Like most Pharma Marketers now, I am trying to make a sense what does “Going Digital” exactly means? The situation is typical a VUCA for me. On one hand is the urgency, on the other hand it is too much information and complexity. I performed a “Digital Triage” and restricted the subject to 3 aspects.
Going Digital is about using new Media. The new age media commonly referred to as Social Media is all about content sharing. It is participative, engaging and can reach more people rapidly that too without any incremental costs. The first thing we need to understand the lifespan of content on each media. On twitter is one hour, Facebook is about 2.5 hour, Instagram is 3 days and Pinterest is one week. Although WhatsApp is instant messaging it’s a valuable tool. With new age media as Marketeers we also need to understand the difference between Virality and Amplification of a message. The subject of Virality is fascinating. A formula to Viral content is invaluable. Available research on Virality is more co-relational than causal. It shows that humor and catchy stories have a seed of Virality in them. But it has been very challenging to replicate Virality consistently. And amplification depends upon medium and authenticity of the message and the messenger. Once again it’s about the right questions. Why should someone share what we have prepared? Who are the right triggers? Is it funny or relevant? Social Media content sharing increases in magnitude and momentum after they are picked by regular mainstream media.
Going Digital is about using Omnichannel. The big change in digital age is that is that our customers have now ease of access to more sources of information. And they are using them before arriving at a decision. Therefore should we use more than one means to reach/serve our customers? If so, what is going to be the impact on my current model? Once again the one question we need to ask Is the digital channel that we are going to use is it going to be complementary? Or is it a substitution? This is the one key question that will help in designing a strategy. We can look at segmenting the market based on demography, Psychography, product use, product complexity and context to make the channels complementary. This will allow us to serve different customers or same customers but address different needs. The idea is each of the channels can be used to address different pain points. 90% of commerce in the world still takes place Physically, rather e-commerce represents only 10%. Despite streaming and cable, cinema theatres have still managed to be in business by creating experiences like specialized seats, serving food at the seats. Despite e book readers old world print still retains the charm. The best example that comes to my mind is about e-commerce giant Amazon opening up physical stores Amazon Go. With all available technology in healthcare face to face communication still holds sway. All other channels could be complementary.
Going Digital is actually about asking right questions. Yes going digital is not about Social media or Omni channels. Is it about asking simple questions. Best Buy is one of the largest electronic good retailers in USA. Few years ago Best Buy was threatened by what is now known as Showrooming effect. Basically customers would walk into its showrooms get benefitted by the advice of the salesperson, decide on the model and then go online to buy the product on Amazon because of low prices. Despite having one the best footfalls in the decade Best Buy recorded reduced profits. Although it did try to Price match Amazon they knew it was not a long-term solution because of its cost structure (Physical showrooms, salespeople etc). They couldn’t block the customers from checking price of product on Amazon. Future looked uncertain, everyone thought game over for Best Buy which was the case with many other retailing giants. No amount of investing new technology would have helped Best Buy .
Best Buy relearned how to make profits. Best Buy proposed to the manufacturers that they compensate Best Buy for exclusive showcasing of manufacturers new products. Manufacturers also could launch specific brand kiosks within Best Buy showroom for a fee. This new model which had zero investment for Best Buy dramatically increased its profitability. Is this a ground breaking innovation? Of course NO. This has already been practiced in other industries but for the first time tried in Electronic good Retail. Best Buy realized apart from consumers it created lot of value for manufacturers therefore it captured the value lost from consumers from manufacturers.
What is my business? What is my business ecosystem? How do I currently make money? How changing one thing impacts my ecosystem? What are the options available?
Digital is a revolution because for the first time Digital provides us ordinary people possibility to observe and understand the interconnectedness of our ecosystems with us being at the centre. What our sages and seers have realized with years of penance. Digital is about Content, Context and the Connections. Digital is about asking the right questions which remains a source for competitive advantage. It is never about technology or resources.
Disclaimer: All opinions expressed are personal.
