65% revenue growth in a year, with 8% cheaper clicks

Introduction

Our client launched their online pharmaceutical business in Hungary in 2017: without deeper digital know-how, but with serious industry knowledge and ten years of experience in pharmacy retail. There were already competitors on the market with an established online presence and web store.

Their products included OTC medicines and dermocosmetics, since then the range has expanded, and veterinary products are now available too. Alongside price discounts, an easy purchasing process was especially important to them, particularly for those who, because of their health, find it harder to get to a pharmacy.

Challenge

The company had never run digital marketing campaigns before, but they wanted to give it a try, particularly with Facebook and Google ads, to see what results could be achieved in a heavily saturated market.

ROAS had to be kept above a set level for the business to stay profitable.

Solution

At the start of the project we placed great emphasis on the Google Search presence. Since at first we did not know which brands, product categories or products would perform best, we carried out a thorough keyword analysis. On this basis we recognised which keywords performed best in a given season, and built a complex campaign structure with several thousand ad groups covering the whole target market.

Based on campaign performance we identified the best-performing products and brands, the 20% that generated 80% of revenue. For this we used Google Analytics Enhanced E-commerce measurement.

We started the Facebook campaigns with dynamic product ads, targeting users at the bottom of the purchase funnel, then step by step widened the product range and the targeting, moving up the funnel. Remarketing and lookalike audiences also delivered valuable results. We were among the first in the country to start using Google Shopping, which became a key part of customer acquisition, and we launched Criteo campaigns for remarketing.

Channels and tools

Summary

In this strictly regulated industry, accurate measurement and a keyword strategy built on seasonality provided the foundation. Search, Shopping, social and remarketing together built the system in which a significant part of revenue still comes from paid advertising today, with efficiency improving year on year.