The self-care revolution in Spain: keys to boost consumer engagement

Self-care in Spain is going through a transformative period as the pandemic fueled attention to wellness and healthier habits. Currently, the Consumer Health sector represents around 30% of the pharmaceutical market in Spain, and its value is close to €8 billion, approximately 60% of total spending.

This trend highlights the need to connect effectively with the new consumer profiles. It also challenges pharmaceutical companies to differentiate themselves and spotlight their products’ value and benefits. “The Self-Care Revolution. A new omnichannel era for brands and consumers” report by LLYC Healthcare analyzes recent changes in the Spanish Consumer Health sector and shares key recommendations for brands to reach their audiences. The report includes input from Anepf (Association for Self-Care of Health) and top executives from companies such as Haleon, Stada, Bayer, SALVAT, and Atida, among numerous other experts in the field. 

The report outlines three effective marketing and communication strategies for connecting with consumers in the self-care field.

1. Anticipate: Before creating a self-care communications plan, it is essential to understand stakeholders, target audiences, and the business environment. Keeping an eye on digital conversations helps to better understand the audience’s primary interests, preferences, and needs. Using big data or artificial intelligence tools enables the extraction of valuable insights from high-volume conversations to develop customized communication strategies. Also, this initial analysis helps companies outline the different stages of the customer journey.

2. Brand awareness: Effective communication campaigns help establish brand identity. Companies that differentiate themselves have a better chance of being memorable by using the right tools and campaigns to connect with the target audience through various touchpoints and channels. This includes narrative and brand building, programmatic advertising, branding, public relations, SEO, SEM, and influencers. 

3. Omnichannel communications: Companies should aim to provide a seamless omnichannel experience for customers by integrating their communication strategy across all points of contact. According to a recent survey, approximately 60% of customers stated they are more likely to make a repeat purchase after receiving a personalized shopping experience. Thus, personalizing content in each channel and measuring the potential is vital to optimizing and improving any strategy.

The self-care consumer

There are three types of habitual buyers of self-care products:

– The online-only user, primarily women, tends to be younger and price-sensitive, looking for information and purchasing exclusively online. They prefer products with promotions and discounts.

– The convenience profile is typically associated with millennials. They tend to seek information online, compare prices and data, and eventually head to a physical store to purchase. They still value the advice of their pharmacist and prefer to see the product portfolio in person before making the final decision.

– The loyal veteran demographic prefers in-person pharmacist consultations, prioritizes visual contact, and is loyal to the industry.

The recommendations and customer group profiles provide valuable insights for self-care companies to promote their products and solutions, improve their reputation, and communicate their value to society. Essentially, branding has become more crucial than ever before.

“We are facing a new context of self-care, with a greater demand for Consumer Health products,” says Georgina Rosell, Partner and Senior Director of Healthcare Europe at LLYC. “Consumers are more empowered and informed, and they are increasingly concerned about health issues. They are also more willing to tackle them. Pharmaceutical companies and pharmacies must connect effectively with an increasingly demanding consumer in this new context and meet their new needs by highlighting prevention and spotlighting the value of their self-care products versus those of the competition.” 

Read the full report here.