Ikigai-ing your way to find fulfilment at work

              Ikigai-ing your way to find fulfilment at work

Introduction

Most working adults will dedicate half their waking lives to a job. So, motivation is necessary to make them continue their job. Moreover, motivation has increasingly become a priority for organizations looking to maintain an engaged and eager workforce. Employees are placing a premium on finding fulfillment at work, and organizations are too. Companies realize this leads to high engagement, the holy grail of a happy, productive workforce.

Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has destabilized normal working patterns and added a large dollop of general anxiety for good measure. Over 90% of job switchers said they quit because the pandemic made them feel like 'life is too short to stay in a job they weren't passionate about'. Some workers retired early over fears of coronavirus; others lost their jobs early on in the pandemic.

Cherie Wilcox, a career coach who specializes in job transitions and career pivots, said that workers looking for more fulfilling positions should start by identifying their "ikigai."

Ikigai- What it is?

It can be translated as “to live (iki) and reason (gai)” – essentially, what is the source of your daily motivation?

"Ikigai is the synergy between doing what you love and what the world needs — and discovering a meaningful way to express it in the work place in order to receive a satisfying income,” says Julie Haber, Inspiration and Wellness Specialist at Lake Austin Spa Resort. “Everyone has an ikigai. It’s unique to each person, deeply personal and is not linked to one's financial status."

Ikigai is “my reason for being,” the inner purpose for how we make our livelihood. It’s the magical intersection of one’s passions, skills, and vocation.  Ikigai is how we make work meaningful and connect with what we do.

A person’s ikigai can be anything: a passion, a dream, a mission, among others. It is something that gives you the reason to get up every morning. It’s what motivates you to keep going and gives you the drive to do something for the pursuit of that ikigai. Some people can easily figure out what their ikigai is. As for others, it can still be an ongoing search.

Four questions helpful in finding your ikigai

In your pursuit to find your ikigai, there are four things that you need to tick off of your list. The Japanese method involves asking yourself four important questions so you can determine your Ikigai and your purpose. Your answers will in theory overlap in the middle. These are:

1. What you love

Your ikigai should be something that you enjoy doing. It can be anything that makes you feel good; something that you would willingly do anytime. Make a list of everything that brings you joy on a daily basis. Don’t put any limits on this list. Write it all down. It can be as simple as a hobby that you really enjoy doing, such as writing, creating videos, taking photos, painting, dancing, baking cakes or even collecting stamps.

2. What you are good at

Another thing that can help you get closer to finding your ikigai is figuring out what you are, or would like to be, good at. Is there something that you naturally excel at? Something that you can effortlessly accomplish or people consider you an expert in? You may not notice, but people probably give you compliments all the time. Maybe they appreciate your cooking, athleticism, creativity or musical talent. Perhaps people know you for your people skills: being a good listener, being patient, kind or generous. It can be a skill that you’ve spent years to perfect, such as videography, public speaking, fashion design, marketing, counseling, or computer programming.

3. What you can get paid or rewarded for

To find your ikigai, you should also know what you can get financially rewarded for. Keep in mind that, for us to survive, we need to earn money to support our daily needs and expenses. What are some of the things you do every day? Why do you get paid to do them? What other skills or abilities do you have that you could get paid to use?

It’s not enough that you just love what you do or that you are good at it. It also matters that employer properly compensate you for it and that it helps you get food and cloths.

4. What the world needs

The fourth component for finding your ikigai is something that the world, or a community, needs. Knowing that what we do helps make the world we live in a better place helps us feel good. Finding your purpose also means being in tune with your surroundings and the world around you. It makes us feel that we are playing an important role in our community. Are there any causes or issues that concern or affect you? Things you would like to change or causes you would like to get involved with helping?

One reason why people are not happy with their work is because they don’t understand the value of their work. By knowing their work have impact and change lives of others, it can help them advance and discover their ikigai.

Finding your ikigai

By knowing what you love, what you are good at, what you can get paid for, and what the world needs, it can be a lot easier for you to understand what your ikigai is.

