In Agile Fashion: Pharma Sets New Trends in Content Production Posted on August 31, 2020 by Andrii Nikulin Each season sets new trends in every business industry, and pharma is no exception. Some trends are born to die faster than someone starts copying them. Others have longer longevity – from a couple of seasons to a couple of years. Similar to fashion, pharma has a rapidly changing, ever-evolving, and ever-revolving nature. Feedback from our partners helped us figure out what makes one creative agency a classic out of pharma world, a regular supplier who’s like a couturier carefully tailoring pharma’s needs, while others remain a one-season (project) thing. Read on to unveil the ultimate trend that will shortly be storming pharma runways. Why do creative agencies need to enter the new stage of content development path? It is now established that omnichannel is a classic that will last in the pharma and the demand is likely only to increase. The omnichannel wave brought along trends on flexibility, operability, and utilization. To maintain an omnichannel model, pharma expects from creative agencies new modes of work and readiness to adjust to any new business trends. The new order has conventionally divided all creative agencies into 2 types – those that are ready for digital transformation and agencies that continue to work under an old design, without offering any innovations. Pharma has to deal with complex workflows – that’s why it is so important to streamline the process. To be an “haute couture” agency means help pharma companies with their content challenges, offer a technological advantage, and deliver content frequently, flexibly, and extensively. In other words, offer something beyond the content like special speed and quality of delivery. Agencies’ top priority now is to bring content requests, briefing, feedback, proofing, review, and approvals into one workflow and conversation feed to provide an agile content process on different steps. What does it take for a creative agency to become a top-notch pharma content provider? Experience has shown how important is to introduce innovations in the content development process. To respond to the demands of this business model, and become the pharma’ permanent contractor, creative agencies must be agile enough and deliver more types of content in a shorter timeframe. That’s why agility has become an ultimate trend for creative agencies to follow. A global study of 161 different companies around the world has divided them into different groups based on their relative stability and speed scores: slow and unstable – trapped; slow and stable – bureaucratic; fast, pure and simple— start-up; and those that combined speed with stability – agile. The study has shown that agile companies enjoyed a far greater premium: the odds that one of them would rank in the top quartile for organizational health were 70 percent. Three working models that set the tone for agility Agility doesn’t happen overnight. However, agencies that incrementally improve their content practices end up becoming more agile. Agencies that are sought to adopt technologies that ensure agile workflow for detailing, landing pages, and emails – orchestrate the whole process better, and leverage their teams more effectively. Tunable and sensitive technologies provide flexible creation, collaboration, management, publishing, and promotion of digital content for their pharma clients. The Viseven team has vast experience in working with hundreds of brands from all over the world. It helped us identify three working models that set the tone for agility. Agile teams Consistent processes within your team of content creators ensure quick reacting, thereby minimizing the risk of internal disruption to supply. Companies with content authoring solution in place support better communication and content workflows across the organization, which makes them more agile. As a result, they create more collaborative space for their teams and client to work together on each step of the content lifecycle. Agile assets Each piece of content needs to go through a lot before it’s finally ready to publish. When a content item is created from scratch, this essentially means the manager and agency have to compile all the materials required, and then review and approve the ready content item detail by detail. Every single part of this process takes some time and effort. That’s why your assets are supposed to be flexible. Modular content is the epitome of flexibility with its deep content editing and a library of approved digital assets to be reused. This is the solution to supply content in the amounts required – while maintaining quality. Modular approach introduces new ways to create content for eDetailing presentations, email templates, and landing pages and ensure that each component is customizable and 100% responsive. Explore more than 10,000 possible formats that provide flexibility in the content creation process with a Flexible Framework. Agile processes If the content supply chain is not rethought or changed, your marketing plan is not meant to be. Companies with agile content supply chains can recognize and respond to potential risks promptly and equally fast seize growth opportunities. The right technological solution helps them build the publishing process correctly, establish the relationship and interaction of elements at every stage, which leads to better content reuse. The solution to embrace agility Content creation is a complex area where many components come together and intertwine. It is both the precise and painstaking work of creative minds – at a fundamental level and a technological base, which ensures that interactive content can be created from scratch, localized, and approved in a few clicks. However, in trailblazing creative agencies, the right digital content creation platform is like a needle and thread – sewing together their content creation efforts. As a rule, creative agencies choose a solution that supports their centralized and thoughtfully planned strategy to manage digital assets. The flexible content authoring solution helps respond, pivot, and market faster and better than the competition. One of our content partners, boutique communication agency DrCom has shared with us the feedback on how they tackle today’s challenges associated with pharma content development. DrCom specializes in helping pharma companies with their content challenges. To do this, they bring their clients and stakeholders into their agile content process on different steps. They believe that there is a solution to produce content for pharma clients in sufficient amount and variety – and at sufficient speed. They embrace agility with the content authoring platform with in-build integrations and collaborative workflows. They integrated eWizard platform into their projects as the solution for omnichannel orchestration of their global campaigns. Bruno Senouci, Managing Director at DrCom describes how the use of eWizard platform affected their content development processes. “When pitching new content production projects, DrCom includes eWizard as an essential tool. DrCom has seen how large projects can go off the rails without strong content workflows and sees eWizard as the best tool to manage risk — and save clients’ money. The eWizard platform, combined with the Cobalt framework, is a truly powerful combo, allowing us to fulfill all our needs from idea/initiation to the omnichannel orchestration of global campaigns.” DrCom’s induction packs outline the workflow each piece of content must pass through from briefing to publishing. They mirror this in eWizard with the agile content workflow. “Workflow in eWizard is a really good way for helping the client understand the whole process that one piece of content needs to go through before it’s ready to publish”. DrCom appreciates how easy it is to change workflows midway through a project when staff changes or new requirements emerge. Final thought Time dictates the need for creative agencies to bring more products to the market, faster than ever. With a growing number of channels and systems, improving your distribution of content is essential for driving new business. eWizard improves your digital asset flow from creation and approval to consistent delivering of content across channels. The platform encourages parallel workflows and productive collaboration among cross-functional teams (Editor, Designers, Developers). Editors can post updates and fresh content without needing to hand it off to developers. This unified content platform allows editors to organize content and design assets for use and reuse across channels, expanding their reach, and improving brand consistency. Trends come and go, unlike flexible digital solutions that are always in fashion. That’s why digital agencies are busy rethinking their strategies, defining their creativity, and looking for new solutions to problems and challenges. Contact us to open up even more possibilities to add flexibility to your pharma content creation processes.
Remote communication – new edition: find out how to Posted on August 5, 2020 by Andrii Nikulin How did the lockdown affect the pharma universe? Of course, a much bigger focus on digital. But how did the pandemic situation affect and change the scope of communication? Look at this clear-case scenario: traveling is restricted, in-person engagement is limited, and office meetings are something gone (at least for a couple of years to come), namely all the measures to mitigate the risk of the virus expansion. Throughout the world CEOs of leading companies decided to allow their employees to continue working from home and come back to the office only if they feel ready. The coronavirus outbreak in the USA led to the resettlement of the American employees to their home offices, while remote work leveled up to 62% in April. The work-from-home trend is gaining popularity in every part of the world. Such a move is altering industries without exceptions, even working spaces of many healthcare professionals “moved” to any home-space due to no access to numerous hospitals. Hence the majority of all “customer-facing” medical representatives are converting to communicate with doctors remotely. These days virtual tools for communication are gaining momentum and firmly anchored in companies’ engagement strategies all around the globe. Availability and spread of advanced technological solutions ease communications and allow both to collaborate productively with customers and inside teams. Remote detailing became crucial for life sciences and pharmaceuticals in terms of adapting to these new times and seizing a lot more opportunities in HCP engagement. New rules of engagement A brief overview of digitalization: In the beginning, digital was kind of a nice-to-have idea added to pharma marketing promotion. Then it became indispensable but still part of other offline activities (for too long medical reps’ visits were the only channel to approach a doctor). But next came the COVID19 situation, and digital turned into not only a needed means but into the real solution. For example, in China, as the fastest-growing digital country, 61% of HCPs are willing to engage in remote meetings. Besides maintaining the medicine manufacturing there are 2 giant challenges, namely, how to sustain steady relationships between pharma and HCPs, and an urgent need to provide medical representatives with sufficient materials and trainings that help conduct remote meetings accurately. These and some more challenges require pharma to gain flexibility, implement an agile content management system, and select an advanced technological supplier. When physical presence and an office space are no longer needed, what are the key benefits for the pharmaceutical industry? Cost savings Enhanced coverage (as no special equipment is needed) Increased HCPs’ loyalty Higher call frequency Constant personalization (thanks to the flexible technology) Steady support for physicians Also, in the light of recent events, these were appeared to be of immense significance: Integration with any CRM system: no need to change it Video connection is always available Expanded opportunities to connect to a few HCPs simultaneously Due to the latest research, only 26% of US remote workers admitted that if it were up to them, they would return to their offices once businesses reopen. …and what about HCPs? Physicians, of course, are dedicating lots of their time to patient care. Switching to remote communications with pharma representatives, doctors save working hours to connect with patients or whatever professional activity they stick to. Therefore, the format of video call would suit them far better, and this is not only because of restrictions, but mainly due to convenience. Let’s highlight a few wins of remote detailing for healthcare professionals: Place and time control of a remote meeting Access to the latest medical resources and materials Professional support in any situation and at any time Choose the right solution to meet new pharma’s needs There is a huge number of top-notch solutions presented on the market, how to choose the one for yourself? A good example is Veeva CRM Engage Meeting that has to be one of the most advanced solutions for many years. It is a 100% compliant solution for life sciences that can easily become a part of an HCP’s natural workflow. It’s easy to meet HCPs’ needs with Veeva Engage, always be successful and compliant. However, not each pharma company can afford such an advanced solution. The reasons can be different. As an example, this would be a much better fit for large pharmaceutical companies as Veeva’s solution is still more tailored for their requirements. In some cases mid-level and emerging enterprises should opt for a solution that is designed especially to fit their needs. In this regard, a good option is a flexible content authoring solution that allows both creating eDetailing for remote calls and running online meetings that can be effortlessly plugged into any CRM system. What is more, at the end of every visit such system allows to collect and store medical rep’s personal KPIs, such as the number of calls, duration of remote calls, and rate of interest to each presentation. Such solution involves not only the remote call channel but also other channels to empower your communication with – email, webinars, websites, or landing pages. See the great practice to enhance HCP-to-MedRep communication via web-based audio and video, screen sharing and remote control capabilities Pre-call A medical representative is provided with a laptop or tablet for the project and takes part in trainings to learn to work with the platform. Invitation An invitation email is sent to HCP (during a face-to-face call, for example) Confirmation After the remote meeting is confirmed, an email with a link to join a call is sent to the physician automatically. Reminder A quick notification should be sent 1 hour prior to the remote session along with a link to join a meeting. Remote call execution Sharing of a presentation between a medical representative and HCP during a remote call is done via a browser. What is more, it does not require the physician to install additional plugins or applications. Follow-up HCP survey and a follow-up email with all the materials are sent immediately after the remote session. Post-call analysis Why is call quality assessment of high importance? Recording and analyzing your reps’ calls after remote sessions can generate numerous insights regarding the overall performance and strategy view – and used for future communication enhancement and improving conversation skills. Call recordings could be also used as a training or educational resource for others, so it turns out to be an important step in much more solid HCP engagement. Such a post-call activity is good practice – it allows managers to identify the team’s pain points in communication, let us say, some technical issues during remote eDetailing, technical skills gapping, difficulties with explaining some product info, etc. The same goes for listening to the best practices – it enables a medical representative to evaluate their own performance while comparing to the best ones, and in return find out how to improve personal communication skills. After launching remote detailing just in a couple of months Viseven team gathered numerous insights and improved the following: Integration with AWS Chime to expand Remote Calls functionality, completely change and improve UX&UI, and deliver excellent performance All in one independent solution that provides excellent communication service, supports KPIs collection and pulling the data back to CRM ONE-to-MANY communication, so that MedRep can choose whether to have an individual call with HCP or organize a mini-conference for a group In such a new time of change and uncertainty, Veeva and other CRM providers offer excellent remote detailing solutions that really have the potential to transform and reinforce the pharma-physician relationships. However, the key is to choose the one that will correspond with your business needs. Launch virtual communications in a safe and easy way to overcome any challenges the world of Life Sciences might be facing right at this moment. Feel free to write to our team of professionals who will eagerly demonstrate a demo to show the eWizard platform in action.
