Highlights from Encuity’s 2012 eAnswers Annual Study

By Kelly Sborlini and Jason Fox

Economic challenges have increased the need for pharmaceutical companies to streamline their approach to selling their products. Among the alternatives, e-promotion provides a cost-effective means to promote brand awareness. Encuity’s eAnswers Annual Study provides a comprehensive look at physicians’ attitudes about, preferences for, and participation in e-promotion.

The eAnswers Annual Study is based on the results of a survey deployed from October through November 2012 through Encuity’s online survey system. Participants in the survey were split between current eAnswers audit panelists and non-panelists who opted to participate in online market research. A total of 1,073 physicians across 14 specialties completed the survey. For the purposes of this study, e-promotion is defined as video details, online events, and virtual details. This study also provides qualitative data to complement Encuity’s eAnswers audit, which presents projected activity volume and expenditures.

Attitudes Toward e-Promotion

The 2012 eAnswers Annual Study finds that physicians’ attitudes toward e-promotion have become slightly more negative in the last few years. The percentage of physicians with a positive or very positive overall attitude toward e-promotion decreased from 49 percent in 2011 to 45 percent in 2012 (Figure 1). Twelve percent of physicians report negative or very negative feelings toward e-promotion, up from 10 percent in 2011.

The percentage of physicians who believe that e-promotion is inferior to face-to-face promotion increased from 33 percent in 2011 to 38 percent in 2012. Physicians age 45 or older are more likely than their younger peers to feel that e-promotion is inferior to face-to-face promotion (41 percent vs. 28 percent). Meanwhile, 14 percent of physicians find e-promotion to be superior to face-to-face promotion, down from 16 percent in 2011.

These findings are interesting in light of the fact that the industry has been scaling back on their field forces in recent years while simultaneously increasing investment in e-promotion tactics. Despite the less than positive feeling toward e-promotion felt by a substantial portion of the physician audience, pharmaceutical marketers are unlikely to put more sales representatives in the field at this juncture simply due to the costs associated with deployment. The pharmaceutical industry continues to view the e-promotion channel as valuable, primarily because of cost but also because enough physicians appreciate the convenience and enjoy using technology. Among those physicians who believe that e-promotion is superior to face-to-face promotion, a common reason cited is because e-promotion can be done at their own convenience.

The fact that younger physicians have a more positive view of e-promotion may suggest that pharma is just ahead of the curve in terms of serving the changing face of the physician population. Younger physicians maintain a more positive opinion than older physicians about this relatively new form of communication. The majority of physicians younger than 45 (56 percent) have a positive or very positive view of e-promotion, compared with just 41 percent of physicians who are 45 or older.

E-promotion resonates with younger physicians because the technology engages them in a way they see as the future of pharmaceutical promotion. Younger physicians also appreciate the efficiency of e-promotion, which allows them to better utilize their time with patients while still getting the information they need. While older physicians still rely heavily on the personal connection of a face-to-face detail, the younger generation is more concerned with how promotion impacts their practice from a function and efficiency standpoint.

In terms of actually driving prescriptions, e-promotion does lag behind events and face-to-face details. Forty-four percent of physicians surveyed in 2012 are somewhat or extremely likely to prescribe a product highlighted during an e-promotion activity, compared with 45 percent in 2011. By comparison, 67 percent of physicians surveyed in 2012 are somewhat or extremely likely to prescribe a product highlighted at a meeting or event, compared with 61 percent who would do the same for a product highlighted during a face-to-face detail (Figure 2).

While this would seem to reflect poorly on the effectiveness of e-promotion, the lower cost of e-promotion means companies are likely still getting a decent return on investment. Physicians still feel the personal interaction with reps that they get in details and events drives more prescription writing, but one of the keys to e-promotion is that it is often followed up with an in-person visit. Many companies often view e-promotion as not only convenient but as a way to open the door for rep-physician dialogue. An initial technology-based activity can drive interest to meet in person.

e-Promotion Participants

Ninety-six percent of physicians participated in e-promotion in 2012, similar to 2011 at 95 percent. Orthopedic surgeons had the highest percentage of nonparticipation (10 percent). OBGYNs are more likely than other specialists to replace face-to-face promotion with e-promotion (29 percent). Twenty percent of physicians overall responded similarly.

