Pharma digital marketing has been lagging behind key trends for a long while. Let’s face it, pharma organizations are not made for speed while digital marketing is all about “now”. Digital marketing is also about experimentation and learning from successes as well as failures. An internal team of consultants, dedicated to digital, can add a lot of value to a company.

One way pharma can take bigger steps in digital Marketing is by developing an internal team of consultants. This team of consultants would ideally be made up of people who not only have expertise in digital marketing but who also can ensure that a brand team’s digital strategy is aligned with online health seekers.

An internal team of “consultants” of course wouldn’t have the expertise in the brand’s target audience behaviors which is why every brand team needs an emarketing person but they can bridge the gap between “just having a website” and “having a website that exceeds brand objectives”.

The other area where an internal team of consultants an add value is in interactions with outside agencies as well as internal analytics. One of the biggest complaints outside agencies have in working with clients is that too often they are working with someone who doesn’t full grasp digital marketing’s capabilities. They can help steer money to projects that are going to provide a better ROI.

Another challenge is ensuring that the brand team’s emarketing person doesn’t see the consultants as a challenge to their authority but, rather as a team that is here to help. The politics of territory can be a hindrance to really excelling in digital marketing.

Ideally, the team of consultants would have two key strengths. The first one would be the ability to distinguish which digital initiatives will actually align with the brand’s objectives. The second is to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the organization so that projects can move forward.

Right now a lot of brands, both inside and outside of pharma, are flying blind when it comes to digital. Too many DTC managers accept that they have to spend a certain amount on paid search when in reality that money could be better spent elsewhere.

Another example is programmatic which takes the human equation out of placing ads. To date there is has been a direct correlation between ad fraud and the dollars allocated to programmatic ads. An internal team could challenge online ad dollars by thoroughly analyzing their metrics. As I have said the more time you spend on placing ads and developing great creative the higher the ROI.

With the carousel of pharma digital marketing people, an internal team of consultants could add a lot of value to your organization.