We went through a fun exercise recently to collect and list all of the pharma Web sites that
our agency created, developed, host, and/or maintain. Because we focus exclusively on digital marketing for pharmaceutical companies, the list is long.
Just counting sites that are currently live, we have
more than 100 live pharma-related Web sites. That doesn't include sites under development or the countless sites that have come and gone over the past 10 years of our company's existence. Our list of sites represents quite the study in Web site variety:
- Audience. Of course many of our sites are designed to deliver information to consumers and healthcare professionals. But healthcare professionals aren't just physicians; there are sites for nurses, pharmacists, formulary professionals, and clinical trial investigators, among others. Several of the sites aren't public-facing, but instead may be intranets for pharma company associates, extranets for KOLs, slide libraries for MedInfo teams, online resources for sales reps ... the list goes on.
- Purpose. It goes without saying that the 100+ sites represent almost as many disease categories. But they also represent a wide variety of objectives: education, awareness, lead acquisition, product information, community-building, brand loyalty/retention, public affairs, patient empowerment, online ordering, clinical trial investigator recruitment, internal communications, story-sharing... the list goes on.
- Size and Functionality. I guess technically, even a single landing page could be considered a Web site, however, we didn't include those in our list. But there is still a pretty vast variety of sites big and small, shallow and deep, interactive and static. Sites with video, audio, animation, and interactive tools. Skinny sites for just-launched products, and massive portal sites for in-depth learning.
- Agency Roles. Many of these sites were concepted, designed, written, built, analyzed, and optimized entirely by Intouch Solutions. And, depending on the client, other sites may have had many agency fingers touching them ... one agency did the design, another did the build, another did SEO, another designed the CRM component ... (guess which model is the most effective and efficient?)
Sorry I can't publish the list here. But I can offer up some good rules to live by when thinking about your Web sites:
- Make sure your site has a purpose. Is it database capture? Awareness? Education? Recruiting? What's the call to action? And how exactly are you measuring against these goals? All of this needs to be agreed upon before a single concept is designed or a line of code is written.
- Don't let your site die a slow death. Sadly, there are some sites on our list that are several years old, and haven't been redesigned or updated since their launch. It shows. Not only visually, but in the analytics. You've heard this before, but if you keep the design, usability, and content fresh, your users will follow. See #4.
- Think beyond the typical consumer and HCP site. Who are some key secondary audiences that you've been wanting to reach? What information of value can you offer them? In our experience, HCPs such as nurses and pharmacists appreciate customized content and the attention and respect from pharma they often don't receive.
- Analyze and optimize. So many marketers make the mistake of going through the motions of creating a Web site, launching it (hooray!) and then letting it sit. I can't blame them, actually, when taking a Web site through legal, medical, regulatory review can feel like the equivalent of birthing octuplets. But Octo-mom aside, launching a site is really only the first step. Web analytics can reveal infinite amounts of information that will help you optimize your site to work harder and smarter for you and your goals. This is really the only channel where you have that much ongoing information and flexibility - why not take advantage of it?
- Have the right partner. Don't be afraid to ask your agency how much pharma experience they have, how many Web sites they have designed/written/built, how many technical-based employees they have on staff, what - if anything - do they outsource, etc. For more questions to ask your digital agency, see this past blog post.
Finally, one tip unrelated to your Web sites
At Intouch, we love the Web, and we certainly love Web sites. But we are also constantly reminding our clients to consider what's happening outside your site. Where your audience is visiting, what they're reading, what information they are seeking. It can't be just about your site ... these days, marketers really have to consider the entire Web experience. Give your brand lots of legs online, and you'll be where your customers are, whomever they may be.