Fifty-eight percent of physicians used evening hours to participate in e-promotion in 2012, down from 60 percent in 2011. The percentage of physicians who participate during lunch increased from 24 percent in 2011 to 26 percent. Other reported times physicians participate in e-promotion ativities mainly include any free time during the workday or on their days off.

Participation Trends

Physicians were asked about their preference for being contacted for promotional reasons. Face-to-face details received the most mentions (908), followed by meetings and events (863), and e-promotion (842).

In 2012, 29 percent of physicians surveyed anticipate their e-promotion participation will increase or greatly increase in the next six months, down from 35 percent in 2011. The percentage of physicians who anticipate their e-promotion participation to stay the same in the next six months increased from 62 percent in 2011 to 68 percent in 2012. Among physicians who believe that they will increase their e-promotion participation in the next six months, the main reason cited is that they expect more e-promotion opportunities will be available to them. Others plan to increase participation as e-promotion makes efficient use of their time and is convenient.

This expectation aligns with trends in pharmaceutical industry spending on e-promotion. Now that e-promotion has been in play for more than a decade, the industry has gotten better at targeting follow-up engagements, putting a focus on younger physicians who will likely be more receptive. In the early days of e-promotion, the channel grew rapidly because pharma targeted all physicians. Today, e-promotion may be growing more slowly, but it is growing with the appropriate, more receptive audiences.

Technology-Based Sales Aids

Eighty percent of physicians said that technology sales aids were used by visiting reps in their presentations. Interestingly, 85 percent of physicians in the South reported that technology sales aids were used by visiting reps, compared to 78 percent in the West. Of the various technology sales aids, physicians have seen laptops/notebooks (91 percent) used most often during calls. More than (85 percent) physicians have seen tablets utilized, while smartphones were seen the least (58 percent). Physicians who have seen laptops/notebooks used during sales calls most often recalled them being used by Pfizer or Merck reps (14 percent and 13 percent of mentions, respectively).

Sixty-two percent of physicians rate technology-based sales aids used during face-to-face details as equally valuable to traditional sales aids. In 2012, 28 percent of physicians overall found technology-based sales aids more valuable than traditional sales aids. Among that group, the reasons cited include technology-based sales aids’ ability to add credibility, provide a graphic visualization of mode of action or efficacy data, and add extra information in an easy-tounderstand format.

Virtual details continued to be the most preferred type of e-promotion, favored by 47 percent of physicians. A virtual detail is a technology-enabled program that is usually self-guided, and the participant cannot interact with the activity conductor.

Information Providers

As shown in Figure 3, Merck remained in the top position in 2012, with 38 percent of physicians choosing the company as having the best e-promotion activities. Pfizer was ranked number two.

The top three Web sites for health research and information on pharmaceutical products remained the same in 2012 as in 2011. They were the WebMD Professional Network (WebMD, Medline, eMedicine, theheart.org, and Medscape), Epocrates, and UpToDate. Physicians most often report that they prefer facilitating companies within the WebMD Professional Network, followed by Epocrates and All Global. Facilitating companies host e-promotion, which can be done on behalf of pharmaceutical companies or independently.

Conclusion

Due to the current economic and regulatory environment, e-promotion has become an increasingly useful tool for reaching out to a target audience. The 2012 eAnswers Annual Study provides valuable insight into physicians’ attitudes toward e-promotion and the companies that deploy e-promotional material. For information on how to receive the full results of the 2012 eAnswers Annual Study, visit www.encuity.com/epromo.

About eAnswers

The 2012 eAnswers Annual Study provides a perspective on how physicians use and view e-promotion based on data from Encuity’s eAnswers audit of electronic promotions to physicians. The eAnswers audit provides competitive insight into online promotional activities across the pharmaceutical industry at the company, therapeutic class, and product levels and allows companies to measure the impact of this channel as part of the total promotional picture.