5 highlights from Veeva Commercial and Medical Summit Online 2020 Posted on June 29, 2020 by Andrii Nikulin There is nothing special about the fact that a summit hosted by the pharma digital tech giant Veeva is special every time. The North American edition of the Veeva Commercial and Medical Summit 2020 on June 9-10, however, was even more noteworthy. This was not just because of its online format or the very slowly dispelling shadow of COVID-19 lockdowns – but also since so many relevant topics were addressed from a practical point of view. Modular content, AI, digital engagement, customer journeys, omnichannel, data integration – over the past years, these topics were presented at pharma events from a theoretical, somewhat idealistic position. This time around, we are seeing a whole bunch of more practical takes on these. The seed of new tech-inspired visions seems to have come to fruition at last. Much of the content from the summit (except the roundtable talks) is still available on demand until July 8 on the official event page. Now, this would be too bad of a spoiler for the audience to give away everything we the Viseven team have appreciated about the sessions – and this would take at least 5-7 blog posts like this – so here are just the 5 top highlights for your consideration. Our own experts have more or less unanimously agreed that these will have the most impact on the way digital pharma will run engagement campaign and manage content in the coming years. Before we take the plunge, though, let’s have a very brief overview of the topics that defined the summit and its atmosphere. Veeva Summit Online: a bird’s eye view One of the recurrent topics at the summit was (naturally enough) the forced transition to different forms of remote engagement when interacting with HCPs and other stakeholders. With the “new normal” being the buzzword of the year so far, its meaning for pharmaceutical marketing and communications is more or less clear: it is time start that digital multichannel engagement already. With the new accent on remote eDetailing, online events and Approved Emails, enterprises are trying to discover digital engagement that is as personal as the F2F rep calls. An anxious-looking question on whether or not Approved emails can really be considered personal engagement (posed at one of the sessions) was a perfect illustration of that eagerness to stay in contact. Further delving into the issue was done in a session by Crossix on “bridging the gap” between personal and non-personal promotion. As part of the commercial operations flow within the summit, Mark Fleischer, CEO Physicians World, Veeva, delivered a presentation on virtual events organization, including the choice of content and platform. This, naturally, makes the companies lay more accent on customer engagement strategy – in an effort to avoid simply aggregating digital channels and look at the way it looks from the customer’s perspective. Jennifer Turcotte of Salesforce presented a practical take on building automated customer journeys. On the other end of the spectrum, an entire session (led by Veeva’s Ian Hale) was dedicated to the relevant metrics throughout the content lifecycle. Measuring content performance was an idea that reverberated across several superb presentations, including a take on modular content by Jay McMeekan of Bayer (accidentally, also the highlight #3 in this list, see below). An interesting moment was letting an HCP have a say and describe their perspective on digital engagement – in a Q/A session with hematologist/oncologist Andrew Moore, M.D. Another big question was data. The current situation requires a more progressive approach to insights – and approaches are not something that is solved in terms of CRM metrics alone. In Jay McMeekan’s words, Compared with other industries, and pharma in other countries, U.S. pharma has a preponderance of data. But for the most part, it’s not about access to data, it’s more about ho w to use it – and how we plan our engagement, taking into account that information, and not just using it as an afterthought, or justification for an outcome. An entire section of the event was dedicated to data and intelligence issues, with sessions on Veeva OpenData, Vault API use for data exchange (a topic that fascinates IT departments), as well as a marketer’s and strategist’s take on customer reference data from Biogen. A Veeva Data Cloud Overview (including planning, patient segmentation, commercial analytics, AI, territory design, targeting, and incentive compensation) on Day 1 should be noted, as well. Of course, this is by no means an exhaustive overview of the summit – with still more on commercial operations, expanding role of the rep, Veeva Nitro, compliance and Approved Notes worth noting for all those who plan to request the summit sessions. Meanwhile, let’s move to the highlights that impressed our specialists and are most likely to produce long-lasting impact. #1: Best Practices for Approved Email Success (roundtable) Approved Emails, Veeva’s own service for rep-triggered email messaging, has provided pharma with a way to sidestep the shrinking rep admission rates and keep up the frequency of interactions even before the pandemic. Now its relevance has skyrocketed for Veeva users, who are increasingly interested in, and aware of, the possibilities of this tool. This roundtable featuring Cindy DiNitto, Manager, Commercial SMB Customer Success, consultant Amy LaForgia, and Maria Ruoto, Senior Customer Success Manager (all Veeva professionals) reveals the key points about the service and channel. While Approved Emails present the way to maintain contact and is easily combined with other channels, recent months have seen increased use, not only with the traditional cases but also as a way to invite the HCP to a remote meeting. On the other hand, there is the problem of overloading the target audience. Email is a great channel as long as it is not annoyingly frequent. Everything above a certain saturation level turns it into spam, which is a great concern. According to Cindy DiNitto, It’s not like, “wow, I have all these templates on my iPad, let me just start sending these out”, it’s really having use [case] based training for your field so then you know when is the good time to send that email. Although (or even because) the system does not impose any hard limits on the amount of emails sent (only a warning message), field reps have to be trained in order to develop a sensitivity as to when sending an Approved Email is appropriate. We can add that this is, in fact, one of the staples of omnichannel thinking – operating in terms of touchpoints – applied to CRM field activity. Of course, there is also growing interest in the possibilities of personalization, such as free text fields in the templates. That factor draws in its “evil twin”, namely, the need to track and maintain compliance. As mentioned by Maria Ruoto, among other things, a good practice is setting restricted words for free text inputs; however, the truly best practice is providing adequate change management to allow reps feel in control while keeping compliant. #2: Automating Claims Management with Novo Nordisk (Session and Q/A) A core claim is an object that represents a piece of information, e.g. “Brand® demonstrates 48% higher efficiency in eliminating long-term effects of [condition]”. Besides the text, this object holds fields for supporting data, obligatory and desirable references, maybe diagrams and additional meta information (from text variants to notes as to how an agency should place this claim on a slide or email they develop). Managing claims is new and promising approach in pharma brand messaging, and was discussed by Bernie Klemmer, Director Marketing Operations at Novo Nordisk in a session and Q/A at the summit. At the time of writing this, his team is in the process of approving the first batch of such claims – the first stage out of four in a process of implementing this innovative mindset. Apart from, obviously, achieving greater consistency and compliance with medical and regulatory, the approach allows to streamline MLR review and make it easier and quicker for agencies to create compliant content. Once the claim document template has been developed with brand team and MLR, it becomes possible to build a library of preapproved claims for such use. Potentially, this allows for more advanced tracking, as well. At the initial stage of implementation, the pilot stage, Novo Nordisk singled out just one brand and one audience to test the approach and identify possible points that require attention. This involves, among other things, enhancing the claim object with fields to hold data for size and placement, additional text, footnotes, (optional) required or related diagrams, etc. At the second stage, more organizational questions are solved, covering the approval of text variations, expiration procedure for claims, etc. Overall, this approach is very likely to be adopted (with variations) across the industry, since it responds to pharma’s inherent MLR review issues and presents good opportunities to solve them. #3: Impactful Customer Engagements – Making the Modular Content Connection with Bayer (Session and Q/A) Modular content is a huge topic in pharma marketing circles right now. A module is essentially the molecular unit of any content – a claim (as in #2 in this review) plus a component or component group (an image, diagram, chart, etc.) that illustrates it or provides context. Such a building block is essentially channel-agnostic and can be featured in an eDetailing presentation, an email, a website, banner, or any other digital content type. This approach is now revolutionizing the way marketers and agencies work with content, with great benefits in terms of cost efficiency and message consistency. Jay McMeekan, Senior Director, Digital / Multichannel Marketing at Bayer, with his characteristically pragmatic take, starts addressing this issue with data. We have already quoted this session above: the way pharma uses insights is a more pressing issue even than where to obtain them. McMeecan continues along the following lines: how do you know if the content your organization pays for is performing well and resonates with the audience? In an analogy with personal finance planning, he proceeds to compare content with expenses and channels with payment methods. If you really want to track the ROI of your content, you have to be able to look beyond single channel and converge data: You need to begin with a clear measurable goal from the start, or you will never be able to access your performance against your expectations. Especially if you only rely on historical sales data or market share. Waiting until you get your credit card bill to know if you can pay it? I think we can all agree it is not a sustainable financial strategy. To this end, content modules created must be channel-agnostic and easy to use within different content types. This allows for an additional source of cost efficiency: not only is duplicate agency work eliminated (as predesigned modules are mixed and matched), but the marketer makes sure and continuously tracks that only the content likely to perform well is produced. This assessment of customer engagement in real time is made possible by a clear, hierarchical tagging of modules. Each module comes with a tag composed in a certain predictable was that is unified across the organization. We shall see in the very near future how this approach evolves further on – and it will be interesting to say the least. Our own expertise building modular content strategies for our pharmaceutical customers at Viseven has so far yielded impressive results and the concept is constantly improved. For more on modular content within this article, see the bonus section below. #4: Compliant Content to Support the Customer Journey (customer panel with Roche and BMS) This customer panel featuring Samantha Knott, Global Customer Operations Lead at Roche, Cara Pellegrini, Senior Director, Business Practices Group at Genentech (A Member of the Roche Group), and Dinesh Salvi, Head of Enterprise Veeva and Commercial Systems at Bristol Myers Squibb, and led by Pooja Ojala, Vice President, Commercial Content, Veeva, was an ambitious endeavor. In about 45 minutes, the participants managed to cover their organizations’ approaches and solutions to current issues with commercial content and operations – an impressively wide topic with dozens of possible starting points. In this case, the