DMD Intelligence

Recently, the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) reported that previous research on big data may have underestimated its future business impact. Healthcare, in particular, has captured less than 30% of the potential value that MGI predicted more than five years ago. What are the key challenges?  Many companies still struggle to incorporate data and analytics into a core strategic vision. In other words, to make data work for you, you have to be clear on its purpose and how you’ll put it into action.

It’s been a busy year in digital healthcare marketing. Email marketing continued to be one of the most productive digital channels, though refinements were necessary to meet the needs of mobile users and millenials. Low-see/no-see rules, heavy patient loads, and overflowing email inboxes forced marketers to rethink proven communication strategies. And concerns about digital ad fraud increased the demand for accountable media.

Audience identity management technology is revealing some unexpected insights about visitors to healthcare websites. The most startling news may be that less than 10% of visitors to healthcare sites are physicians. Only slightly less surprising is our recent discovery that 20% of all visitors are pharmacists. If you haven’t viewed your website through the eyes of a pharmacist recently, it’s probably time to do so.

The impact of low-see/no-see rules, smaller sales teams, and increased reliance on digital communication channels continues to be a hot topic for pharma marketers. Research from ZS Associates indicates that only about 50% of physicians in top specialties, like neurology and cardiology, are generally accessible to sales reps. To compensate, marketers are bombarding physicians with brand messages.

Developing a compelling hospital or health system brand is critical in today’s changing healthcare environment. In the coming years, the U.S. is expected to experience a physician shortage, an increase in demand for medical services, and many challenges associated with the shift to performance-based reimbursement models.

At last week’s “Big Data for Big Decisions” conference, MM&M gave four companies the opportunity to share their latest digital healthcare technologies with an audience of pharma marketers, agencies, and ad-serving and data companies. Marc Iskowitz, editor of MM&M and the conference moderator, asked attendees to choose the best solution for each of three situations. DMD had a great day, winning two of the categories and tying for a close second in the third.

Thursday, December 8^th is our birthday – actually two birthdays – we are 10 years old exactly as a publicly traded corporation and we are 111 years old as the first direct marketing company in the United States.

On December 8, 2006, one of our parents, Aptilon, was officially listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.  Aptilon acquired Direct Medical Data in 2009 and renamed it DMD Marketing Corp. Then, in 2013, we changed the name of the whole corporation to DMD Digital Health Connections Group, Inc., which you can find today on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol DMG.H. 

Though the Web has been around for 20 years, pharma marketers still struggle to understand precisely how HCPs use their brand websites. Google Analytics can identify your most popular content, determine what people are searching for on your site, and provide other aggregate performance data. But, as you know, it can’t provide specifics about individual website visitors. It can’t tell you what content works best by specialty or what path physicians, as compared to mid-level prescribers or nurses, follow across your website.

These days we’re all struggling to make the most of digital advertising. Innovations like programmatic bring benefits, but also very real concerns about ad fraud and media accountability. Big data offers insights regarding target audiences, effective media strategies, and efficient media buying. Yet it can also be overwhelming.