In the fast-paced pharmaceutical and biotech sectors, capturing the attention of healthcare professionals (HCPs) through email campaigns is both critical and challenging. Veeva’s Approved Email system, alongside platforms like IQVIA, empowers Product Managers and content creators to deliver compliant, targeted communications. Yet, low open rates, technical hurdles, and regulatory constraints often hinder success. We understand these challenges and how to overcome them.

Overcoming Common Challenges in Veeva Email Campaigns

Below are 10 common pain points faced by Product Managers and content creators when crafting emails in Veeva, paired with actionable solutions to drive higher open rates and engage HCPs effectively.

1. Inconsistent Rendering Across Email Clients

Pain Point: Emails sent via Veeva may display inconsistently across clients like Outlook, Gmail, or Apple Mail, resulting in broken layouts or unreadable content that discourages opens.
Actionable Solution: Adopt a mobile-first, single-column layout using inline CSS to ensure consistent rendering across platforms. Avoid complex CSS or external stylesheets, which may not load reliably. Test emails using tools like Litmus or Email on Acid to identify rendering issues. Optimise images with small file sizes (under 100KB) and include descriptive alt text for accessibility and fallback if images fail to load.

2. Uncompelling Subject Lines

Pain Point: Generic or overly technical subject lines fail to stand out in HCPs’ crowded inboxes, leading to low open rates.
Actionable Solution: Craft concise, benefit-driven subject lines that spark curiosity or urgency, e.g., “New [Drug Name] Data to Enhance Patient Care” or “3 Ways to Simplify Your Practice.” Keep subject lines under 60 characters for mobile compatibility and use Veeva’s A/B testing to compare variations, identifying what drives opens for specific HCP segments.

3. Lack of Personalisation

Pain Point: Emails that feel generic or irrelevant to HCPs’ specialties or needs are often ignored, reducing engagement.
Actionable Solution: Leverage Veeva’s segmentation tools to tailor emails based on HCP specialty, region, or prescribing behaviour. For example, send cardiologists clinical trial data relevant to cardiovascular therapies or general practitioners patient-focused resources. Use dynamic fields in Veeva to insert the HCP’s name, practice, or specialty in the subject line or body for a personalised touch.

4. Poor Mobile Optimisation

Pain Point: Emails not optimised for mobile devices create clunky experiences, as many HCPs check emails on smartphones or tablets during busy schedules.
Actionable Solution: Prioritise responsive design with a single-column layout, legible fonts (14px or larger), and touch-friendly buttons (minimum 44×44 pixels). Use scalable vector graphics (SVGs) or compressed images (e.g., JPEGs under 100KB) to ensure quality on high-resolution displays. Test emails on devices like iPhones and Samsung Galaxy phones to confirm seamless rendering in mobile email clients.

5. Overly Complex Content

Pain Point: Dense or text-heavy emails overwhelm time-poor HCPs, leading to lower open and click-through rates.
Actionable Solution: Structure emails with a clear hierarchy of information, placing the primary message (e.g., a key clinical benefit) in the visible area—within the top 300 pixels of the email, viewable without scrolling or image downloads. Use short paragraphs, bullet points, and a single, clear call-to-action (CTA), such as “Discover New Trial Data.” Include visuals like infographics outside the primary message to enhance, not obscure, the main point. Link to Veeva-hosted landing pages for additional details.

6. Compliance Constraints Limiting Creativity

Pain Point: Strict pharmaceutical regulations can make emails feel formulaic, reducing their ability to engage HCPs.
Actionable Solution: Collaborate with compliance teams early to align creative elements with regulatory requirements. Use Veeva’s pre-approved templates with modular sections (e.g., for clinical data or patient stories) that allow customisation while remaining compliant. Incorporate subtle, compliant design elements like branded colours or approved icons to enhance visual appeal without breaching guidelines.

7. Weak Visual Design

Pain Point: Emails with generic stock images or uninspired designs fail to reflect brand expertise, eroding trust and open rates among HCPs.
Actionable Solution: Develop custom visuals, such as simplified disease pathway illustrations or branded icons, tailored to your therapeutic area. Use consistent typography (e.g., sans-serif fonts like Arial) and brand-aligned colour schemes to build recognition. Ensure visuals are optimised for Veeva’s email module (e.g., under 100KB) to maintain fast load times and compatibility.

8. Ineffective CTAs

Pain Point: Vague or missing CTAs leave HCPs unsure of next steps, reducing click-through rates and engagement.
Actionable Solution: Include one prominent, action-oriented CTA per email, such as “View Dosing Guidelines” or “Join Our Webinar.” Place the CTA button in the visible area (top 300 pixels) using contrasting colours (e.g., blue on a white background) for visibility. Link to Veeva-hosted content, like e-detailers or landing pages, to track engagement via analytics.