If you look at the ikigai diagram, you will find that to achieve ikigai, you need to have all four components. But sometimes, you might only have two out of the four. In this ikigai diagram, you can see if what you have is your passion, mission, profession or vocation.

The most effective way to find your result is to write your answers in a circle that represents each questions. In the diagram, your ikigai will be at the intersection.

1. Passion

If you have something that you love and are really good at, then you have found your passion. Unfortunately, some people who are pursuing their passion have a sense of satisfaction and happiness. But some of them may feel like what they do is not creating such a huge impact or is not getting them any tangible rewards at all.

If you are in the same situation, then you might want to figure out a way on how your passion can gain traction, grab the attention of people and eventually make a difference in their lives. Moreover, if you can find a way to use your passion to earn money, then that can help you tick out four out of the four components to achieve ikigai.

Ways you can use your passion to earn money and help a community is by writing a book, starting a blog, offering training and seminars about your craft, or by becoming a resource person to other people who share your passion.

2. Mission

If you have something that you love and is also what the world needs, then you are someone with a mission. People with a mission usually become advocates of what they believe in. They may also be a humanitarian who’s trying to change the world by joining volunteer missions or offering pro bono services to those who need it. This can give you a sense of fulfillment, knowing that you are making a difference in the world. But you might not be getting proper compensation for what you are doing.

For you to find your ikigai, you can start with training. Get a formal education to be better at what you love. Given that it already is creating an impact in a community, you will only need to take some time to improve your craft and eventually, boost your potential in becoming not just an advocate, but also an expert in your field.

Once you become more knowledgeable in your field, you can then use your acquired skills and knowhow to ask for compensation and start earning money from what you love doing, while at the same time, create an impact in the world.

3. Profession

If you are among the many people who have something that they are good at and are getting paid for it, then you have your profession. As a professional, you might be earning lots of money doing something that you have basically mastered doing. People like you are usually considered as experts in your field and this is why employer pay you well.

But doing what you are good at and employer pay you for it does not immediately equate to doing what you love and making a difference in the world. If you are at a point in your life wherein you have been working so hard, but are not getting any sense of fulfillment, you might have to make some changes in how you live your life. To find your ikigai, you might want to figure out how you can use your profession to figure out what you enjoy doing and find out how it can help make a difference in the world.

4. Vocation

Now, for those who have something that the world needs and employer pay you for it, you have found your vocation. Some people who are pursuing a vocation are not always happy about what they do. Also, some of them are not necessarily highly knowledgeable or are not always considered an expert at what they do.

If you think you are one of these people, then you will have to figure out how to be better at what you do and to turn your vocation into something that you love doing. To turn your vocation into your ikigai, you can start by perhaps, earning a degree or by signing up for training sessions that will help you sharpen your skills. You can also work on gaining more experience in your field and eventually become an expert in what you do.

Conclusion

No matter what you have right now, be it a passion, a mission, a profession or a vocation, you can always figure out the situation in which you will flourish which lies at the intersection of the answers to the four questions, where your passions intertwine with your purpose, your profession and your vocation.

Employees who find their work meaningful, are more engaged, productive, and less likely to change jobs. Organizations with employees who’ve found their ikigai create better customer experience. They are full of happier employees. And tend to be more profitable.

Once you have found your ikigai, you will realize how good your life is. You will become more productive and feel motivated to achieve success. It will also motivate you to continuously improve and be able to make the most of every second of your life (enjoy your life). So find your ikigai and start living your best life.

Refrences:

 

1.  The Formula to Finding Purpose: How to Find Your Ikigai.

2.  Ikigai - Finding Fulfillment at Work

3.  Ikigai-ing your way to the perfect job

4.  How To Find Your Own Personal ‘Ikigai’ To Get The Job You Love And Live Your Best Life

Jack Kelly

5.  What is Ikigai? The Key to Work-Life Balance. BY DONNA SOZIO

6.  What’s Your Ikigai? Finding Meaning in Work and Life

by Matthew Hughes

7.  A career coach explains how to find 'ikigai' at work, the Japanese concept for 'jumping out of bed with glee'

HANNAH TOWEY

8.  Over 90% of job switchers said they quit because the pandemic made them feel like 'life is too short to stay in a job they weren't passionate about'

Juliana Kaplan,Madison Hoff

 

 

 

 

 

 

                     

Read More

Ikigai: a necessity for career

                                                    

            Ikigai: a necessity for career

Introduction

 

The global pandemic and the adjustment to a new normal has led to many people taking a moment to self-reflect and question one's own purpose.