starting point chosen was a systematic overview of recent effort, starting with situation and challenges, through solution and outcomes for each of the organizations. The result was a panoramic view, with some of the challenges and aspirations overlapping. A focus on evolving the operational model is present across the companies. Among the challenges Roche encountered and solved was the huge decentralization, with notable silos, e.g. between commercial and medical – and no dedicated project resource. At the same time, BMS aimed at resolving the challenges of competing priorities and changing marketplace. The two stories coincide in their solution – namely, evolving operating model. The ways to achieve this were different, but sometimes involved thinking along similar lines. While Roche and Genentech supported this with end-to-end content management (and not just facilitating the MLR), Bristol Myers Squibb, too, made an effort to control and streamline the entire content lifecycle. In this latter case, the modularization (“atomization”) of content was also involved. #5: Veeva Andi Roadmap (yes, it is AI in your CRM) Veeva Andi is an AI embedded in Veeva CRM to make next-best action suggestions. As exciting as it is by itself, considering how this can enhance field performance with the ability to process loads of data, there is even more to help pharma users facilitate the workflows. Brian Mahoney, Practice Manager, Digital Field Engagement, Veeva, unveiled several key points about the roadmap for the upcoming Veeva Andi features. The roadmap was presented along two principal lines – (1) customer touchpoint optimization, and (2) making AI easier. With the power of data and intelligent suggestions, Andi is “poised” to offer additional digital channel models based on the analyzed interactions, as well as suggest what content will engage and perform better. Additionally, such features as weekly top territory insights and targets and models and traits for field users are supposed to be added later on. In terms of facilitating AI use, Andi is going to be more than a smart “black box”, with the possibility for the user to choose data sources in Cross Data Source Logic Agent Builder, as well as look inside the process and take a more proactive stance with a suggestions editor. This is by no means an exhaustive list – more functionalities covering samples and Marketing Cloud integration, to name a few, were also announced. One interesting observation When looking at the discourse in the pharma communications and tech circles over the past year or so, an interesting observation can be made. Business rules, workflows, people and skills, tech, content and strategy – all of these factors are now finally being treated in conjunction that they deserve. People have started talking holistic – and taking steps towards a holistic approach, where tech is part of the equation, as is everything else. At the same time, the very tech used in pharma has become more integrated and integratable – gone are the days when business unit heads had to break everything they had in place into pieces in the name of innovation; today’s technology is plugged into the existing business models. It adapts itself – and slowly, painlessly transforms the organization from deep within. + even more on modular content and how to start Modular content is an example of such a mindset. While enabled by tech solutions, the concept of modularization is a response to needs and challenges at multiple levels. Content reuse and repurpose possibilities boost cost-efficiency; the approved and redistributed nature of modules circulating across the company’s ecosystem facilitates MLR and improves agency workflows; core claim tracking enables greater data – coming full circle at ROI again. How do we know this? Viseven team has been among the enthusiasts and pioneers of modular approach and has successfully implemented it with a number of global pharma and life sciences customers. For example, a recent case demonstrated speeding up MLR all thanks to a modular content authoring solution integrated with Veeva Suite. This is where we as a Veeva Technology Partner help start with modular content approach. eWizard content authoring solution not only supports the creation of modules, but is integrated with Veeva, provides the possibility to dive into deep editing directly from Vault PromoMats, serves as a connector between Veeva and systems like Salesforce Marketing Cloud. You can see how easily all of this is done in practice in a set of videos showing the functionality and workflows – the shortest possible guide into starting out with modular content. Additionally, have a look at what eWizard platform can offer you to streamline Approved Email production and approval in Veeva. Select one of the sections below to access the overviews.
Pharma Content Marketing: How to Create once and Deliver your Content across Channels Posted on June 24, 2020 by Andrii Nikulin The way your brand is presented matters. It’s crucial for pharma and life sciences to build new connective “tissues” between their brand and the audience. This new stage requires from pharma not just delivering their brand stories but making them valuable – if pharma ambassadors want to be “value providers” (not just product promoters, or data deliverers). When it comes to a more in-depth definition of this new approach, the quantity of the content matters less, while quality ultimately goes first. The multichannel way of thinking in pharma content marketing is consistently spreading: promotional messages become channelless; they are tied, thoroughly mixed, and ready to provide relevant information to healthcare professionals (or other audience) in the moment of search. That’s the new promise of multichannel, and, consequently, the new promise of pharma content marketing: creating and distributing relevant content with consistent messages across channels to attract the target audience and earn its loyalty. In a nutshell, there are two alternatives for pharma marketing leaders how to meet an ever-increasing demand from tech-savvy consumers: to care about the content only or to care about the customer first. In our guide, we will tell you more about content marketing production, explain what any given marketing strategy of pharmaceutical companies is, and share some pharmaceutical marketing tips with you. What is a Pharma Marketing Strategy? A marketing strategy for pharmaceutical products is a detailed plan for reaching the company’s target audience and converting it into its customers. A pharma marketing strategy is about understanding who might be interested in your services and what might motivate them to choose your company as a service provider. Effective marketing strategies in the pharmaceutical industry should include the following elements: Market analysis; Company vision; Assessment of the company’s target audience; Branding & messaging; Risk evaluation. The chosen pharma go-to market strategy must not only help your team determine the target audience but also be aligned with the overall company’s goals and objectives. The development of strategies for pharma marketing requires a lot of time and effort, and it involves high-level planning of all the necessary steps in order to achieve the desired results. An effective digital marketing strategy for pharmaceuticals should consist of defining priorities, identifying the target audience, allocating resources, and managing the implementation of all the stages that were determined beforehand. And don’t forget that often pharmaceutical strategy works in tandem with other processes and tactics, such as a marketing plan or a sales strategy. Even though marketers are not responsible for pharmaceutical sales strategies, they should work with sales representatives to ensure their marketing strategies are aligned with the objectives of other teams. Collaboration is key to success, and without it, both strategies won’t be as successful as they could be. What Kind of Content Will Win in the Pharmaceutical Industry? There are many types of pharmaceutical marketing strategies, but the one that is likely to be winning has to include the kind of content that’s both engaging and useful. That is the so-called true multichannel content, which is: Inspirational; Relevant; ABM-friendly; Measurable; Closed Loop; Emotional; Adaptive at every stage of decision making. To succeed in marketing strategies for pharma, the chosen type of content should address the concerns of a multichannel customer, and multichannel content is just the right choice in this case. What is a Pharma Marketing Plan? A marketing plan is a roadmap, meant to guide you through all the hurdles and ordeals on the path to the implementation of a chosen pharmaceutical digital marketing strategy. In other words, pharmaceutical strategies can be served as a high-level overview, while a marketing plan is an outline of all your marketing objectives, tactics, and efforts needed to achieve your goals. Here are some of the components a marketing plan typically includes: Content plan; KPIs; Situation analysis; Timeline; Budget; Team roles. Your pharmaceutical marketing plan should come next after your strategy, meaning that first you come up with the latter one, and only then you devise a marketing plan and use it to execute your ideas. The marketing plan is supposed to support your strategy and help you answer such questions as “Why? Where? When?”. Pharmaceutical companies’ marketing strategies and plans should come together, since implementing just one will not have such a positive effect as having both of them in use. How to Get Started with a Top-notch Pharma Marketing Strategy? Whatever marketing strategy was chosen, it needs to deliver the right content to the right audience. Thus, it’s worth relying on an account-based pharmaceutical marketing strategy (ABM) that allows targeting specific groups at the right time, place, and in the manner they expect pharma to reach them. How to switch your content marketing flow to the next level of quality, and make your content a trusted source? Before implementing a content strategy into a marketing campaign, do deeper research on your audience, using automated marketing tools such as content management systems, advanced web analytics, search engine optimization (SEO), etc. A platform for content creation can take over all the stages of your content marketing campaign. Such a solution helps to keep brand identity, maintain recognition on both global and local levels, and avoid redundant costly operations. Good pharma content should be based on strong customer insights from prior interactions (how HCPs/patients are interacting with your content; how much time they spend on each content piece; what actions are taken upon the initial interaction, etc.). By reviewing all past activities, your customers have with your pharma content, you can easily identify the types/formats of data which they better respond to, or what content was turned down. This is how an account-based content strategy works: it helps to create targeted messages that will impress and engage customers. Explore Content Marketing Production: Veeva & Viseven Integration Over the years, Veeva has been supporting global life sciences and pharmaceutical enterprises helping to bring their products to market faster and in compliance with all regulatory requirements. A powerful integration of Viseven’s deep expertise in omnichannel content creation and the full pack of Veeva products and services guarantees streamlined workflows and advanced digital content development and distribution – that, in turn, ensures the highest level of brand awareness. You can easily create the best-in-class interactive content from scratch, localize or approve your content in a few clicks – and distribute it across channels assuring a genuine omnichannel customer experience. A strong tool for multichannel content management is a must-have for every pharma professional. There’re countless capabilities incorporated into the eWizard platform to boost your content creation productivity. Thanks to the customizable integration of eWizard with Veeva Vault PromoMats, users gain a vast array of opportunities to skyrocket their content management to a whole new level: access global repository, find or leverage approved digital assets, publish them across multiple channels, and speed up time to market. When you have your eDetailing created in eWizard, you can open it in your Veeva Vault account, and get a deeper view on the exported PDF