Creating Rock-Star Email Marketing for Healthcare Professionals

It’s well known that physicians are not the biggest fans of sales reps. In fact, less than 50% of physicians see reps in their physical office.

This aversion is strange considering physicians are always seeking information about new drugs and alternatives. Why not consult an expert who specializes in just that? It begs the question: if they don’t want to talk to a rep, who do they want to talk to?

The answer is no one. They want all the information they seek at their fingertips.

This creates an interesting opportunity for marketers. It seems personalized email marketing could be a way to solve the sales rep aversion problem for healthcare professionals. Personalized rep emails allow companies to connect with doctors and healthcare professionals (HCPs) directly. No more luncheons. No more scheduling. All pertinent information will be right there — in the inbox.

Below we list three ways to create a unique and relevant email campaign targeted at healthcare professionals.

1. Establish a purpose

First things first — it’s wise to create objectives aligned with your business goals and mission statement. Over time your messaging will drive conversations and build rapport with clients.

Here are a few other things to consider:

• Will the email be sent from a rep’s personal email address or from a generic ‘do-not-reply’ account?
• Will the HCP be able to reply to the email? If yes, where will it go – a rep’s personal account or a general account? How will the emails be tackled in the latter case?
• How will opt-in and opt-out be handled?
• How will the email leads be procured – by the reps or through email list sellers?

2. Execute the campaign

Sometimes there is a disconnect between the sales and marketing teams.

Before you connect with HCPs, you want to make sure your sales and marketing objectives are aligned.

Here are some ways to connect sales and marketing for your campaign:

• Conduct a field survey to collect HCP behavioral data. From here, create benchmarks to reach specific segments.
• Define standards for branded and unbranded content, especially launch-products.
• Ensure configurations are regular and timely, calibrating to the recipient data, with strict prioritization and process orientation.
• Build email templates that support cross-brand requirements.

3. Deploy and manage content

There’s more to successful content than simply writing a few emails.

We recommend the following steps to create rock-star content.

1. Plan for success

Create email templates that execute the goals of the campaign. In each email, offer content that’s useful, so you’re aligning with the reader’s needs rather than interrupting them.

2. Write like an expert

With each email, it should be clear you’re a subject matter expert. This is where MSLs (medical science liaisons) come in handy. Prepare unrestricted access to these experts to procure best practice information.

3. Control the results

Last but not the least, monitor the results to gauge what’s working and what’s not:

• What is the adoption percentage among reps?
• How frequently is the channel used?
• Did you reach your benchmarks?
• What are your open and click-through rates?
• What content generates the highest results?
• What devices are your audiences using to access content?
• What’s the bounce rate?

It’s vital to collect insights and identify opportunities for improvement whenever possible. And remember — even if you err at first, you end up winning in the long term because email marketing keeps your brand and message visible to current customers.

If you want to learn more about email marketing, contact vablet today.