Motivation has increasingly become a priority for organizations looking to maintain an engaged and eager workforce.

The pandemic has made many people reevaluate their life and work. Seeing so many people succumb to the Covid-19 disease was an eye-opening, sobering experience. It hit home that life is precious and too short. We’re always one step away from disaster. In an instant, our time here is over.

More of us want to feel fulfilled; we want to have a purpose and a greater understanding of what our reason for being is. Our motivation is linked to our sense of purpose, and in these circumstances, the reason why we struggle so much can be easily lost in the haze of constant working.

It’s a time of immense uncertainty. But for many of us, it’s also a chance to pause and reflect on our lives and the world in general. There’s never been a better time to consider your personal ikigai.

 

Definition of ikigai

Ikigai can be translated as “to live (iki) and reason (gai)” – essentially, what is the source of your daily motivation? It's a Japanese concept with no direct English translation, generally meaning "your life's purpose," or "reason for waking up in the morning with glee."

 

Discussion about ikigai

Ikigai can be applied as a practical philosophy for life, a way to find strength in tough times, and as a way to identify what you want from your career. It can give value to the everyday “mundane” things, while also helping you to identify what you truly value.

 

Those who have studied the phenomenon believe that finding your own ikigai is linked to a longer life. According to Tokyo-based neuroscientist, broadcaster, and writer Ken Mogi, "when you can find pleasure and satisfaction in what you do and you’re good at it, you've found your ikigai."

 

However, this concept is not centered merely on the personal aspect of goals. Ikigai also describes a purpose that is rooted in serving the community. It highlights the importance and the happiness we gain from helping others and not just serving ourselves.

 

There is an amazing benefit that comes along with finding your Ikigai. When you labor at something you enjoy, it doesn’t feel like work. Think of a fantastic athlete like former basketball star Michael Jordan. When he was on the court, you could feel his intense love and passion for the sport. He was always locked in to what he was doing.

 

Four P’s of Ikigai

 

To find your Ikigai, you have to understand four elements:

What you are good at (Purpose)

What you can get paid for (Profit)

What the world needs (Problems)

What you love (Passion)

 

Then, think of what purpose lies at the intersection of each question. That is where you can find your ikigai. If you can't think of anything concrete, that's perfectly fine. Finding your ikigai is meant to be done regularly, and thoughts and tastes change over time, so your ikigai will too.

 

Your passions, what the world needs, your skill sets, and what you can get paid for will all likely go through many iterations throughout your lifetime on this blue-green globe. Realizing this early on in your career, and optimizing yourself to embrace change rather than fight it or run from it, will give you a huge leg up — no matter what work you choose to do.

 

Role of Ikigai in your Career

Taking the cue from the four elements diagram, seeking your ikigai is akin to finding your dream job.

 

Imagine combining what you love, what you’re good at, what the world needs, and – the kicker – what you can get paid for. Is it even possible? Maybe it will take years to work out, but if you can find the sweet spot where those points converge, you’ll be leaping out of bed every day.

 

Pursuing your ikigai, however, is not easy for everyone. Ikigai and job hunting won't always go together: many people have passions they love but they may not be good at them, nor can all passions sustain a family or household. It's one of the main reasons why many don't pursue their passions as a career.

 

There is a healthy debate over the interpretation of ikigai itself. Some say that one’s ikigai "does not have to involve something the world needs, or that you can get paid for, or that is a talent." Rather, it is "…embracing the joy of little things, being in the here and now, reflecting on past happy memories, and having a frame of mind that one can build a happy and active life."