or any initial materials as well as find all the details of related modules. A New Concept of Pharma Content Management Truly multichannel content is channel-independent, limitless and timeless Viseven team has recently introduced its new concept of such a type of content creation to the digital pharma universe. A clear message is created once, and then distributed via channels to which that message perfectly fits. Don’t get it wrong, the channel matters; however, it cannot have the same power as the content behind the channel – that matters much more. The channel should become rather a means, not an end. To stay on the new level of content creation, pharma has to think of the message first. Based on these principles, here are some marketing strategy tips on possible steps to be taken: Forget about the one-size-fits-all market approaches The point here is to look through customer’s point of view, to feel their emotions. Let’s say, at what time, through what channel, and what content type they prefer to consume. Focus on interactive content Find a shortcut from static PDF presentation to create multichannel content for an excellent eDetailing; it would be perceived as an engaging story with a wide array of interactive visual aids. Such presentations are working in the most engaging way, especially when it comes to HCPs-pharma reps’ interactions. If you already have a PDF file, you can convert it into an interactive, Veeva compatible format as well as add navigation or any interactivity to your eDetailing if needed, and automatically publish it to the Veeva environment in a single click. Analyze, Localize, and Measure A quality measurement system is a stepping-stone for future success. Measure the time spent on the page, the number of downloads, shares on social networks, etc. – to calculate your return on investment. In such a turbulent pharma environment, it will be a tough task to sustain success in the long run if your assets are not updated regularly and adapted to local needs. The Importance of Storytelling as a Pharma Content Marketing Tool Storytelling in healthcare and pharma matters no less than in any other industry. Let’s make it clear, a good, uplifting story helps to tailor your content to customers’ needs. Initially, it comes from analyzing the pieces of content that are stronger than others; in other words, the ones that better resonate with physicians’ needs. Healthcare and pharma enterprises should tap into these particular emotions with whatever content type is chosen (engaging IVAs, videos, blogs, triggered email campaigns, messengers, etc.), and make effective use of them in the marketing. Your content should be able to affect, motivate, encourage, and inspire physicians to take the needed actions around your brand. No matter how well-structured your content is – it won’t work if it doesn’t stir emotions. This way the loyalty to your pharma brand won’t be lost. 4 basic practices that are of crucial importance to pharma professionals: Have all your assets constantly updated; Personalize each interaction; Use remote detailing for greater engagement; Deliver your content across all the digital channels instantly. Where data is, matters Let’s face it: the HCP audience has different needs at different stages. The initial stage (this is the so-called awareness stage) is where physicians gather data for early diagnostics. Then goes the consideration phase – HCPs focus on a myriad of pharma products; choose the brand that resonates with their needs. The last phase is the evaluation phase when the product is chosen, and it’s time to justify the ROI, gather analysis or get a more in-depth understanding of the brand. The peculiarities of these stages should be mapped to your marketing strategy. However, a multichannel marketing for pharmaceutical companies is often as good as the technology that powers it. To keep up with channel diversity, tech-savvy physicians, or Big Data splash you need to have an automated instrument at hand that is enriched with actionable insights. Get rid of content silos To jumpstart the launch of your multichannel campaign, consider using a content management system that will make your content creation flow fast and easy, and align your internal teams around a single, centralized data repository. The Viseven team has proven experience in transforming messages into channelless, flexible modules. This smart approach allows you to create content once – and reuse/republish it everywhere, from email to CLM presentation to the system of your choice. Our unique solution eWizard is integrated with Veeva Vault PromoMats, Adobe Experience Manager and IQVIA for easy access or distribution of content and modules. This is how pharma can meet any specific need and keep high-quality content lifecycle that’s digestible for HCPs’ audience to consume. Here, at Viseven, our pharma professionals can provide you with full support in executing a truly winning content marketing campaign. Fill out the form below and start creating winning multichannel strategies that will surpass your expectations!
Reach Out to the HCP: Omnichannel Communication Channels Posted on June 19, 2020 by Andrii Nikulin Marketers seem to have an affair with their customers… This type of relationship is also based on mutuality, in the sense that each of the parties must be aware of them. Marketers are also trying to spark customers’ interest with the messages to achieve interaction. In the end, all this is done in order to turn initial fascination with your brand into long-term relationships. Basically – win brand loyalty. In the process, we are trying to find an individual approach to customers and interact with them through those touchpoints that allow us to reach out to their hearts. In omnichannel marketing, we do the same thing with the help of multiple communication channels. Each of them has its own value that should not be underestimated – this is the foundation of omnichannel communication. Let’s see to efficiently use channels in your omnichannel strategy so that win HCPs’ hearts. Top channels to reach out to the HCPs Pharmaceutical brands maintain a dialogue with their target audience through various communication channels: emails, eDetailing, webinars, websites, landing pages, etc. Each audience is ready to perceive information through different channels according to their specific needs. You may ask which one is the most effective? The answer is to use a mix of channels that are best suited to the needs of your customers and stimulate value-based conversation. The starting point in the battle for HCPs’ hearts is to be confident in their channel preferences, and lavish them with valuable data and insights in a timely and accurate manner. Here are the top channels for HCPs engagement by the number of assets: eDetailers eDetailing improves the performance of medical representatives, provides relevance and high quality marketing materials. According to statistics, 46% of HCPs prefer the use of a tablet when receiving sales information from med rep. The combination of traditional and innovative methods of interaction with doctors is the key to creating high-quality long-term communication. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, there has been a need to engage HCPs at the distance. Remote detailing (online detailing sessions) has proven to be one of the best for maintaining long-distance relationships with the doctor. This solution provides a quick schedule of a call at the time that HCP finds convenient. In fact, 76% of HCPs said that remote detailing fits into their work schedule better. One of the strongest benefits of this communication channel is the interactivity, flexibility, and feedback that can be collected during the presentation from any device. The right content sparks interest in your company. See how the team of experts in eDetailers development create content that engages HCPs. Email Emails assume their rightful place in omnichannel strategy as those that create a special bond with the doctor. 66% of HCPs want to be able to receive emails from life science reps. The advantage of email over messengers is that there is no pressure and no “seen” sign. Emails give HCPs freedom and exactly that much of the information they need at that very moment. In their turn, brand managers love them for a high level of personalization and clear insights about the preferences of the customer. Moreover, email easily gets along with other channels like eDetailing or remote detailing, complementing each other’s results perfectly. Additional communication channels Many brand managers are turning to omnichannel to combine channels in a way to ensure a consistent exchange of content and create highly personalized HCP experience across all specific devices, such as mobile, tablets, or laptops, etc. It’s no longer enough to build a dialogue with a customer through one communication channel, it is recommended to use combine a few of them. Studies have shown that using 3+ channels for communication improves your engagement performance. For comparison, using three or more channels in an automation workflow earned an 18.96% engagement rate, while single-channel earned a just 5.4% engagement rate. To stimulate a frank and constructive dialogue between you and the HCP, you need to know the capabilities of each channel to understand the time it should be used during the customer journey. Don’t forget, the more channels, the more options HCPs have. Accordingly, brand managers also have more options to strengthen relationships with HCPs. Messengers Omnichannel and messaging platforms are both highly scalable which makes them a perfect fit for each other. Once, messengers replaced the good old SMS and became a primary form of communication. You can benefit from the use of applications such as WhatsApp, Viber, and Telegram since your users don’t have to download any additional applications. Moreover, no training on working with this application is needed, because many HCPs are probably using them for personal reasons, and are aware of their functionality. Messengers allow you to create message templates that perfectly reflect your brand. This ensures consistent customer interactions, saves time, and helps improve customer service. WhatsApp has a strong position all over the world. This application is ideal for many businesses. Marketers use WhatsApp for customer care (appointment scheduling, instant communication) and notifications (reminders, follow-ups). The functionality of WhatsApp allows you to distribute text, pictures, message templates, images, documents, and audio. Moreover, WhatsApp provides active and clear opt-in messaging, and any channel can be used to start the opt-in procedure. WhatsApp will routinely check a business opt-in flows and monitor the quality signals in WhatsApp Account. Viber makes it possible to synchronize all messages on all devices. Moreover, there are features to add a call to action button in your marketing message with a link to redirect the customer to another website. Facebook Messenger is an instant messaging app. It provides a high level of personalization. The great thing about this app is a chatbot that allows you to minimize the time employee spent on messaging. Chatbots are programmed to respond to customer requests instantly. Besides, your platform can transfer all negative comments from social networks to private messages. This means that companies can analyze the client’s needs and inquiries thereby immediately improving their user experience. The platform is reliable and that’s why so many people choose Facebook Messenger for personal reasons and know how it works. Telegram allows brands to communicate with their target audience using text messages, photos, location information, etc. HCP can interact directly with your brand by asking questions in real-time. Since Telegram works in the cloud, the application can be used on all your smartphones, tablets, and computers at the same time. Your messages are synchronized on all your devices, which makes it easier to keep on track of the conversation moving from one device to another. Webinars Even though this channel is a little bit underestimated in the pharma industry, it has shown its full efficiency potential during the pandemic. Webinars have proven to be a powerful channel in an omnichannel engagement strategy. The main feature of live webinars is interactivity: participants can discuss, ask questions, send, and receive information in real-time. Regular webinars engage HCP and improve brand performance. This channel works perfectly in conjunction with email. Email remains the most effective channel to invite your target audience. Along with a reminder, we can also give some useful content (for example, as a teaser). Also a good idea is to use the functionality of adding events to the calendar in the email and/or on the registration page (Google, Apple, Outlook) After the webinar, the success can also be consolidated with surveys + webinar recording (video on demand). The survey can collect topics and ideas for future events. Mobile-push & web-push Mobile-push notifications are sent via a mobile application that is installed on the user’s device and via a specific browser in which the user agreed to receive them. It can be a browser installed on a desktop or mobile device (shows even if it is closed and the device is not locked). 