Digital Marketing Drives More Customers in The OTC Industry

Most people would prefer self-care to visiting a doctor due to the rising costs. The vast majority of people suffering from certain conditions or helping their children with treatments would rather use OTC drugs than pay a visit to their GP. This has helped a lot with increasing sales of OTC products from $15.3 Billion in 2006 to $34 billion in 2016. For this reason, healthcare awareness campaigns target normal people and internet users as well as healthcare professionals. People need to have awareness of their health problems and the proper way, dosage and indications to take their medication.

OTC drugs are medications the customer can buy directly without the need for a prescription from a healthcare practitioner, unlike prescription medications the require having a prescription from the HCP or a GP to be able to purchase it. Examples of OTC medications are antacids, cough medications, decongestants, common cold treatments, analgesics, anti-allergics, vitamins, and dietary supplements, gas relief preparations, hemorrhoidal cooling preparation, anti-bacterial hand gel, anti-acne topical preparations, antiperspirants, lip balms, sunscreens, moisturizers…etc.

Important Statistics:

Alone in UAE, revenue in the OTC Pharmaceuticals market amounts to US$309m in 2020. The market is expected to grow annually by 2.3% (CAGR 2020-2023).

Why has Digital Marketing become essential for branding OTC products?

People would rather google their medical conditions than visiting a doctor

93% of adults will prefer treating minor conditions with OTC medicine before visiting a doctor. Even parents, 85% of them would start treating their children with OTC drugs before visiting a pediatrician. 

Millennials are more likely to tackle their problems through online search than waste time waiting in a queue to end up getting a prescription for an OTC medication.

People who care so much about the cost will care less about the brand

Many people have realized that it’s not just about the brand, but it’s about the ingredients, and would rather purchase a brand that is on sale or have coupons than the well-known one.

People are more health-oriented

Health awareness has grown in the last few years. Expressions like soap-free, gluten-free, organic, natural have been used many times when marketing many brands. After the rise in the prevalence of certain diseases, people have started to focus more on the quality of their products and how to prevent an illness rather than treat it.

How to use Digital Marketing to Market OTC brands?

Engage with people on social media

Social media marketing facilitates reaching more people, being in touch with them all the time and consulting them whenever they have any

inquiries. The majority of people now are more likely to search for solutions for their problems online especially if the brand has a social account that is available to interact with them all the time. It is quite important to be there for them if they need consultation on medication, how to use it, where to buy, contraindications…etc. Chatbots can be used to give personalized responses to users and help them answer common questions.

Get creative with Mobile apps

Those are software applications designed to run on smartphones, tablets or watches. Regarding OTC drugs, there have been quite many applications designed just for pharmaceutical products, whether it’s for telling people how to use the drug or make them aware of their condition or provide offers and help them catch up with the latest news.

Read: How mobile applications help in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors

Grab attention through video production

Video production ideas have never been more artistic, every year new ideas are released that make a splash among all the ads that we see. Getting in touch with a video production agency that helps come up with the best ideas to keep people talking about an OTC brand has become a necessary part of every thriving online campaign. Nowadays, videos are getting more imaginative to entertain people while advancing their medication options.

Be present where they are

According to 99firms, Users are 4 times more likely to click on a paid search ad on Google compared to any of its competitors. In addition to that, Google’s share of mobile search traffic is over 85% globally. This means that it’s never been more accessible and it’s a good chance to meet users where they exist. 

Use seasons and celebrate with them

In a previous article LITTLE KNOWN THINGS ABOUT PEAK SEASONS AND ONLINE CAMPAIGNS,

we’ve mentioned that “You’ll notice a remarkable change in people’s interest in a product from time to time during the year. While marketing a product might seem effortless in a season, it might differ in the next one.”

Focus on the quality of online content

You’ve probably heard many times that the more you post online the more people will notice you and still recognize your brand which is fine, but it’s not just about the amount of the content but the quality also matters.

Most well-known companies will have someone steering the content strategy and help them create SEO-friendly content to make it rank higher on search engines.

Do you need help with your online marketing campaign for OTC? Check out some of the services we offer or contact one of our dedicated team members. Know more about the best digital agency for the pharmaceutical industry.