Ramarketing’s founder on driving customer engagement within pharma and healthcare

Ramarketing is a PR and marketing consultancy for pharma and biotech companies. I recently sat down with Raman Sehgal, the company’s founder and global president, to discuss the industry, the impact of the pandemic, and the key to effective engagement in the healthcare sector.

How has the past two years impacted Ramarketing (and the wider pharma industry)?

The pandemic marked an exceptionally busy time for us. Many of our clients have been and continue to be integral to the global development and production of Covid-19 vaccines – so we’ve been supporting them on that. What the industry has achieved collectively over the past 18 months is nothing short of exceptional.

It has been the catalyst for continued growth for us as an agency given our work with the pharmaceutical supply chain and we’ve switched our focus to deploying and developing smarter digital marketing strategies. As part of these strategies, we’ve seen a huge increase in PPC and SEO work, better, faster ways of working (quicker decision making, reduced lead times on activity) and more emphasis on brand differentiation.

What digital trends within pharma/biotech do you see coming to the forefront in 2022?

This year, I think we’ll see a much greater focus on strong, digitally-driven customer experiences with specific attention to detail on adding a hyper-personalised touch when interacting virtually… We’ll also see a bit of a trend change with in-person Photo Editing Services meetings and events. Many will start to scrutinise the value of in-person formats. What can be achieved in person that cannot be achieved digitally? If 2020 and 2021 saw technology as a great enabler, 2022 will see it become truly transformational.

What are the key pillars of effective customer engagement for healthcare and pharma companies?

Trust, expertise, credibility, quality and the ability to serve global markets. Through embedding these key pillars of engagement within their DNA, within their culture, within their entire company fabric, healthcare and pharma companies can become truly agile, responsive businesses that are in tune with their customers’ needs and able to adapt and evolve.

It’s no longer about just providing a product, but also providing a great customer experience, enabled by technology. Only by doing this will they differentiate themselves and genuinely develop a competitive edge.

Tell us about your role… what does a typical day look like for you?

A typical day has to start with coffee – and it’s a theme that runs throughout it! Once the caffeine is flowing through my veins, my main focus day-to-day is around business strategy; looking at where we’re at, where we’ve been, and where we’re heading. It’s been a wild ride the last 12 years growing a global agency, and I like to keep a pulse on the direction of Ramarketing, so I check in with my teams in different time zones regularly.

I’m very involved from a people perspective and so mentorship is still a big part of my life, supporting members of the team where they need it or providing specific coaching on specialist marketing activities or sector topics. I learn as much from them as they do from me.