50.42% of respondents said that push notifications are useful if they can choose to opt-in to websites or apps of their choice. After a user subscribes to push notifications, a website can send them alerts. Subscription occurs with a visitor’s consent in one click in the service browser window. When used properly, this channel can bring a ton of benefits to your campaign, such as low costs, quick preparation of the content (sometimes even a Content Hub is not needed), a strong focus on CTA and clicks, instant delivery, and many others. However, this channel has its drawbacks. One of the main is that the lifetime of one subscription token is relatively short (on average, up to 60 days, it is reset when the browser is updated and cleaned). Digital Channels Synergy at the Heart of Omnichannel Excellence Brands are looking for coherent and holistic interactions with customers. Communication channel is a powerful tool for doctors’ engagement. However, simply adding these communication channels without connecting them will not bring the expected outcomes for your company. The term ‘omnichannel’ implies the practice of combining channels (website, emails, social, apps, remote calls, ads, etc.) into an integrated system in which one channel leads to another. Digital channels synergy will make your every HCP interaction highly personalized and always relevant. Today, many brands have already implemented a multichannel approach, which gives certain advantages over traditional interaction through one channel. However, only a few have known omnichannel excellence and understood the difference between these two approaches. Omnichannel is a completely new level of personalization providing interconnection with the information transmitted between them. In omnichannel, each channel is actually a bridge connecting your brand and the doctor in a holistic dialogue. Think about using additional communication channels and tie them up into a single omnichannel system. Our team of omnichannel experts can assist you at every stage of building an omnichannel strategy, from selecting the right tools to the full integration of all communication channels.
How to make pharma brand messages reinforce one another with email fragments (2 practices) Posted on June 19, 2020 by Andrii Nikulin The tactics then work like this: providing the type of content the HCP finds most valuable and diluting it with the messaging that the company needs to make them aware of. For example, an HCP mostly interested in a cost-efficient treatment option can be engaged with a calculator, accompanied with information on prescription. Without this information, they would require a second step to consider prescribing the product – namely, searching for that information online. Making that step easier helps stimulate the dialogue. When one message boosts the other What’s important here is that each interaction presents real value for the HCP. Instead of engaging the physician at one touchpoint to capture their attention and then hoping to “push the agenda” on the next one, the two are combined whenever possible within one interaction – e.g. one email. While this was more or less what field reps were trying to achieve in F2F calls, in remote engagement this becomes more important. A rep’s own experience and empathic skills allow them to sense when to say this or that, but with things like remote calls, emails and the web, without “seeing the eyes”, maintaining attention is trickier. No matter how great your previous email performed, there is always the chance (however small in the best case) that the next one will go unopened because the subject line did not engage enough. And this is where the “digital oversaturation” starts to matter. With many a marketer freaking out at the start of national lockdowns, customers experienced a storm of messaging – and pharma recognized the dangers. With email, this is especially easily trackable – after a tipping point, the open rate starts falling down and unsubscribes get more frequent. The good thing is that the solution was found quite fast – being twofold: more value think intensive, not extensive engagement This is, in many situations, perceived as a matter of common respect to the HCP audience. A characteristic quote from an expert (in an interview to pharmaphorum) goes: It’s time for the pharma industry to treat physicians as professionals, not as marketing targets. HCPs don’t prescribe something because someone says it’s a nice product. They want the good of their patient and offer them the most appropriate treatment. We need to have real discussions and move toward ‘augmented representatives’, who can use authorised sources on the internet or elsewhere to inform physicians and deliver better customer experience. Florent Edouard, SVP, Global Head of Commercial Excellence, Grünenthal group How difficult is it to implement this, though? Practices vary, and in many cases, this boils down to content. One does not simply launch the production of hundreds of, say, email templates to engage anyone in any possible combination of circumstances along the omnichannel journey. Enter the new approaches to content creation. “Smart content development” approaches According to statistics, as many as 58% of pharma spent over $50 million on content annually – and only 13% of marketers in pharma/biotech thought they were efficient in leveraging content. This was several years ago, and now the situation is starting to improve gradually for some players (although the measurable impact is now only noticeable individually for each enterprise or affiliate). The tactics that help improve are somewhat alike. Instead of “feeding the beast” and struggling to get the budgeting for evermore, pharma is adopting smarter material development approaches based on content reuse. This means that instead of having to create a lot of similar (but a bit different) content items – email templates, CLM presentations, etc. – marketers first work to single out the “recurrent”, reusable elements in them. For example, telling the doctor about the results of a recent clinical outcome in digital content typically means the lines of code (and designs, and layout, and concept) that should look the same in different emails. However, traditionally, they were developed separately by different agencies, creating duplicates and making the company essentially pay for the same thing twice. In the new approaches, these fragments are developed once to be reused across as many content items as possible. This is especially easy to illustrate with email templates: a fragment represents an entire block that can be inserted into an email template anywhere between the header and footer whenever needed. What are Email fragments and how they work As of now, there are two practical implementations of this strategy when it comes to email, and we at Viseven are now experiencing a surge of interest from different customers to both of them. The difference boils down to when exactly the predeveloped fragments are added to the template: In the office at the final production stage. This is also called Modular content, and the flow is like that: initially, email modules and templates are developed. The “dirty” work of coding and testing is done when there is time enough, and when the right moment comes to unleash the content to the market – the office (marketers, in-house teams) use a content authoring tool to simply combine these blocks into whatever final form they want. In a recent case, it took a company only 3 days to produce and approve fully functional emails for urgent communication. By the end users in the CRM/CLM system. This is as ad hoc as it gets, and this is an option that Veeva CRM The templates are produced with “slots” for a fragment to be inserted, and the fragments are published in Veeva Vault by themselves (and approved each one by one). The field rep can then send an Approved Email, to with they “drop” the fragment with which they decide to engage the HCP, making a lightspeed decision on the spot. For a practical case with the former of these variants, look at this case study. Here below, we will focus on the practices with Veeva. What you will read is a summary of several cases into just two that generalize the trends. Practice 1. Going beyond eDetailing to provide more value As a reaction to coronavirus-related restrictions, many companies adopted remote eDetailing practices to keep HCPs and reps in touch with one another. Remote Detailing, as a channel, typically gets supplemented with email activity – namely invitation and confirmation emails, as well as follow up Approved Email from reps. This spelled opportunity for the users of fragments. A “standard” follow up email for a remote call typically thanks the doctor for taking the time to engage and provides a way to give feedback on the interaction. It is only natural, though, to include additional information that can interest the account. Some organizations practiced profiling their account database according to preferences and psychological types, some left this to individual reps. Suppose we have three types of HCPs: those who value RWE and clinical trial data, and are interested in the scientific part of information about any product the patient-centric thinkers who peruse profiles and want examples of how the product will actually solve particular issues and complaints the HCPs with a strong sense of community, relying on guidelines and key opinion leaders. A generic email template is first created: Then, the fragments are developed as soon as the general need for them is identified. In each individual case, then, it takes minutes to complete the Approved Email with additional valuable information: In this way, the field engagement tactics get more flexible, the HCPs receive more value from each interaction, the marketers can instruct reps on prioritizing fragments to give more emphasis on particular key messages, all the while content production itself gets rid of repetitive load and becomes more cost-efficient. Practice 2. Having key message transported by transactional emails In the previous case, it was one template, several fragments with different information/key messages. In this one, it’s reversed: one and the same fragment dedicated to driving home a particular message, is used across a number of email templates. The particular key messages used in this case may vary; for the demonstration purposes, we can assume it is an upcoming virtual event. A fragment is developed to promote it, providing information and a link to register: Then it can be inserted into the invisible vacant slot in different email templates: In this way, the promotion of the event does not require an additional touchpoint with the HCP, instead relying on the engagement and interest sparked by the email that hosts the fragment. The overall touchpoints reduce, eliminating the oversaturation risk, but their intensity rises. In both cases, the content was created and managed using eWizard content authoring solution by Viseven team – integrated with Veeva Suite and covering a broad range of functionalities useful for pharma content creation and management. Pharma promotion in the post-COVID-19 world COVID-19 may go away some day. The large push towards innovation that came with the quarantines will yield results that likely won’t. If one could summarize what is happening with pharmaceutical companies’ communication to HCPs now in 1 point, that would be fulfilling the promise. While the industry has long promised – and to a considerable extent delivered – value-driven interaction, this was considered a long-term transformation that would take decades until the ideal would be reached. Under the