 

It is not enough to simply know what your ikigai is; you have to put it into action to truly see its benefits as the key to unlocking career happiness.

 

There is no doubt that our careers are an important source of our happiness. But having high pay or working at an attractive location is not always enough to ensure our job satisfaction. You find your Ikigai when you prioritise your personal development rather than material things. When you understand your purpose, you can achieve balance in your personal and your professional life, all the while accepting the idea that earning less may help you to live a better life as ikigai urges us to take a deeper look into the meaning behind our work, and how it really factors in our overall happiness.

 

References:

1.  What’s Your Ikigai? Finding Meaning in Work and Life

by Matthew Hughes

August 13, 2021.

2.  A career coach explains how to find 'ikigai' at work, the Japanese concept for 'jumping out of bed with glee'

HANNAH TOWEYNOV 18, 2021.

3.  Ikigai and the Four P’s: How to Get Paid, Enjoy Your Work, Solve Problems, and Find Purpose

Maren Kate

Apr 10, 2019

4.  How to find your ikigai at work.

 

 

Read More

Defining economy of digital marketing by Canva

                                        

                                    Defining economy of digital marketing by Canva

Introduction

Canva is a graphic design platform, used to create social media graphics, presentations, posters and documents. It is also used to create ebooks and infographics. It can also be used to create layout of website as well as publish website as well. The app includes templates for users to use. The platform is free to use and offers paid subscriptions like Canva Pro and Canva for Enterprise for additional functionality.Now a days canva has become backone for economy of digital marketing. Without it digital marketing works only 30%.

Canva is a free graphic design tool small business owners will use to make attention-getting social media content in minutes. Canva was created to make it simple for anyone who is aware of the fact that social media is vital to their business. It’s loaded with cool features, preset templates, and other components that make social media marketing an absolute breeze!

How can you use Canva?

Let’s say you needed to create a picture for your brand’s Instagram account. you'll be able to begin with an Instagram Post template, that is already accurately sized for the platform. Once you discover a template with the look, feel, and format you wish for your Instagram image, you'll be able to customize the template—like swapping photos, changing the layout and background, adjusting the fonts, or adding in additional components like icons, illustrations, or frames. and all with a few drag and drops.

If templates aren’t your thing, you'll be able to additionally build your design from scratch. simply move to the Canva homepage, click “Create a design,” and select the kind of image you wish to make (like an Instagram post). From there, you'll be able to use those same sidebar tools to create your marketing image from the ground up.

If you wish to squeeze even more marketing benefit from Canva, Canva pro permits you to link your social media accounts and post your marketing images directly from the platform.

Types of products created with canva and their utility

You create a short and focused ebook that solves one problem people want to get rid off and will be willing to pay; you are good to go. It is usually priced low and it is easy to create. Because you don’t need expensive tools or softwares or additional skills to create it. The ebooks are made with the help of canva. Then ebooks are displayed on instamojo for selling purpose. You can also create professional resume on canva and get job of your dream and earn a lot. You can also create infographs for gig economy and do freelancing. You can create videos using canva and upload your video on you tube channel for personal branding and digital mentoring. You can also create checklist on canva. People want to do things quicker and better. And checklists help them to do so. They help people to follow the set of tasks in orderly manner and not to miss anything. There is a good demand for them. If you are good at breaking down complex process into easy to follow simple steps, you can create such checklists. These products are also low priced, and the creator makes revenue from the large volume of sales he gets. Through canva you can also make menu to display the cost of your dishes.

Why it is essential for small business owners?

Here are reasons why Canva should be necessary for your social media strategy:

1. Canva makes it quicker to make attention-getting content

Canva makes social media content creation quicker and easier. There’s no ought to hire a designer or spend hours learning graphic design software when you will produce social media graphics in minutes with Canva.

2. Canva offers your brand a consistent look and feel

Social media graphics will help your social accounts look additional professional and consistent by giving them the same design components. Social media graphics that complement one another can make it easier for your social audience to acknowledge you on any social network they use.