9. Lack of Engagement Analytics

Pain Point: Without robust metrics, it’s difficult to pinpoint why emails aren’t opened or how HCPs interact with them, hindering optimisation.
Actionable Solution: Utilise Veeva’s analytics to monitor open rates, click-through rates, and engagement metrics, such as time spent on linked content. Conduct A/B tests on subject lines, CTAs, or send times to identify high-performing elements. For instance, if emails with personalised subject lines achieve 15% higher open rates, prioritise personalisation in future campaigns.

10. Neglecting Dark Mode Compatibility

Pain Point: With more HCPs using dark mode in email clients (e.g., Outlook, Gmail), emails not optimised for dark mode may appear unreadable or visually jarring, reducing open rates.
Actionable Solution: Design emails with dark mode in mind, using high-contrast text (e.g., white or light grey on transparent backgrounds) to ensure readability. Avoid relying solely on images for key messages, as some clients disable images in dark mode. Test emails in dark mode settings on popular clients like Gmail and Apple Mail to confirm legibility and visual appeal.

Why These Strategies Work

These solutions tackle the core barriers to email opens—irrelevance, poor design, and technical issues—while leveraging Veeva’s capabilities to deliver compliant, engaging content. By focusing on personalisation, mobile optimisation, and clear hierarchies, you can create emails that HCPs are eager to open, driving stronger relationships and measurable outcomes.

Elevating Your Veeva Email Campaigns with Brandimage Health’s Strategic Design and Interactive Expertise

Why Strategic Design and Technical Precision Matter

Achieving near-100% email open rates in Veeva requires more than best practices—it demands a seamless blend of creative storytelling, technical expertise, and pharmaceutical industry insight. A specialised partner can transform your email campaigns into powerful engagement tools that resonate with healthcare professionals (HCPs) and deliver measurable ROI.

How Brandimage Health Enhances Your Veeva Emails

At Brandimage Health, a branding agency specialising in CRMs for pharma and biotech, we craft content that captivates and converts. Our focus on strategic design, communication, and multimedia development—without delving into organisational CRM optimisation or complex interfaces—helps Product Managers and content creators maximise HCP engagement. Here’s how we support you:

• Optimised Email Designs for Veeva and IQVIA: We create visually compelling, compliant email templates tailored for Veeva’s Approved Email system. Our mobile-first, single-column layouts ensure seamless rendering across clients like Outlook, Gmail, and Apple Mail, with clear hierarchies placing key messages in the visible area (top 300 pixels). We incorporate custom visuals, such as disease pathway illustrations, and optimise for dark mode compatibility to ensure readability and appeal.
• Interactive Elements for Enhanced Engagement: We enhance emails with lightweight, compliant interactive features, such as clickable mini-quizzes or infographics, linked to Veeva-hosted e-detailers or landing pages. Using JavaScript frameworks like GSAP, we add subtle animations (e.g. a fading CTA button) that boost engagement without slowing load times. These elements are pre-approved via Veeva’s compliance workflows, ensuring regulatory adherence.
• Strategic Communication and Branding Expertise: Our team crafts compelling narratives that align with HCPs’ clinical needs, using personalised content like case studies or real-world evidence tailored to specialties. We reinforce your brand identity through consistent typography, compliant colour schemes, and custom visuals, building trust and recognition. Our communication strategies prioritise clear, scannable content with strong CTAs to drive action.
• Analytics-Driven Optimisation: We leverage Veeva’s analytics to track open rates, click-throughs, and engagement metrics, providing actionable insights to refine campaigns. For example, if interactive CTAs increase click-throughs by 25%, we prioritise similar elements in future emails. Our data-driven approach ensures continuous improvement, helping you inch closer to 100% open rates.
  

Real Results from Brandimage Health’s Approach

Our clients have achieved significant gains, with one pharmaceutical company boosting open rates from 60% to 94% using our personalised, dark-mode-optimised templates. Representatives report greater confidence in follow-up discussions, as HCPs engage more deeply with interactive content. Our modular designs have also cut content development time by 25%, streamlining campaign execution.

Why Choose Brandimage Health?

With deep expertise in pharmaceutical content and Veeva’s technical landscape, Brandimage Health is uniquely positioned to elevate your email campaigns. We combine creative vision with technical precision to deliver emails that stand out, engage HCPs, and drive measurable results—all while staying compliant. Whether you’re aiming to boost open rates, enhance engagement, or prove ROI, Brandimage Health is here to transform your Veeva campaigns.

Ready to revolutionise your email strategy? Book a consultation with Brandimage Health to discover how our CRM expertise can drive near-100% open rates for your Veeva campaigns: