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Overview
Introduction
Scope
Report Highlights
Reasons to Purchase
Drivers and trends
In the UK and Western Europe, millions of homes already use interactive TV
over satellite, cable and local broadcast services. Commercial iTV operations in
the US were launched in 2000 with consumer rollouts scheduled through 2004 and
beyond. The level of CRM offered by iTV is currently very basic, but will likely
evolve as the adoption of iTV expands.
In order to build customer relationships, pharmaceutical companies have
traditionally used print and television advertising and, more recently, online
marketing. The Internet has provided the opportunity for a greater level of
interactivity with the user. Similarly, iTV can serve as another marketing
avenue to enhance customer contact. The Brief examines customer relationship
management in relation to the iTV environment and the opportunities for
operators, broadcasters and brands to use CRM to improve customer contact and
loyalty:
- As the iTV market evolves in terms of technology and usage, what role will
it play in the pharmaceutical industry' s marketing mix?
- What potential role will iTV play in both analytical and operational
customer relationship management?
- As the iTV market develops and associated technologies and business models
evolve, how can competitive advantage be optimized?
- What functions will video chat, personalized advertising and audience
controlled interactive advertising have in the future iTV market?
- What opportunities exist for pharmaceutical companies to use iTV to
increase customer contact, loyalty and revenues?
ANALYTICAL AND OPERATIONAL CRM
Customer relationship management can be described broadly as comprising two
core sets of strategies and technologies, reflecting two different ways of
exploiting the relationship. Analytical CRM can be used to better understand the
iTV audience. Operational CRM techniques can be used to bring the consumer into
more frequent and hopefully more profitable contact with the company, but at a
cost.
Careful analysis of usage data from iTV can provide companies with detailed
information on the preferences of their audience or customer base. In theory,
obtaining and using this data will be easier than engaging in operational CRM
activities that require a much more personalized one-on-one involvement between
the company and the consumer. In order to more accurately target consumers with
a product, a better understanding of the audience through data collection is
essential.
Operational CRM on iTV may be used side-by-side with analytical tools to
further sales and marketing efforts. Operational CRM over iTV also allows
companies to maintain frequent and intimate contact between the brand and the
consumer. Personalized and targeted sales efforts are possible as are much more
personalized responses to customer queries or issues. When used with analytical
tools, operational CRM allows the company to determine who its most profitable
clients are.
APPLICATION IN PHARMACEUTICAL MARKETING
Marketed pharmaceutical products typically target patients with a particular
condition and, therefore, involve a high level of involvement on the part of the
consumer. The number of differences between a pharmaceutical product and its
competitors is different from market to market. In certain cases, the
differences between products may be significant and, in others, minor. Given the
high level of involvement of consumers when looking at information on
health-related products, iTV presents a promising channel to present product
information and interactive tools to consumers. In contrast to websites, iTV can
potentially reach consumers with interactive marketing when they are away from
their computers. The convenient access to such information and product
interaction on a pull basis will drive the use of iTV CRM by pharmaceutical
companies.
As the technology evolves, pharmaceutical companies will include iTV as an
increasingly large component of their direct-to-consumer marketing mix in the
US. The companies that pioneer the use of this marketing avenue are likely to
gain competitive advantage particularly if they are able to maintain customer
relationships established early.
iTV can improve the length and quality of consumer interaction with a brand
and thus serve as an effective marketing avenue. The use of iTV for CRM will be
limited by the adoption rate of iTV and the evolution of its technological
capabilities.
ACTION POINTS
Two key action points for pharmaceutical companies
Action point 1 – The future of CRM involves techniques tailored to the
iTV medium that will challenge current perceptions of how television should be
used by companies. CRM can be broadly described as comprising two core sets of
strategies and technologies based on how they exploit the customer relationship:
analytical and operational CRM
Action point 2 – Given the scope of the prospective iTV market,
pharmaceutical companies should consider including iTV in their
direct-to-consumer marketing strategies in the US. The increased level of
interactivity that is possible with this medium should allow for more effective
marketing to consumers
DATASETS
- Figure 1: Operational and analytical CRM
- Figure 2: Four aims of analytical CRM over iTV
- Figure 3: The evolution of business intelligence
- Figure 4: Four operational CRM models by level of interactivity
- Figure 5: Consumer behavior matrix – product involvement and
differentiation
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