present circumstances, though, this has become an imperative for here and now, ASAP. It is safe to assume that tomorrow’s HCP engagement will be exponentially increasing in personalization, infinitely attentive to the HCP’s needs and preferences – and much more efficient, flexible, with ROI expectations rising. Email fragment and modular content practices are just some practical steps on this way – but also among the first to take. Viseven is currently experiencing a rising interest for these practices and approaches. Our professionals engaged in such projects will be glad to share the insights and experience with you – as well as demonstrate the platform that enables them. Do not hesitate to request more information and a free demo here. Pharma’s communication with HCPs can be an odd phenomenon. Strategically, it is a mission of bringing value to physicians; on a tactical level, it’s a complicated game of smart, creative approaches. The pandemic situation worldwide pushed ever more life sciences marketers and brand managers to emphasize engagement via digital channels. However, the fear of “digital oversaturation” (i.e. HCPs getting spammed and fed up) stimulated smarter takes on making communication more intensive at each touchpoint. In this article, we discuss 2 variants of an interesting approach to reinforcing brand messages – based on Veeva Approved Email fragments. Turning up the volume on remote communication in pharma The spring of 2020 may become material for a chapter in marketing books for future generations. Because of COVID-19, pharma marketing experienced a more violent disruption than ever before, as F2F rep calls suddenly stopped being an option. In a survey by PM360, 63% of respondents confirmed rep access was “near zero at this time”. The rapid, hectic rethinking of entire marketing cycles, with the obligatory shift towards every other channel except in-person calls is starting to bear fruit right now. Until recently, many an organization, especially regional affiliates, used to consider digital channels of communication as supplementary to the “true” F2F eDetailing. Now these are no longer the experiments for the digitally advanced – the “alternative” channels have gained their moment in the spotlight in everyone’s strategy. These include, among others: remote eDetailing sessions rep-triggered email mass mailing campaigns social messengers web (sites, portals, landing pages) Of these, of course, email has become the general favorite – understandably so: name an HCP who does not have a mailbox. However, exactly this channel was where anxieties and questions have started to arise. As early as April 2020, experts already warned that inconsiderate and abundant use of email would desensitize HCPs – with more and more emails even from famous and trusted brands landing in spam, and doctors unsubscribing en masse. This is where the already digitally savvy managers saved the day for many a campaign – instead of playing the old game of who shouts louder, they started experimenting with approaches more empathic to the physician – emphasizing value and providing fewer but more intensive touchpoints. By May, about 60-70% HCPs still wanted to continue the dialogue with pharma even in times of the coronavirus – so it’s definitely worth it to study how exactly life sciences managed to maintain attention. Personalization: a horizon, an asymptote… a necessity In mathematics, an asymptote is that imaginary straight line on the graph denoting a value to which the main trend is getting closer and closer without ever reaching it completely. Even if it seems the graph has crossed that line, you only zoom in to find there’s still some way towards it. In a way, this is what personalization is to marketing; the more of it brands provide, the higher and more refined the audiences’ expectations and standards. It’s a horizon to follow indefinitely, chasing the sunshine of customers’ attention. Putting aside the philosophical question of whether 100% personalization will ever be achieved, “chasing the sun” is definitely a necessity. Marketers in numerous pharma companies are now adopting omnichannel customer journeys and rigorous database analytics, raising the plank for everyone. Approaches to personalizing the engagement for physicians vary and multiply. Just one of these involves studying the psychology of the target HCPs and establishing a segmentation based on their preferences and “archetypes”. An example of this approach has been provided by McKinsey and Across Health even before the pandemic.
Omnichannel Tools and Software for Communication Channels in Life Science Posted on May 18, 2020 by Andrii Nikulin Over the years, businesses faced a transition from one channel to multichannel, and now omnichannel. Today, this is what everyone is striving for. Earlier in this blog, we covered many aspects of omnichannel communication, from the difference between multichannel and omnichannel to why omnichannel is the must-step toward digital excellence for Pharma. It’s time to identify the best omnichannel marketing tools and services to connect with your customers. These tools will pave your customers’ journey from the beginning to the point of complete satisfaction with your brand experience. What are Omnichannel Tools? Omnichannel marketing is all about connecting with a customer on different levels across multiple channels, and omnichannel tools are what can help companies achieve it. The goal of omnichannel marketing is to create comfortable communication between the brand and the client, regardless of the chosen platform. Thanks to the omnichannel approach, it becomes possible to create a personalized connection with a customer. And the final touch in this process is the best omnichannel tools that make it possible to deliver customized messages, interact with clients, and drive engagement. Why do Life Sciences Companies Strive for Omnichannel? Over the pharmaceutical business and beyond, major brands have already recognized the importance of moving to an omnichannel approach. Some are already starting to integrate it into their marketing strategy. So, what is the essence? In the end, it will always boil down to the consumers and their experience. The modern customer, be it a doctor or anyone else, no longer interacts with the brand through one platform. With the comprehensive development of technology and the opening of numerous digital channels, customers now have a dialogue with brands via different channels (websites, emails, social, apps, remote calls, ads, etc.). One might wonder, the more channels of communication you have, the more likely your message will be picked up. However, the brand’s task is to make sure that the flow of information coming from different channels does not turn your communication strategy into a total mess. It’s as if your customer communication strategy were an overture performed by an entire orchestra. Various communication channels would play the role of musical instruments. If each instrument plays its part coherently, you have a chance to get harmony in the output. Omnichannel builds upon the good old multichannel approach but with one extensive modification. In multichannel, all channels are available for the customer but not connected, whereas in omnichannel, all channels are interconnected, thereby making the customer experience holistic. The Tools and Software to Strike up an Omnichannel Marketing Campaign If you’re just about to jazz up the dialogue with your customers and implement omnichannel, you have to rely on robust tools and services whose coordinated actions can improve all aspects of your marketing efforts. Having a good set of those in your case, you will be able to manage individual campaigns, cross-channel campaigns, and personalized customer journeys based on those campaigns. 1. Marketing Automation Tools A marketing automation system is the bandmaster of your strategy, able to analyze lead behavior and measure overall campaign performance. A well-thought-out solution collects a wide range of data from multiple sources and helps you segment your audience smartly. This includes several categories of functionality: email, social media, web marketing, and analytics. Such omnichannel marketing software can add that personal touch to your campaign and make it more focused. It’s an empath with a fine appreciation of your customers’ behavior, an indispensable instrument providing the necessary basis for the development, and colorizing of your omnichannel dialogue with the customer. If marketing automation software is the brain, the CRM is the heart allowing you to record, in detail, each customer’s journey. Omnichannel customer interaction tools help you to view channel information in real-time and represent a center for their response. In fact, a CRM system provides individuality and empathy, which is so important to a modern client who is used to special treatment. 3. Content Marketing Platform Comparable to a string bow, content is your tool to masterly hit the string sections sensitive to your clients’ needs. It’s a powerful enabler of consistent brand messaging. Moreover, content is your brand’s voice, true identity, and mission. The omnichannel strategy operates smoothly only when the content is developed correctly. However, there’s a lot to handle regarding the development of content that would fit any communication channel. That’s why a choice of a content authoring solution plays such an important role in omnichannel pharma marketing. Regarding this, eWizard omnichannel marketing platform offers Modular Content as a solution. This content, existing beyond devices, channels, and campaigns, enables marketers to create content once and publish to many systems. It is not just a brave new marketing trend; this promises to be the ultimate future of content. Download our eBook to have a comprehensive picture of Modular Content and its capacities in omnichannel pharma marketing. 4. Social Media Omnichannel Tools Social media management platforms are a crucial component of omnichannel messaging tools for managing multiple social profiles in one place. This is the tool to ensure uninterrupted communication with the audience, consistent messaging, publication planning, and analytics tracking on different platforms. Moreover, they help you transform your content every time so that it fits into every social network. By using omnichannel marketing management tools, you can efficiently create targeted messaging and publish it. 5. SEO Tools Tune up the sharp hearing needed to get more traffic to your site and a higher ranking in search results. SEO tools will give you this and many other great features, from SEO site audit to competition analysis and ranking tracking. Just as the heart cannot function without the brain and vice versa, all these social selling omnichannel tools will not bring the expected outcome without their integrated efforts. The whole point is not just to have them, but to harmonize their work. 6. Omnichannel Customer Support Tools Omnichannel support tools are designed to not only assist companies with providing consistent messaging and high-quality customer service but also ensure reliable and timely support. There are different ways to offer customer retention, the best ones being live chats, chatbots, customer support integrations for social media management platforms, and messaging apps. 7. E-commerce Platforms and Marketplace Integrations Omnichannel sales tools assist businesses in creating their presence online and making it stronger by providing seamless customer experiences and opportunities for growth. Moreover, such platforms often offer integrations that make many processes easier, such as order fulfillment or inventory management, while also enabling a unified shopping experience. Some of the best omnichannel sales tools are Shopify, Magento, and Channel Advisor. You can also use omnichannel networking tools to build customer relationships and centralize communication with your clients. Some great examples are Genesys and Zendesk. The final chord At this stage, omnichannel is a rather young kind of art, and companies are still figuring out how to manage it correctly. If you master this craft and build elaborate omnichannel architecture, you will be able to expand it gradually and get the expected outcomes for your brand. If you are already armed with many of the listed omnichannel marketing tools – make them strike up. Turn to our experts for insights and guidance to have a broad picture of all omnichannel subtleties.