3. Canva can assist you attract customers

The social media world is competitive, and your social content has to stand out so customers notice and have interaction with you. Canva helps you produce content which will grab a customer’s attention, drive social engagement, and increase brand awareness. With the ability to upload your photos and logo, you'll be able to use Canva to make social graphics that enable you to tell your brand’s story.

4. Canva makes it easier foe promotion of events and sales

Social media posts like banners and graphics will facilitate draw more individuals to your events and inform individuals regarding sales your business has. when you use social media content created with Canva, event and sales promotions become fast and simple.

5. Canva makes it easier for creation of social media content with templates

Templates assist you produce social posts quicker for platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and YouTube. By utilizing these templates, you’ll be able to focus on making informative social media content because the design aspect will already be done.

Conclusion

Thus canva plays a very vital role in scaling up your business as well as helpful in growth of digital marketing.

References:

1.   1. Canva- Wikipedia

2.   2. A Step-by-Step Guide to Launch Products Online

Written by Deepak Kanakaraju Published on January 17, 2020

3. Five reasons why small business owners should use Canva

4. 7 marketing tools that you will save you tons of time - Cmsmart

Read More

Understanding need for audience research for facebook ads in digital marketing

 Understanding need for audience research for facebook ads in digital marketing

Introduction

When you’re making an attempt to enhance your digital marketing efforts and make your content marketing strategy more prosperous, you need to acknowledge insight into your audience. You would like to know what they like, need, and expect from you. Though you have got a general idea regarding who your audience members are and what sort of individuals can interact along with your brand, an easy assumption isn’t planning to work for you. You need to dig deeper.

Facebook has over two billion active users globally, and you'll be able to use this social media platform to analyse your audience and find out how to communicate your message to them better.

Why audience research is necessary?

Digital marketing is now a days a new method to provide value to your audience. Audience is the ultimate consumer to products of digital marketing and a necessity to make your online business survive in this competitive world. If you cannot make your audience happy and satisfied then your online business would not run efficiently and cannot survive cut throat competition. In order to survive cut throat competition, you need to identify right audience for your product because selling wrong product to right audience is wrong and selling right product to the audience whose needs cannot be satisfied by your product is also harmful for your online business. So, while designing ad on social media (facebook), you have to keep in mind the picture of the audience whose needs can only be satisfied by your product as your product not only provides value but solution to the problem of audience. Like a specific drug can cure a specific disease, your product is the solution to the problem or particular need of the audience.

Marketing is all about conversations. If we cannot converse well 1:1, then we cannot converse well 1: many. To succeed in any field, especially in digital marketing, it is important to master the communication. If we are having a conversation with someone and if we have better communication skills then we can be a better marketer. So conversation is a must in digital marketing as we converse with the facebook audience though ad creatives (images, carousels, videos).

We need to identify who is our audience. If everyone is our audience, then no one is our audience. While designing your product you have to select your niche corresponding to needs of audience. Our niche should match the audience's desires. So we have a niche so that we can communicate with our audience. By finalizing our niche, we will be able to come across a person in our mind for whom we wanted to provide a solution.

With hundreds of thousands of digital agencies around the world, you need to find a way to make your agency stand apart from the pack.

Focusing on a niche is a tested strategy to grow and scale your agency fast. Your niche on which your product is based is a food full of solutions to your audience. Your niche will decide the type of ad creative which can communicate well to target audience.

Niche should be a combination of passion, talent and market opportunity.

Have passion, enjoy doing it, and get better at it.

The three major niches are: Health, Money & Relationships.

Role of Facebook Audience Insight in audience research

If you’re pondering researching your audience using Facebook, the precondition you’ve hopefully completed is to possess a Facebook Business Page, already up and running.

If you’re already a business user and have your page ready, you'll be able to access the business tool known as Facebook Audience Insight.

The name itself tells you the tool will help you:

Research differing types of audience

Learn about the individuals you wish to reach

Improve your ad targeting and overall marketing campaign

So, how does it work?

