Digital maturity in pharma marketing: benchmark your brand against industry peers

Key takeaways

• Digital maturity in pharma marketing measures how well strategy, data, technology, content and people work together, not how many tools you own.
• A four-level model (foundational, developing, established, advanced) helps teams see strengths and gaps by dimension.
• Marketers used only 33% of their martech stack’s capabilities in 2023, according to Gartner, so tool usage is a useful benchmark.
• Modular pre-approved content, digital MLR training, adverse event protocols and privacy-safe data practices let compliance support maturity.
• Improvement works best as a multi-year plan that fixes foundations before advanced tactics.

Pharma marketing teams can benchmark digital maturity by scoring themselves across strategy, data, technology, content and talent, then comparing results with outside reference points. Many teams know they need stronger digital capabilities but are unsure where they stand today, which makes it hard to set priorities or justify budget. This Emulent guide gives you a framework to assess your position and plan the next steps.

What does digital maturity actually mean for pharma marketing teams?

Digital maturity means how well your organization uses digital tools, data and processes to reach healthcare professionals, patients and payers in a coordinated, measurable way. A team with low maturity may own capable tools but use them in isolation, rely on manual work and struggle to connect activity to results.

• Strategy and leadership alignment, where digital goals connect directly to brand and business objectives and senior leaders back the investment.
• Data and analytics capability, where the organization gathers, cleans and uses data from HCP interactions, patient programs and research to make decisions.
• Technology and infrastructure, where CRM, content management and automation tools are integrated rather than siloed.
• Content and channel execution, where compliant content is produced efficiently and delivered through email, digital ads, websites and field channels.
• Talent and operating model, where the team has the skills to plan, run and review programs, with clear roles and well-managed agencies.

Maturity is rarely a technology problem alone. Teams with sophisticated platforms can still operate at a low level when strategy, data and skills lag behind.

What are the common maturity levels, and where do pharma teams tend to fall?

A useful maturity model shows strengths and weaknesses by dimension rather than one combined score, so you can focus on the areas that hold you back.

In Emulent’s assessments, most pharma teams score at different levels on different dimensions, often stronger in content than in data or integration. That unevenness is the opportunity, because fixing the weakest dimension usually lifts the others.

How do you conduct an honest internal digital maturity assessment?

You conduct an honest assessment by gathering input from every function that touches digital marketing, since maturity affects the whole organization rather than one team.

• Define the scope, whether a single brand, a therapeutic area or the whole marketing organization.
• List every tool in your stack, who owns it, what it does and how well it connects with other systems.
• Check whether HCP and patient data are clean, complete and usable for targeting and measurement.
• Run a skills inventory to find gaps in analytics, digital content, marketing operations and channel expertise.

Which industry benchmarks should pharma marketing teams measure against?

The most useful benchmarks come from organizations with similar regulations, customers and channels, and they tie to commercial outcomes rather than vanity metrics such as impressions.

Technology usage is one benchmark with solid outside data. Gartner’s 2023 martech survey found that marketers used only 33% of their martech stack’s capabilities on average, down from 42% in 2022, while technology took about a quarter of marketing budgets.

• HCP digital engagement, such as email open and click rates by segment, compared with your own history and any peer data your vendors share.
• Content production cycle time from brief to MLR-approved publication, which leading teams shorten through modular content.
• Martech usage, measured as the share of licensed features and seats your team actually uses.
• Omnichannel coordination, such as whether digital engagement triggers timely field follow-up and the reverse.
• Digital share of voice across paid search, display and medical education compared with competitors.

How does regulatory compliance shape your digital maturity path?

Compliance shapes maturity because FDA and Office of Prescription Drug Promotion (OPDP) rules affect every digital decision, from fair balance to promotional claims. The most common drag is in content production: when MLR review is bolted onto digital workflows at the end, it becomes a bottleneck.

• Pre-approved content modules for core messages, indications, safety information and supporting claims let teams assemble compliant assets faster.
• MLR reviewers trained in social media, search ads, email and web requirements review digital work more quickly and consistently.
• Clear adverse event monitoring protocols cover social media, patient support portals and brand websites, which all create reporting obligations.
• Privacy-safe data practices protect patient-facing programs, covering consent, collection and storage.

Privacy rules now reach beyond HIPAA. Washington’s My Health My Data Act, in effect since March 31, 2024, requires prior, express opt-in consent to collect or share consumer health data, and it applies even to companies that are not HIPAA-covered entities. Build consent management into your stack early.

What does a realistic digital maturity improvement plan look like?

A realistic plan treats maturity as a multi-year program with clear owners, targets and annual reviews. Moving up a level takes time, budget and organizational support, and teams that jump to advanced tactics before building foundations usually stall.

• Start with the gap that costs you the most commercially, whether data quality, content speed, personalization or integration.
• Define what Level 3 performance looks like for each dimension in measurable terms.
• Build internal capability before adding vendors, since agencies can speed progress but cannot replace in-house ownership.
• Create governance with clear owners for digital strategy, technology choices, content standards and reporting.
• Reassess every year with the same framework to track progress and spot new gaps.

Your website is often the first place maturity shows.

How can the Emulent team help your organization move forward?

Emulent helps pharmaceutical and life sciences companies assess digital capabilities, compare them with outside benchmarks and build a ranked plan to improve. Knowing where you stand is the starting point. The value comes from acting on it in the right order.

If your organization wants a stronger, more measurable pharma marketing program, contact the Emulent team.