May 6, 2025
The State of Omnichannel Customer Engagement in Biopharma Download your copy of the full report
Today’s HCPs are looking for a customer experience from pharma that is both valuable to them – in terms of the quality and relevance of the information that is being communicated – and convenient. As a result, digital and omnichannel engagement strategies have become central to many companies' efforts as they seek to leverage the power of online channels to complement – and sometimes substitute for – their traditional engagement channels.
But stagnating HCP satisfaction with pharma’s current digital offerings underscores the importance of a robust evidence base when it comes to allocating budgets strategically. With budget constraints at the fore, aligning investments with, by now, firmly established HCP expectations is vital, and means the need for robust evidence and strategic benchmarking remains stronger than ever.
With this in mind, the Precision AQ 2024 Global Trends Report collates some of last year’s most interesting insights and trends, pulled from our industry-leading Navigator365™ and Maturometer™ research, to create a unique snapshot of what biopharma and its HCP specialist and payer audiences have been thinking and doing in the omnichannel space.
The report delivers unmissable global and regional insights (EU5, US and APAC) on a range of customer engagement topics, including: HCP engagement and preferences, omnichannel launch trends, benchmarking analyses (which companies are leading?), industry performance and digital transformation, and highlights from our payer research, as well as the latest impact and reach metrics on the most popular channels (online and offline).
Key takeaways include:
- HCPs’ demand for digital/omnichannel engagement from pharma continues to outstrip supply. This ‘digital divide’ is even more pronounced in the medical (vs promotional) setting and offers a big chance for companies to stand out from competitors.
- Yet HCP satisfaction with biopharma’s current digital offerings appears to have levelled off after the past few years of steady gains and, in the US and EU5, has yet to break through the (so far) elusive 50% barrier, let alone excel.
- In 2023, digital budgets accounted for almost a third (32%) of marketing allocations – an all-time high. However, 2024 marked a decline, with digital budgets dropping to 2020 levels (24%) after years of growth. Is this due to the industry failing to demonstrate robust impact from their omnichannel initiatives?
- Self-reported digital knowledge within the biopharma sector has fallen for the third consecutive year, prompting questions about whether organisations have the expertise to navigate an increasingly digital/omnichannel world effectively. Are digital opportunities increasing faster than teams can keep pace – and how can upskilling help here?
- Looking at which companies are doing well in the space of omnichannel engagement… Precision AQ’s company-level benchmarking research among 3500 European specialists suggests a robust companywide and systematic omnichannel strategy and execution at certain companies. Leading at the channel level (according to HCPs), AstraZeneca, AbbVie and Novartis are setting the standard for consistency in omnichannel HCP engagement.
- AI is a hot topic in many industries, and pharma is no exception. Only 11% of European biopharma industry respondents report no interest at all in AI in their organization. In fact, the data indicate a strong inclination to incorporate AI in customer engagement efforts – though so far just over a third have progressed as far as pilots and beyond. However, if pharma is going to pursue exciting new technologies like AI it must first ensure the foundational capabilities – including reliable and robust (and well structured) customer data – are in place.
You can watch the highlights of our 2024 Global Trends Report being discussed by our experts in our recent webinar, with all slides available for download.