Let’s know about it

Selecting and Building the Audience

This tool offers you a selection between 3 kinds of audiences you'll be able to research:

Everyone on Facebook

People connected to your page

Your custom-made audience

The first option permits you to insert the audience characteristics you think belong to your potential audience, and the tool shows you ways it compares to the overall Facebook audience.

How to do Facebook Audience analysis

You can amend and explore the subsequent options:

Location

You'll be able to adjust location in keeping with your needs. Add or remove a town, or a particular location, and watch as the percentages on the right side of your dashboard change.

Age & Gender

Change the settings based on your own assumptions or leave it set to default if you've got no insight concerning your actual audience.

Interests

Choose the choices from the drop down menu and watch as the magic happens. For instance, if you select “Entertainment” and add “Action games” as the interest, you’ll learn that 72 % of that audience are men and only 28 % are ladies.

So, let’s say you’re running a gaming center in urban center. Once you add that location, the percentages change once more, with men being 62 % of your audience and ladies 38 %.

So, you’ve learned plenty regarding your audience and their demographics.

Advanced

You can further explore your choices by adding info regarding the relationship status, education, life events, and different specific details regarding your assumed audience. The charts can keep changing.

Audience Likes

Now that you’ve set your audience and chosen their demographics, you'll be able to find out about their current likes and the things they’re most fascinated by.

All you need to do is:

Go to the Page Likes tab

Take a glance at the top categories and Page Likes

Facebook Audience Insights research

The information you find here can allow you to understand what does your target audience like, and what pages it engages with on Facebook. You'll be able to use this info in the following way:

If your gaming audience also likes drinking coffee, you'll be able to create an add incorporating a picture of a morning video game session with a cup of hot coffee.

You can return to the Demographics tab and type the names of the pages you’ve just learned about. This can offer you insight into the demographic info of their audience.

Make the additional changes based on what you learn from your competitors, and save the audience you’ve created.

You can keep on playing with the Audience Insight tool, making your target market more and more narrow. Whenever you make a big modification, reserve it as a separate audience.

Finally, create ads for 2 different audiences and check them to visualize which provides you the most effective ROI.

Conclusion

Thus we can say that audience research for facebook ads should not be ignored. It should be taken seriously while designing facebook ad.

Reference

Understanding your customer by creating customer avatar

How to Use Facebook to Research your Audience?

How To Use Facebook To Research Your Audience - Take Your ...

 

 

 

Read More

Importance of Digital Marketing in Pharmaceutical industry

 

                          Importance of Digital Marketing in Pharmaceutical industry

“I think the biggest innovations of the 21st Century will be the intersection of …biology [health, medicine] and technology [digital]. A new era is beginning…” –Steve Jobs

Digital marketing will be the next frontier for pharmaceutical companies as many of them are scaling up their consumer businesses and introducing an array of consumer brands. Traditionally, marketing innovation in the pharmaceutical industry has been stunted by heavy regulatory restrictions. Historically, pharmaceutical companies have had little to no interaction with their end-users-patients-since they depended entirely on their health care providers for medical knowledge and advice. With the digital medium democratising information in every sector, however, there is a huge opportunity for the pharma industry to develop patient-centric strategies and transform their fundamental business models. In fact, as patients become more digitally-savvy, the lines between pharma companies and patients will most likely become increasingly blurred. Digital marketing for pharma and healthcare will undoubtedly become the key differentiator for brands charting out a futuristic growth strategy.

Digital has already transformed the pharma and healthcare industry in many ways such as greater levels of transparency, patient communication and drug development.

Leading pharmaceutical marketing initiatives is challenging. The industry operates under intense regulation, making it vital that your pharma marketing strategies (and advertising campaigns) meet industry rules and regulations.

Pharmaceutical digital marketing, however, offers immense opportunity for your organization to promote its brand and products to the right audience, from doctors to patients. You can use multiple channels and techniques to build a competitive and legal pharma marketing strategy.

In addition, due to its unrivalled cost-effectiveness, digital marketing strategies offer a variety of meaningful ways to connect and treat prospective clients and customers.

Digital marketing in the pharmaceutical industry can transform the way how brands communicate with customers, increase transparency, engage, and grow.