Viseven is a Salesforce Consulting Partner Posted on May 6, 2020 by Andrii Nikulin TALLINN, Estonia, April 30, 2020 – Viseven Group is happy to announce its newly acquired status as a Salesforce Consulting Partner. Having an extensive history of mutually beneficial collaboration with Salesforce.com, the entire team is proud of involvement with the world’s most recognized business platform – and looking forward to the new opportunities of bringing genuine value to our customers in life sciences. The connection and integration of Viseven’s powerful eWizard multichannel pharma content authoring platform with Salesforce allows to elevate the benchmarks even further. The entry to the Consulting Partner Program confirms the alignment of Viseven Group’s strategic goals with the values embodied in the Salesforce community. The program is focused on Customer Success, Innovation and Engagement – three core principles that resonate perfectly with what Viseven does for life sciences companies in the realm of digital transformation: attaining omnichannel excellence and value-driven brand communications based on tech solutions and impeccably personalized content. Working along the lines envisioned by the Program will allow to further expand Viseven’s own ecosystem of collaborations and offerings spectrum to drive that vision. By now, Viseven has been providing expert assistance and content development services to global pharmaceutical companies for 10+ years along several lines: multi- and omnichannel expertise omnichannel content development (eDetailing, email templates, websites, mobile, VR and AR applications, CRM and CLM capacities) transformation in the content supply chain with the unique eWizard platform eWizard, an end-to-end multichannel content authoring solution for life sciences, provides an extended set of tools that cover pharma and agencies’ industry-specific needs in content creation, reuse, adaptation (including localization) and management. Throughout the history of the platform, this vast range of applications has called for a broad integration scope. Notably, eWizard is integrated with Veeva Suite (which features the Salesforce-based Veeva CRM). To bridge the customers’ email strategy with the overall omnichannel excellence, Viseven has integrated the platform with Salesforce Marketing Cloud. This allows eWizard users to create and update high quality mobile-friendly email templates, while also enjoying automated publication to the Marketing Cloud for use. In this way, Viseven connects the pharma content world with the array of Salesforce business activities – a solution that many customers have specifically pointed out as a major win. Viseven Group’s mission is firmly established: we help pharma companies provide omnichannel experiences for stakeholders, build value-based relationships and spread the word about innovation in their field. How do we achieve this? Expert-led digital transformation, professionally crafted content – and an innovative approach. Our collaboration with Salesforce is an essential driver of success along these lines, especially when you consider how firmly entrenched Salesforce.com-based solutions are in the business processes of our customers. Working to build upon these capabilities and provide for even higher achievements is a large part of what we do. Nataliya Andreychuk, CEO Currently, eWizard platform boasts a substantial set of integrations, covering the needs specific to the pharmaceutical industry. In terms of email, the solution allows pharma brands to: Repurpose preapproved brand master email templates to be used in Veeva (Approved Email) and SFMC Build email content modules to mix and match (header, image+text, etc.) Automatically publish user-assembled email templates to Veeva Vault for review and approval Export the approved email template to Salesforce Marketing Cloud for distribution As a Salesforce Consulting Partner, Viseven provides a team of certified specialists and consultants who skillfully guide the customer through the entire process of implementing the new omnichannel approach, from developing a strategic roadmap and platform configuration to training and maintenance. At the time of this writing, Viseven includes a number of Salesforce certified professionals holding the title of: Salesforce Certified Platform Developer Salesforce Certified Marketing Cloud Email Specialist Salesforce Certified Marketing Cloud Consultant It is the company’s endeavor to extend the number of certified specialists as early as by the end of Q2 2020, as well as to work with Salesforce to provide more possibilities to life sciences customers. Want to learn more about how to use the maximum potential of SFMC for your brand’s omnichannel success? Contact our experts to find out how the possibilities of Salesforce and eWizard platform can boost efficiency and fit your strategic objectives.
Powering Through the Pandemic. Plan Your Content Production Facilities Growth Posted on April 24, 2020 by Andrii Nikulin The situation with the COVID-19 outbreak is influencing all business areas, including Pharma. Changes are now inevitable. We need to be ready to face those new challenges ahead. We’re all witnessing a big marketing shift in the Pharma industry, and no one knows when we can go back to the regular life. The type of content that matters has completely shifted. Remote lines of communication have become more important than ever before. Creative Agencies must be quick to adjust to the “new normal” brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic – or be left behind. Let’s talk about how to adapt your agency to the shift in channel usage, effectively accept new challenges, and stay on top. Market Situation and Pharma’s Trends in 2020 It’s not yet time to look back on 2020, but it can already be said that it is one of the most challenging years for pharmaceutical companies. The conventional way of doing business has disappeared. Pharma companies and Life Sciences are being put under significant pressure related to cancelation of medical congresses, business trips, and remote working. However, sales reps are probably affected the most. The routine of med sales that were driving from one hospital to another, shaking hands with physicians has flipped on its head. Nearly 60% of the larger companies are already considering the possibilities to roll-out/upgrade and implement new technologies to engage HCPs. The relatively limited use of “online” industry communication models in the past has now proven to be a problem. Let’s take a look at the major challenges that have become more apparent since the coronavirus outbreak. Shift in channels usage as the latest trend in pharma marketing (F2F vs remote) Face-to-face visits are ruled out from the daily routine without a date. The question arose: how to keep HCPs with med reps? We are starting to realize the importance of digitalization for the pharmaceutical industry. The shift toward remote visits (remote detailing) has become a very digital way out, enabling close cooperation with physicians at a safe distance. In the end, the pandemic may shift pharma sales to remote detailing permanently because of the flexibility of this solution. However, the shift to remote communication channels may become a bumpy ride for some agencies. So, where is the complexity? This is a completely different type of content, requiring a completely different approach. First, customize your process of content production to remote communication channels. It means that agencies should not focus on manual technical work, but rather bring content solutions to the table. Flexible modular content can become your selling point in this case. It can be easily adapted to remote communication and can be later reused in other channels – embodying the true essence of cross-channel marketing. To learn about the ultimate concept of modular approach in about 3 minutes – download our free PDF. Diminishing resources Pharmaceutical companies are busy evaluating the long-term effects of the coronavirus. Experts are racking their brains about how it will eventually affect their business model and operational processes. According to a survey, cash flow and financing problems are the main concern for 50% of companies. 20% of the respondents believe that sales will drop somewhere up to 20%. Accordingly, live sciences companies will not squander their marketing budgets in 2020. Pharma will invest its resources, including financial, into easily deployable and cost-effective digital solutions. Digital agencies need to provide the initiatives to cut the marketing resource consumption. In an increasingly competitive environment, the victory will get those who can deliver advanced and high-quality solutions to the market. Content that matters now. Top digital channels in 2020 In light of the shift to remote means of communication, Pharma’s requests will center on digital content to reach out to HCPs remotely. That will be websites, emails, and banners that can be easily launched and deployed. In 2020, omnichannel customer-centricity is front and center of any marketing campaign. Accordingly, pharmaceutical companies will try to coordinate across their cross-functional teams and apply all their digital talents to make the patient-centric approach work. · Remote eDetailer presentations Presentations for remote communication will become a top priority. In the situations when in-person meetings are forbidden or HCPs are in a hard to reach territory, or simply can’t be approached during their working hours – remote eDetailer is your option. It will help the brand manager to represent a pharma company like that one that HCPs can trust. This is also an option to build a trusted brand name, organize successful HCP digital engagement regardless of the situation now. Localization Pharma is looking for a cost-effective solution for content localization (eDetailers, approved and broadcast emails, landing pages, etc.). It’s important for Life Science companies to speak to their target audience across all channels of communication in a consistent language. It displays the pharma company’s respect and care of any country where the brand is promoted. Above all, Pharma managers need special content authoring solutions to create and publish digital assets. That’s the reason why a powerful integration with Veeva Vault can help you with content localization, updating, publishing, storage and approval. · Online ads Pharma companies are also increasing digital advertising spend since print materials will not be so effective when people are stay at home. It’s also a way out to compensate for leads they would pick up at events and conferences. In this context, digital banner ads can provide as significant return on your marketing investment. A recent report found that 74% of marketers believe their banner ads are relevant to their target audience. · Landing pages We observe a demand for landing pages creation that is a powerful instrument for the much-talked-of patient-centricity trend. To create to provide a more customer-friendly web experience, an individual page is created for each product. Pharma’s organic search is directed not to complex corporate sites, but to simple and clear webpages, where which medication has its own place. This is a powerful pharma marketing tool with clickable CTA buttons which help to achieve a positive, long-lasting impression. · Emails The switch to remote communication automatically crates enormous demand for emails. It was and remains an important part of remote communication with HCPs. Email is a good channel to announce products updates, reach HCPs which can’t be covered by F2F visits, and drive website traffic. This is a type of interaction providing targeted communication and delivering key messages easily and quickly. Email as a channel empowers marketing communication. Combined with other channels – remote visits, webinars, messengers, web-sites – it ensures consistent brand performance and seamless customer experience. Pharma’s priority is to find a solution that will help to avoid manual work and publish ready-made emails automatically to the selected target system. That’s why we found it necessary to provide eWizard with an opportunity of one-click publishing to Veeva Vault, review, approval, then export and distribute to Salesforce Marketing Cloud. What’s Your Reaction? Develop Clear Strategy to Help Your Business Grow Thinking through digital content strategy, creative agencies should consider that the content production process should be suitable for the COVID situation and also speaking long-term. In other words, create content that will be easily adapted to any communication channels and face-to-face visits further on. eWizard: Your Solution to Make it Through the Storm and Beyond To thrive even in difficult market conditions creative agencies are turning to partnership with other digital providers. The right partnership opens up the possibilities and fuels greater achievement to augment your own capabilities. Besides, focusing on new processes that help generate creative strategies and messaging, agencies need to promote innovative, effective solutions for content management. This will favor the agencies that can act quickly to provide qualified people and efficient services to fill in the gaps, in addition to creative leadership. Viseven Group’s flexible approach to partnership empowers creative agencies to develop any type of content for any communication channel. In-built platform integration to the leading systems like Veeva Multichannel Suite, IQVIA OCE, Adobe Experience Manager, Salesforce Marketing Cloud put our content partners in a strong competitive position on all fronts. They can create omnichannel content in entirely new ways and automate common tasks across the content supply chain. We cater to healthcare communication agencies majorly through our platform, also with our expertise in building end-to-end content delivery models embodying the true essence of cross-channel marketing. eWizard is our number one digital omnichannel content authoring solution for pharmaceutical companies. Using eWizard you can easily create, update, and deliver omnichannel content: eDetailing, emails, microsites, remote calls. Our core mission is to pioneer an innovative approach to content production, where flexible modules can be created once and then published into multiple channels. It’s not a digital fairy tale, this is the ultimate modular approach that will make your content creation practice more comprehensive, traceable and reusable. This content, existing beyond devices, channels, and campaigns, enables marketers to create content once and publish to many systems. How we empower our agencies with the help of eWizard platform: – Correspond to the latest market trends and meet your customer needs – Scale your agencies facilities and expand portfolio effortlessly – Make production less expensive, resource-heavy and time-consuming – Win new pharma clients and grow your business – Streamline creation, management, and delivery of content – Optimized collaboration within the digital agency team and with a client – Become a customer environment connector. Integration with other systems including Veeva, Adobe, – IQVIA, Salesforce, and many more. Quicker than a storm, coronavirus has left our lives and pharma industry in a black hole of uncertainty. No one knows when the pandemic will stop and what an effect it eventually will have on the industry. The way out is to adjust your agency so you won’t be afraid of any storm. With a proper content authoring solution providing for flexible, reusable content, that fits any channel, system or device – you’ll always feel confident about your agency regardless of any marine forecast. Contact and explore the universal approach to creating content.
