Few pharma marketers would deny that email is a key marketing tactic. However, far too often, the discussion about email marketing ROI is dominated by metrics like click-thrus and open rates. While both metrics are important to consider, they only scratch the surface in terms of what email is actually capable of delivering for savvy pharma brands.
Like most marketing tactics, email is best when it is incorporated into your full MCM strategy.
Adding email can increase another channel’s engagement performance. Including email along with a DM campaign, for instance, has shown a 20% increase in DM engagement.
When optimized, email marketing can be the backbone of your digital communications, acting as a workhorse that gets valuable, relevant information to your HCPs. To dive deeper into email marketing and boost its effectiveness for your brand, considering the following tips.
Focus on the “Rule of 8”
If there’s one concern that tends to be at the top of people’s minds when analyzing email campaigns, it’s opt-out rates. What many don’t realize, however, is that the 8th email that gets sent out can actually be one of the most telling—which is where Mojo’s “Rule of 8” comes from. In the vast majority of cases, 70% of those who choose to opt out will do so by the time the 8th email arrives. At the same time, 80% of those who are going to respond to an email will also have done so by this time. Keeping the Rule of 8 top of mind can provide great insight into the ideal cadence and duration of your campaign.
Personalize and Test Subject Lines
You can’t overemphasize the impact of subject lines on a campaign’s success. Personalization can go a long way, but it’s also important to experiment with different subject lines from time to time. This form of A/B testing is essential across all industries and is especially important for pharma marketers, as it will allow you to identify the most relevant messaging for making effective contact with a variety of segments.
But personalization isn’t just for emails. Also keep it in mind for direct mail, where we’ve found that including a patient’s name boosted engagement from 20% to 90% depending on the segment.
Don’t Underestimate Non-Open Resends
One of the most frustrating aspects of running an email campaign is recognizing that many emails sent out will never be opened. However, don’t discard that email just yet. By resending your email to targets that didn’t open it the first time, you can increase engagement, allowing you to reach potential targets more effectively. For one pharma brand, adopting the non-open resend doubled engagement, boosting open rates by 46% to 48% and clicks by 70% to 80%.
This best-practice often doesn’t make it to implementation, yet it’s one of the easiest, most resource-light ways to improve your email campaign’s viability.
Make Your Design Count
Just because it’s email doesn’t mean you can afford to allow your principles of design to suffer. As many as 96% of click-thru rates occur within the top third of the email, which is why layout and design is so important to focus on. As you’re designing your emails, ensure pertinent information never gets situated toward the bottom of the email; you’ll be doing a huge disservice to your campaign otherwise.
Consider Your Costs
Costs matter, no matter how large your budget happens to be. Both CPT and CPC—cost per tactic and cost per channel, respectively—matter more than many marketers realize. Fortunately, email can be an excellent channel for reaching a wide number of targets while also providing useful information at a much lower cost than most other avenues – if you incorporate it into your data-driven MCM strategy.
Depending upon the circumstances, email can be either brand-driven, target/deployment-driven or network-driven. As you’re reviewing your costs and ROI, remember to check your match rates to ensure your email campaign has a strong foundation and taps into its full potential.
Measurement Mojo looks beyond the surface to help pharma brands uncover the optimizations that drive engagement, sales lift and revenue. For more pharma marketing best practices, read this article on using the most effective MCM channels, or watch this video on the ROI impact of MCM engagement.