Digital marketing is critical for all businesses who want to thrive in this digital age. Advertising on digital platforms such as Facebook, Google, Bing in pharma, and healthcare is expected to rise to $10 billion by 2020.

This ad spend is 13% more than what businesses are currently spending.

This is an obvious indication that more and more businesses are going online to promote their pharmaceutical products and services.

One of the most significant transformations seen by digital’s influence on the pharma industry is the fact that pharmaceutical companies are no longer the sole gatekeepers or providers of the information surrounding their treatments or products.

Through online communities, mobile applications and a wealth of web content, people now have wide access to a range of pharma-based insights.

There are factors which make digital marketing for pharma companies essential. These are:

1.Patients are better informed

Patients are not just passive recipients of prescriptions anymore. They are playing a more active role in their healthcare, researching various drugs and exercising their right to make the final decision about their health. This easy accessibility of information has both a negative and a positive side to it. On one hand, it means patients are more educated about their health than ever before. This empowers them to take more informed decisions about their health and fully understand side-effects that various drugs can have on their body. On the flip side, however, all information isn’t necessarily accurate information. To counter this, digital pharma strategies can help brands develop authority by providing patients with accurate, reliable information. By building a strong presence online and answering queries that patients might have, pharmaceutical brands can also develop a closer connection with their audience.

2.Outcomes-based care is moving to center stage

Payors and governments have an ever sharper focus on managing costs while delivering improved patient outcomes, putting an even greater onus on pharma companies to demonstrate the value of their drugs in the real world—not just in randomized controlled trials—if they are to retain market access and premium pricing. In this environment, digitally enabled "beyond the pill" solutions, which include not just drugs but also sensors to collect and analyze data to monitor a patient's condition between visits to healthcare providers, are becoming critical to serving both parties' needs. These solutions help drive the adherence to treatment and outcomes that payors and governments seek, and they generate the data that pharma companies need to demonstrate their drugs' superior efficacy.

3.Process efficiency and agility is improving dramatically

Advanced analytics, sensors, and the automation of complex decisions are capable of delivering a step change in the efficiency, speed, quality, and responsiveness of business processes in all industries. The pharmaceutical industry is no exception. To thrive in a digital world, pharma companies will need to deploy next-generation technologies to streamline their business processes. They need to achieve near real-time transparency of their clinical-trials portfolio in R&D, for example, and frictionless sales and operations planning in the supply chain, as well as meet new expectations in efficiency and agility from customers, employees, patients, and suppliers.

4.Shift from ‘patients’ to ‘consumers’

As a direct consequence of accessibility to information, end-users for pharma brands might soon be perceived as ‘consumers’ rather than ‘patients’. Marketing solely to health care professionals will not be viable in the long run as these might not be the actual consumers in the future. Armed with greater awareness, patients are in a better position to request or reject specific brands. The consumerisation of healthcare means that pharma companies will need to take a larger step towards consistently engaging users throughout their journey, ‘in good times and in bad’. Developing a strong and trustworthy brand image through digital pharma techniques has never been more important.

5.More information is available about product performance

Historically, pharma companies have controlled both the generation and dissemination of information about their products. Digital technologies have weakened that control, opening an array of new, independent information channels. There are online communities for sharing and discussing patients' experiences, apps and sensors to monitor the impact of therapy on a patient's daily life, and advanced data aggregation and analysis to link disparate, complex data sets and generate new insights into drug safety and efficacy. In response, pharma companies will have to build the capabilities to anticipate or react rapidly to these new sources of evidence, and remain the main source of authority on the performance of their products.

6.New competitors are closing in

The pharmaceutical industry is unlikely to preserve the oligarchic market it enjoys today. With the proliferation of technology making user’s vital information more accessible, patient healthcare information is no longer in the sole control of healthcare providers. This has led to the emergence of new competitors in the pharma space -particularly from the tech industry. These digital pharma companies are moving beyond just drugs, providing patients with high-tech solutions that offer them greater visibility and control of their healthcare. Some of these include wearable activity trackers, ‘chips’, AI, VR and other potential disruptors in the space. If traditional pharma companies do not realign their strategy, they might not be able to compete with recent entrants to win the new age ‘consumer/patient’.