Multichannel vs. Omnichannel Marketing in Pharma Posted on April 8, 2020 by Andrii Nikulin Marketing is no longer about promoting and selling products and services. It’s about providing an exceptional and continuous customer experience. According to the State of the Connected Customer research conducted by Salesforce with the participation of nearly 17.000 people: 88% say that customer experiences provided by businesses are as crucial as their products and services; 73% anticipate companies to understand their unique needs and expectations; 56% always expect offers to be personalized; 43% prefer non-digital channels to engage with businesses. Digital and non-digital have emerged into a unified hybrid environment where healthcare professionals (HCPs) and patients consume and generate terabytes of diverse data across multiple channels using multiple devices. Here’s a table of available channels and their limitations: The pharmaceutical multichannel approach has become a tried-and-tested technique for many companies that are still hesitant about adopting the latest customer engagement techniques. Time proved that even being multichannel isn’t enough for a pharma business to create caring and unsuspicious relationships with customers. The overwhelming success of creating personalized customer experiences in omnichannel e-commerce retail led to the adoption of this practice by pharma businesses of all sizes. Each asked the same question: “What is the difference between omnichannel and multichannel?” If you want to compare omnichannel vs. multichannel, read this guide until the end. What Is Omnichannel vs Multichannel? The omnichannel approach is a marketing method that unifies different channels companies use to reach out to customers and fosters a consistent brand voice and messaging across all platforms and devices. Omnichannel is a customer-centric approach, meaning that all marketing efforts evolve around ensuring that users have a seamless customer experience every time they interact with a brand. The multichannel approach also uses various channels to communicate with customers and promote products or services, but it does not necessarily integrate all channels into a unified customer journey. For example, a promotion sent by email might be completely different from an ad a customer sees on Instagram. Omnichannel Marketing vs Multichannel Marketing: What’s the Difference in Pharma? The main difference between omnichannel and multichannel marketing strategies in Pharma is in the focus of the company’s strategy. A multichannel strategy focuses on the product or service by promoting it with the same static message across multiple channels that act separately. An omnichannel strategy focuses on the healthcare professional who gets a seamless experience with consistent brand messaging across all the channels integrated into a single communication environment. Another important distinction between the two strategies lies in their levels of personalization. It’s true that for both approaches, personalization plays a significant role. However, when it comes to omnichannel marketing, there are many more opportunities to personalize customer journeys and create a unique experience. Based on the information marketers receive about their target audience, it becomes possible to deliver specific content that meets individual customer needs. How Does Pharmaceutical Multichannel Marketing Work in Pharma? Search engines and social media revolutionized the way pharma customers consume content. Patients have more data about their healthcare than ever before. According to Clinician of the Future: A 2022 report by Ipsos, 56% of clinicians worldwide agreed that patients have become more empowered to manage their conditions over the last decade. HCPs can find feedback on any pharma product or a company that produced it in a wink (of course, if the company has a website or active social media profiles). In addition to search engines and social media, representatives of multiple communities across pharma and life sciences use many other channels for communication with colleagues and businesses. They receive messages via email, messaging apps, and SMS. They visit websites and download mobile apps. They attend events, visit websites, participate in webinars, and have face-to-face meetings and video calls. Multichannel communication has spread marketing boundaries significantly. In the new world where businesses can no longer dictate anything to customers who have more control over their choices, specialists in pharma communications get an unprecedented opportunity to reach target audiences anywhere they want and need. Along with that, there are a few other key advantages. Main Advantages of the Pharma Multichannel Approach A multichannel strategy allows pharma companies to upgrade their marketing on all sides: planning, management, analysis, and execution. Absolute audience reach and strong brand awareness When using multiple channels, a pharma business increases the maximum number of customers it can reach, which enhances brand awareness among prospects. Multichannel distribution of content improves the level of customer engagement. In other words, the more marketing channels a pharma business uses, the more touchpoints current and potential customers can create. More touchpoints make customers remember the pharma or life sciences brand. And more touchpoints mean more insights that would be useful for future campaigns. More data & tools for analytics The success of multichannel pharma marketing is all about data. Implementing a multichannel approach to pharma marketing is the first step to systematizing customer information and its management. It is the first attempt to focus on the big picture by increasing digital maturity. Which channels does a target audience like, and which doesn’t? Which channels are effective, and which benefits do they have? What multichannel content methods and formats do competitors use? The multichannel approach can answer these and many other questions through a customer relationship management (CRM) platform. As a central multichannel data hub, a CRM platform can help a pharma or life sciences business automate and optimize key marketing activities. Optimization and automation dramatically reduce expenses and resources necessary for continuous growth and campaign performance improvement. Enhanced performance measurement Loads of data received across channels give room for maneuver. With new information continuously upgraded in real-time, multichannel marketers can create different experiments based on a closed-loop marketing approach that includes four stages: Campaign launch; Customer engagement; Data collection; Data analysis. Such a cycle allows marketers to test different channel and content combinations repeatedly, which helps businesses make smarter decisions, generate better ideas, and increase the number of conversions and sales. More conversions and sales Let’s end this part of the article with the last and most important thing. The advantages we just recalled — a high level of engagement, more customer data, better data management, real-time analytics, and enhanced performance management of multichannel campaigns — lead to boosting sales force productivity and efficiency. Main Disadvantages of the Pharma Multichannel Even though pharma businesses have access to multiple channels where they can lure HCPs and patients, they pretty often don’t know how to do that accurately and efficiently. In these circumstances, multichannel interactions result in a few main drawbacks. Here they are: · No Integrated Experience Across Channels Channels work separately; High Cost-per-Contact; No Holistic View of Customer Data; The Same Message Across Channels. How Does Pharmaceutical Omnichannel Marketing Work in Pharma? If multichannel aims to reach as many potential customers as possible, the omnichannel strategy requires a more tactical and on-point approach. A typical modern HCP is usually someone who highly values their time and has no wish to dig into a particular brand’s feed. As the average F2F visit between HCP and medical representative usually does not exceed 4 minutes (whether online or offline), these 4 minutes become a valuable moment to deliver the most important messages directly to the person. But what is this message, and how do you fit the whole customer journey into a single presentation? The answer is that you don’t have to. The omnichannel approach builds communication across various marketing channels and uses highly personalized delivery methods to guide clients through all customer journey stages. This way, the customer gets a customized message required for engagement via various channels (like emails, messengers, F2F, or else) at each stage instead of wading through the flood of posts on Facebook. According to a customer engagement survey by Axtria: Nearly 77% of businesses only take the first steps in implementing an omnichannel strategy. Around 66% of businesses are in the early stages of omnichannel data management maturity. About 64% of businesses work with a strategic development partner for omnichannel transformation. Main Benefits of the Pharma Omnichannel Approach Relevance and efficiency The omnichannel strategy helps to achieve business goals most appropriately and efficiently because you always work with your target audience’s current reality. Instead of creating a bunch of materials, deploying them to the channels, and waiting for the best (this is what basically multichannel is about), your marketing efforts are concentrated on being “here and now,” providing your customers with what is interesting for them now the most comfortable way for them to engage. Advanced personalization and deep customer understanding Personalization is not a destination; it’s an ongoing process of gathering data, analyzing it, and applying it to subsequent marketing campaigns to improve the next communicational iteration. The more you interact with a target audience, the better you know the specifics of their engagement and what works best for them. Next time you design your strategy after analyzing the previous campaign, you may notice an increased number of touchpoints and some new ways to engage customers. Detailed customer journey and content management It’s much easier to track customer engagement during successful omnichannel campaigns as you always know the customer journey stage you’re on. The Omnichannel strategy can satisfy clients’ needs in the short term by providing them with appropriate content materials right in the moment of need (determined by the campaign stage). It helps to manage content production better, giving enough resources and understanding for development. Data-driven decision-making Omnichannel marketing allows companies to gain better insights about their customers and make decisions based on the data they receive. Instead of investing in another marketing campaign and taking a risk launching it without knowing whether it will meet the demand, pharma marketers can use data analytics to align with the customers’ needs and create campaigns that resonate with the target audience. So, What’s the Outcome? The outcome is quite simple: as global digitalization goes on and business needs become more complex, your approach is usually defined by your requirements. When it comes to multichannel vs omnichannel marketing strategies, you must understand the central concept of realizing what is best for your business. Multichannel works with one channel independently from another, allowing it to target a broad audience at once. It requires stable content flow and works perfectly for newsfeeds, community activities, or crowd marketing. Meanwhile, omnichannel marketing focuses on providing clients with a personalized experience delivered on time by demand or spontaneously — although always personally via various channels. This makes omnichannel work perfectly for pharma and life sciences. Fill out the form below to request a consultation from Viseven’s omnichannel expert!
