Since the onset of the pandemic, the pharmaceutical industry has faced great challenges, and has also played a more distinguished role in society, as evidenced by Alifar issued last year. This new role has in turn driven the evolution of this industry, going digital in record time, and integrating itself to e-commerce stores, and making all necessary technological innovation for it.Today, in the "new normal", there are challenges to be faced in this sector in order to maintain competitiveness, starting by anticipating consumer's new needs and timely responding to their concerns.
The challenges pharmaceutical sector faces
Strengthening security
Pharmaceutical companies hold billions of dollars worth of data, classified intellectual property (IP), information on pharmaceutical advances and technologies, proprietary drug information and development, patient data and clinical trials, etc., In other words, they are a big target for cybercriminals, and the risks have increased with the use of the cloud, hybrid and multi-cloud environments, IoT adoption, among other factors.
All this makes it necessary to reinforce security and cybersecurity with preventive and active protection tools to safeguard data, networks, and network perimeters, mitigating the risk of third-party attacks on the supply chain.
Attending to the evolution of the patient journey
Customer service is the foundation of digital development, and consumers have changed. Today, they are much more demanding, especially in terms of the speed, quality, and response customization. Omnichannel communication is now imperative to reach all audiences efficiently.
Social networks must now also be part of the pharmaceutical marketing and communication strategies of the sector with its customers.
Making sales digital
Alike receiving immediate responses, at the end of the patient journey, today's user demands quick access to the product, for which the online channel is required.
However, it is not yet possible to purchase prescription drugs through this channel. The industry must respond in the medium term by developing a digital structure that allows the incorporation of medical prescriptions into the purchasing platforms to fully optimize the process.
Building digital catalogs
Without a digital catalog, online sales will be much harder. Migrating all brands' products to this channel is a major challenge, especially beyond own e-commerce shops, that is, the integration with specialized marketplaces, third-party stores, and even physical points of sale with home delivery via apps.
The online catalog will also continue to be a space for professional questions, patient inquiries and, especially, brand positioning.
Generating content
The digital patients are really involved in their own health and often seek solutions by themselves, using all tools available. So, it is practically mandatory for brands in this sector to generate content and make it available to patients tools that capitalize on the discourse of the active ingredients of each drug.
Trends in 2022
The industry is still under great pressure to quickly generate the answers consumers demand, and that is setting the trends.
Virtual Reality
As in many other industries, virtual reality is opening up a wide range of applications in this sector, from research and diagnostics to drug discovery and manufacturing.
Some examples are online consultations through videoconference with professionals and advisers, or optical tests for lens prescription using augmented reality.
Artificial Intelligence
In this field, endless application possibilities can be found, from marketing customization to intelligent demand forecasting, or logistics and inventory optimization, and the sector is practically forced to take advantage of these benefits.
Native apps
Nowadays, the apps themselves are giving companies the potential to connect with their customers, as they allow them to capture specific information and provide a more customized follow-up to recommend new products.
Either way, counting on the integration, support and data from third-party apps is also very useful for cross-referencing data, research, and development.
Digital marketing "without complexes"
Although the healthcare industry has historically had great restrictions and constraints when doing its marketing, nowadays SEO (organic positioning) strategies are a great alternative to deal with these restrictions.
The sector will surely continue to grow and evolve, driven by these new challenges and opportunities, to achieve a pharmaceutical industry that is more assertive and communicates better with its consumers.