7.Transparency is forcing greater accountability

One patient’s experience with a drug no longer operates in a vacuum. The ability to track key physiological responses, progress and efficacy of medication (made possible through wearables and the interconnected Internet of Things network) has given individuals greater visibility into their healthcare. If they have a negative experience, they are very likely to share their journey publicly over social media and cause large-scale damage to a pharma company’s brand image. Unlike in the past, companies cannot control how much information about their product is available and how it is distributed. In this environment, digital marketing for pharma brands can effectively communicate the USPs of their drugs and develop a bond with consumers to win their trust.

How Digital Marketing Can Excel Pharma Business?

1. Build digital culture and not apps

“Digital is a revolution and we need to build a culture rather than focusing too much on various apps and gimmicks. The industry needs to define digital marketing strategy, to be divided between, health professionals and patients.”

With a digital boom in the country, marketers focus only on building apps and give attention to other gimmicks. We must Focus on building a digital culture to reduce the increasing gap between doctors and patients.

2. Pharma is not boring and mobile holds the key

Pharma is not boring! Doctors love social media too, they also go out and spend time on Facebook and more essentially use social media for information and communication. Mobile is going to be the driver for learning and training industry as well. m-health or mobile will change the way treatment will happen and the way information will flow and be collected.

3. Focus on the ‘why’ and not ‘I need a mobile app’

“You can’t get up one day and say I need an app, ‘why’ has to be worked on – only then it can meet your objectives.” The focus should be on “Why” and not building another mobile app or building a video or being present on a new social network. “The move has to be doctor and patient centric; you need to touch lives rather than being just a logistic company.”

4. Make data the currency of pharma marketing

“Nobody trusts our Pharma industry, why would today’s evolved world do?” There is so much of data available, why are marketers not using it to serve a customer better. It is being a wasted opportunity. “Let’s make data our currency and build a patient centric environment through digital so that people start trusting in our business.”

5. US models won’t work in India

One needs to be better equipped in this digital world but we also need to understand what can and cannot work in India. “We can’t pick up US models just because it has worked there. We need to understand Indian doctors, patients and the regulated industry we work in here.” data being used as the Indian Pharma market is a highly regulated one and one needs to think twice before playing with data.

6. Digital PR is a must in Pharma

In today’s times Digital PR is very much required for Pharma Marketing. “The biggest issue is that people who work with or use digital marketing or social media marketing thinking it can replace PR. CEOs and CMOs are looking for quick marketing growth hacks and don't realize that third-party validation and strong press are the only true way to get your company's story told. PR Pros need to really step up their game when it comes to educating clients or potential clients about this, while trying to land more solid results so less clients are disappointed and feel like they have to rely on digital marketing to move the needle.”

Digital Marketing is thus important for pharma sector. Some pharma companies have not yet fully embraced the digital revolution and changing times, while others have. Well, we should understand that it doesn’t matter to the patients out there, the patients are increasingly expecting, and rightly so, and demanding the pharma and healthcare industry to engage themselves and provide end-to-end services.

Digital marketing for pharma has the potential to completely change the face of the industry. Getting a head start and adopting a strong digital strategy will give pharma companies the edge they need to stand out from the competition.

The pharma companies that are aligned to changing times, and are using digital mediums, are also the ones reaping the benefits. Big prizes are waiting for those who can cut through all the digital noise and come-up with sustained competitive advantage using digital mediums. The others will also align soon or go out of business.

Refrences:

1.   1.Digital Marketing for Pharma: Why Your Brand Can’t Afford to Neglect It

Rhea

2.   2.The road to digital success in pharma

          August 1, 2015 | Article

          By David Champagne, Amy Hung, and Olivier Leclerc

          Open interactive popup

3.   3.Digital Age – A Boon for Pharma Digital Marketing in India, 2020

          March 8, 2020 / by moPharma

Read More