Let’s not pretend. Some pharma brands in India are miles ahead with tech-led marketing. Most others are still stuck in 2015; they're still running scattered campaigns, using basic CRMs, and hoping reps will somehow fix everything.
If you're a CMO, digital lead, or commercial strategy head, here’s the truth: The gap between the top 20 pharma brands and everyone else isn’t about budget. It’s about decisions. They’ve already made the shift. You haven’t.
This isn’t a thought piece. It’s a mirror. And if it makes you uncomfortable, good. That means it’s working.
The top brands have stopped experimenting. They’re building systems.
Here’s what the leaders in the Indian market are doing right now. No guesses: this is what’s been publicly shared across earnings calls, interviews, and published roadmaps.
- They’ve built internal digital hubs.
- They’ve rolled out mobile-first tools for HCP engagement.
- They’ve linked MarTech to field force and CRM.
- They’ve invested in compliance-led workflows.
- They’re reaching Tier 2 and Tier 3 doctors with vernacular content and WhatsApp automation.
Now look at your setup. If your MarTech for Pharma still means a newsletter, a rep app, and a few agency-managed webinars, then you’re nowhere close.
Your campaigns are still generic. Theirs are tailored per doctor.
Leaders have stopped sending the same content to every doctor. Their systems segment by specialty, geography, past engagement, and behavior. So when an endocrinologist opens a message, it’s actually about endocrinology, not a general product push.
They’ve moved from campaign planning to journey building. Which means content flows that are timed, personalized, and triggered automatically.
You? You’re still blasting emailers and calling it omnichannel.
You’re still manually following up. They’ve automated every next step.
When a doctor clicks on a link, watches a detailing video, or attends a webinar, the top 20 don’t wait two weeks to act. Their platform knows what happened and responds immediately. A rep gets a notification. The doctor gets a follow-up video. The system logs it all.
That’s what MarTech for Pharma should be doing.
Meanwhile, your team is still checking Excel sheets, asking reps for feedback, and guessing what happened.
They’ve fixed compliance. You’re still running blind.
UCPMP 2024 isn’t just a guideline. It’s a shift in how marketing teams operate. Top brands have taken this seriously. They’ve built in MLR workflows. Every piece of content goes through a tracked approval process. Consent is logged. WhatsApp flows are pre-approved.
They can prove audit readiness at any point. Can you?
If you’re still circulating PDFs on rep groups, or sending videos without expiry control, you’re taking risks that will catch up with you.
They reach beyond metros. You barely scale outside your rep network.
Here’s where most companies miss the point. Growth is no longer sitting in Mumbai, Delhi, or Bangalore. It’s in Ranchi, Nagpur, Coimbatore, and Lucknow. The leaders know this. They’ve built digital assets that actually work in these places: light PWAs, regional content, WhatsApp-based follow-ups, even AI chat in vernacular.
You, on the other hand, are still relying on reps visiting doctors once a quarter.
Their teams are enabled. Yours are stretched thin.
Top 20 brands haven’t just bought tools. They’ve trained their teams to use them. Their reps know how to send digital follow-ups. Their marketing teams know how to tweak campaigns in the backend. Their field and digital teams actually talk.
Your teams? Still stuck between a dozen dashboards and agency handoffs. They don’t know what content was sent. They can’t edit anything. And everyone’s waiting on someone else to move.
They’re not perfect. But they’re moving. You’re still thinking about it.
No, their setups aren’t flawless. Some pilots fail. Some tools don’t scale as expected. But the difference is that they’re already in the game. They're learning by doing. They're evolving.
You? You’re still in RFP mode. Still waiting for IT to approve a basic CRM integration. Still calling meetings about “digital transformation” while your HCP engagement is stuck in PowerPoint hell.
What’s it costing you?
Let’s be blunt. The cost isn’t just time or campaign waste. It’s:
- Losing credibility with doctors who are used to better experiences from other brands
- Missing Rx opportunities because your message never landed right
- Burning budgets on reps who are unsupported and outpaced
- Getting flagged on compliance because your systems don’t track anything
- Falling behind while others build engines that scale
And the worst part? You’re not just losing today. You’re setting yourself up to keep losing in 2026, 2027, and beyond.
So what’s the play now?
You don’t need a complete tech overhaul. But you do need to get serious about MarTech for Pharma. That means:
- A platform that connects field and digital
- Real-time engagement insights
- Built-in compliance
- Localized tools that scale outside the metros
- And a partner who actually understands how Indian pharma works
At Valuebound, we’re helping pharma teams stop running in circles and start building engines. We know the tools, but more importantly, we know the ground realities, doctor fatigue, approval bottlenecks, field feedback loops, and ROI reporting.
Let’s fix what’s not working. Not next year. Now.
