How many times have you checked your email today? I’m guessing quite a few. And you are not the only one. Recent survey showed that around 75% of people check their email within every hour, while many of them keep their email active all the time. Since people already spend so much time on their email accounts, this makes it a perfect place for distributing digital pharma marketing content.
In fact, since the development of internet, this particular channel was frequently used by digital pharma marketers to convey their message quickly and affordably. But there’s more to a successful pharma email marketing campaign than simply sending an email. There’s a whole psychological set of processes that you must employ to make your email stand out in the crowd.
People spend one-quarter of their day on emails
Though this particular activity can be a massive waste of time, email checking is quite unavoidable. Most of our business communication goes through emails so it’s impossible to ignore them, and physicians are not an exception. What if they get an important work mail or a message about an urgent patient problem that needs taking care of? Exactly, HCPs absolutely must check their emails all the time.
Besides, it will only takes a minute,right? Wr ong! Though they might not realize it, physicians spend around one-quarter of their time checking their inbox.
However, while going through their inbox, physicians usually just take a glance at every new message they receive. That’s why every pharma marketing email subject line should be designed in such way to capture the physician’s attention immediately. When composing an email keep in mind that HCPs will only spend a second on it before they move on to a different message.
So you must make that second count! Make your pharma marketing message brief but gripping. Highlight the benefits in only a few words. Email opening rate mostly depends on your subject line so make that line crispy clear to everyone who read it. Otherwise, physicians will check that delete box before they even open your pharma marketing email.
Email-checking is addictive
Are you addicted to email checking? Let me guess -you said no, but, then again, isn’t that what every addict says? The truth is that you just might be. According to the psychologists, email checking causes something called operating conditioning that can cause an addiction in people.
Here’s how operating conditioning works. Regardless whether they get an email from a boss, a friend or a pharma marketer every time HCPs see something new in their inbox it causes an exhilarating feeling of excitement. In time, they will get addicted to that feeling and keep coming back for yet another fix.
But though getting a new email raises the feeling of excitement, once HCPs open the email, they more often than not feel disappointed. Let’s face it in this day and age everyone’s mailboxes are filled with junk emails and useless promotional messages. And yet, people keep expecting something great to happen every time they log in.
That’s why a pharma marketer who manages to deliver content that’s useful is very likely to draw the attention of their target audience. First, deliver exciting content with your email and prolong physician’s feeling of excitement. Then make sure to explain all the benefits and keep them engaged. Give the receivers that useful content they expect but mostly fail to get.
Checking emails is stressful
Not being able to check your email can be stressful. But you know what’s even more stressful? Having to check your email account all the time. In a group study conducted by scientists, the group who was asked to check their email frequently experienced higher levels of stress than the group who was asked to check their inbox only three times a day. Let’s face it, email checking can be a stressful task especially if you’re expecting something important to come in.
But if a digital pharma marketer manages to lower stress levels experienced by their HCPs they are likely to achieve their goal. Try using smooth tone and calming colors to deliver your message. Add fun, engaging content like photos or even a video to your email. Anything that will help the audience to relax is likely to work.
Emails as tool of procrastination
One of the best ways to distract their mind from physicians tiresome daily tasks is by checking an email. Email checking is a way of taking a break from your job without taking a break at all. And that’s a great way of having your cake and eating it too.
What’s the lesson for digital pharma marketers?
It’s obvious that your physicians frequently check their email partly because they want to be distracted from their daily tasks. But they want to be distracted in a calming, relaxing way. That’s why the best way to appeal to your audience is by eliminating stress they endure on a daily basis. And the best way to do that is by providing them with calming and helpful pharma marketing content.
Your marketing email should be useful and make HCPs feel like they are doing something important for their job while reading the email. So make sure to create content that looks and feels good. But most importantly make sure to provide HCP with content that will help them do their job better. Explain to them how your content benefits their profession and why they should take that extra step and click that call to action sentence you’ve conveniently placed at the end.
And before you go off to write your next pharma marketing email, don’t forget to subscribe and make sure to know all about new, effective pharma marketing practices before anybody else.
