Currently, the life sciences industry is under huge pressure. Right now the global pharmaceutical market has experienced significant year-on-year growth over the last two decades, engaging with customers has become increasingly difficult. Data shows the physical and mental availability of today’s healthcare professionals (HCPs) declining as rapidly as the pharma industry is booming. It’s estimated that 60% of content aimed at HCPs is dismissed as clutter.
This may be due to the fact that two-thirds of millennial HCPs don’t believe pharma understands them or their needs. And that’s not entirely unsurprising. Millennials were the first generation to grow up in an ultra-connected world. And now that their prescribing power is higher, and their influence is growing, the differences between them and their Generation X and Boomer counterparts are becoming more apparent. But how can we really understand what makes them tick?
The truth about the millennial HCP
Point.1 is a proprietary data product created by Havas Lynx that provides one of the richest available views of customer engagement with pharma. Generated through one of the largest panel providers of HCPs available, Point.1 has analysed data from almost a thousand millennial HCPs across the globe. It’s revealed how their attitudes and behaviours will shape the future of pharma’s engagement with them.
80% of HCPs experienced distress last week at work
Attributed in parts to impossible deadlines, workload, long shifts and the emotional toll of caregiving, burnout in the healthcare industry globally has reached its highest level since 2018. And Point.1 discovered that millennials demonstrate significantly lower levels of job and life satisfaction compared to their older colleagues. The data revealed a high score on nearly half of all parameters associated with work-related stress. They are significantly less likely to be able to cope with the pressures of the job, and less likely to feel recognition for their work.
Patient-doctor dynamics have changed too. Millennial HCPs are more likely to be influenced by patient opinion across all stages of the customer decision-making journey. Conversely however, HCPs are finding it increasingly hard to manage patient interactions. Point.1 data reveals 77% of HCPs cite increasing demands for causing pressure, while 71% said that dealing with challenging patients amplified day-to-day stress.
So, it follows that nearly one-fifth of millennials globally intend to leave direct patient care in the next five years – when they’ve really only just started their career. It’s an alarming statistic from Point.1. Are we looking at the ‘unluckiest generation’ of doctors?
Trust in pharma channels is almost 20% lower vs Gen X and Boomer counterparts
Point.1 provided some eye-opening data on marketing channels too. Overall, trust in pharma-owned touchpoints is 17% lower than Gen X and Boomers before them. Seven out of 12 touchpoints are mistrusted, including the traditional go-to channels like branded emails, websites, webinars and sales reps. However, while HCPs are less influenced by reps across their clinical decision journey, they are still willing to engage with information about new treatments.
According to Point.1, earned media is a much more trusted channel and plays a big role in their decision-making. This makes sense when you consider millennials grew up learning medicine in the digital world rather than via textbooks. So, is it time for brands to go back to the drawing board for smarter ways of reaching their audience? It seems so.
Half of millennial HCPs regularly produce medical content for social media
Interestingly, our millennial HCPs are not just passively consuming social media. Point.1 data tells us a huge 49% of millennial HCPs are generating their own content for distribution on socials, and 31% do it on a weekly to bimonthly basis. They are actively controlling the global narrative on healthcare and reaching younger audiences. This new age of influence certainly poses questions for how health brands can harness these conversations as well as step up to control brand narrative.
Only meaningful data can bridge the millennial knowledge gaps
Understanding the differences, attitudes and behaviours of today’s HCP is a powerful way to help a brand grow. And of course, we know these learnings are just the tip of the iceberg. Point.1 can delve even deeper into specialisms, sub-specialisms, touchpoints, locations and more until the real human truths are uncovered. Providing precision and added context, Point.1 allows pharmaceutical companies and brands to use data with purpose to reach the right people at the right time through the right channels.
If you like what you’ve heard – or you’d like to know more about your millennial HCP, get in touch: phil.streit@havas.com
Boomer: born 1946-1964
Gen X: born 1965-1980
Millennial: born 1981-1996
This thought leadership piece appeared in the April edition of PME. Read the full issue here.
