of the draw to drive traffic and engagement.

Looking to the research (ePharma Physician® v7.0) we find that physicians typically want information that is the domain and knowledge foundation of a company – product information, patient education, and pipeline information. Arguably, the company is often the best source for the latest and most comprehensive information about a specific product – all the way from clinical trials to product alerts. That is not to say other physician sites are not used. In fact, physicians still use other resources online much more often than company-owned sites. The point is that physicians expect companies to offer the latest information about their products and will use that as a complement to the range of resources they use online today.

Finally, this research module closes with thoughts on the wide range of features physicians want on a “company portal” targeted to a physician audience. As the majority of top 20 (and even top 50) companies struggle with how to build a physician portal – or if they even need one – getting the feature set exactly right becomes a critical discussion that will ultimately drive success at launch and long-term utilization. The portal strategy also presents an opportunity for companies to sit down and rethink the range of sites operated by the company and to critically evaluate the pros and cons of each resource online. Are certain sites duplicating content? Or worse yet, are sites intended to duplicate content but the content management is out of sync?

As companies seek to expand the role of the physician portal, the value of individual product sites or “mini portals” becomes a topic of discussion in planning meetings. Do these sites duplicate, complement, or confuse the mission of the portal? Many companies are quickly realizing that a true one-stop shop is extremely difficult to pull off in practice. In fact, the portal may actually evolve into a back-end customer service resource that ultimately links 20-30 brand destinations seamlessly. In effect, the portal may provide a unifying one-stop shop but maintain the unique brand experience with individual sites. To the end-user physician, the customer service, transactions, and content management is behind the scenes – as it should be. In the ideal world, the physician may opt in to receive email updates one time through maintenance at the corporate level – not a brand-by-brand effort.




Full access to this report is available for clients of Manhattan Research’s ePharma Physician® v7.0 study. For information on gaining access, please email sales@manhattanresearch.com.


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