Outsmart the Competition: Optimize HCP Marketing for Message Timing

It’s no secret that healthcare providers struggle to stay up-to-date on the massive amounts of information available to them. As data sources, technologies, and channels proliferate, HCPs may actually find it more difficult to identify the most relevant information for each patient—or quickly determine the right treatment plan where there is a range of competitive options. 

HCP marketers face a similar, related paradox. They strive to help providers understand the benefits and applicability of their brands, hopefully making their jobs easier. But when their content is irrelevant, overly generic, or misaligned with patients, it becomes part of the very information overload they are trying to mitigate. HCP marketers need to walk a fine line between keeping their brand top-of-mind, without oversaturating and turning off their audience. And when it comes to standing out in competitive markets, that balance can be even harder to achieve.

In Competitive Indications, Timing Is Everything 

Chances are, many of the providers on your NPI list are also being targeted by your competitors. But when brands ramp up their marketing to increase share-of-voice, they risk adding to the noise and clutter that HCPs struggle with every day. Even using targeting strategies based on claims, prescription, or EHR data don’t fully mitigate this challenge. Claims and prescription data are historic by nature, and past activity is never a guarantee of future opportunity. EHR-based triggers are more precise, but still reactive, and limited in the number of factors they can accommodate.  

When it comes to capturing HCP attention and engagement, the single most important step brands can take is to optimize their message timing. For every provider on your NPI list, there’s only one window where your message truly matters—when they are actively treating a brand-eligible patient. By orienting HCP marketing to providers’ upcoming patient flow, pharma brands: 

• Maximize message relevance and boost engagement 

• Add value to providers’ workflows by easing their “memory” burden 

• Reduce impression and budget waste through smarter NPI prioritization 

• Increase marketing impact on new patient starts and script volumes 

The result is more accurate, efficient, and precise marketing that delivers a competitive advantage. So how can brands shift to this patient-centric, timing-focused approach to stand out from the crowd? 

“When it comes to capturing HCP attention and engagement, the single most important step brands can take is to optimize their message timing.”

Optimizing for Timing, Optimizing for the Patient 

If the optimal message timing (and greatest competitive advantage) is defined by the patient, then the first step is to restructure how you target NPIs. Today's forward-looking approaches turn reactive targeting strategies (like those referenced above) on their head. Instead of making assumptions based on historic claims, EHR, and other real-world data, they feed that data into AI-driven models that:  

• Predict patients’ future treatment needs, brand eligibility, and upcoming care visits to identify potential conversion windows  

• Map patients with upcoming conversion windows to their HCPs, segmenting your NPI list based on the providers with the most near-term prescribing opportunities 

• Focus marketing activity on the identified NPIs, adjusting the audience regularly based on changing patient volumes 

By embracing this nimble, patient-centric strategy, marketers take a proactive approach, anticipating their “best bets” to stay ahead of the competition.

The Omnichannel Play 

Optimizing for message timing also provides structure and guidance to omnichannel deployment. Instead of trying to match or exceed competitor spending, you can activate audiences and channels when they have the greatest opportunity to convert a real patient. Here’s what that could look like: 

• Programmatic and social media: Rather than “always on” placements that drain impressions and budgets, NPIs can be toggled on / off as they enter or exit potential conversion windows, strategically raising brand awareness ahead of patient visits. 

• EHR advertising: The ideal channel to prompt brand consideration, EHR placements in the clinical workflow make key information on clinical benefits, formulary coverage, affordability programs, and more directly accessible when HCPs are actively choosing treatment options. 

• Sales reps / field teams: Your dynamic NPI list becomes a weekly guide for site visits or outbound calls, addressing any HCP questions or concerns before they hinder a prescription. If your brand is prescribed, field teams are then ideally placed to assist prior authorizations, copay card enrollment, or provide any other support to streamline treatment initiation. 

It's a smarter approach to omnichannel that amplifies the impact of each impression, so your brand is cutting through the noise, not contributing to it. 

Ready to Outsmart Your Competition?

In a competitive indication landscape, script conversion doesn’t come from just being seen—it comes from being seen at the right time. Be the brand that engages HCPs when they make care decisions, with the information they need to make the best choice for their patient. Learn more about OptimizeRx’s dynamic approach to HCP marketing and capitalize on the moments that matter.