eLearning Solutions for Pharmaceutical Companies: Why Does it Matter?

A sharp surge of innovations in the pharmaceutical industry has created an environment where new tools and models of work appear every day, making difficult pharma concepts even more confusing and complex.

Pharmaceutical companies are ridden with different strategies, while behind the scenes, there is an arms race of various tools and systems.

However, the main ingredient to win this competition is people, of course. Thus, pharma does everything to grow their talented specialist pool, investing all in the most valuable assets.

Let’s talk about how eLearning has become the first choice in the education and training of pharma teams, MedReps, managers, and many other specialists who play a hand in pharma’s continuous growth.

Why Pharma Chooses eLearning?

Being in the spotlight during the last year, life sciences seem to be on an unprecedented rise, any minute ready for breakthroughs in science.

86% of technology professionals think that the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries’ digital moment has arrived.

Sure enough, it has arrived, but the one thing it requires is talent.

Simple outsourcing of these talents is not enough – many understand it, and now opt to grow their own in-house specialists, primarily investing in their future.

We came across a report where Deloitte surveyed pharma and MedTech companies about their plans for future investments and changes, and almost 80% of the market leaders stated they needed to be more aggressive in adopting digital technologies. However, only about 20% of pharma companies are currently digitally mature. One of the biggest areas for improvement right now is education, and more and more organizations are now exploring the transition to e-learning.

pharma e learning

Nothing stands still. The global pandemic has provoked a rapid surge of digital initiatives in healthcare but on the other hand, it greatly disrupted workplace practices inside pharmaceutical companies. Managing, training, and onboarding remote teams during the global pandemic is quite a burden, of course. The 5th edition of the Salesforce report was investigating how global customer service professionals were adapting to the realities of work in the pandemic.

It turned out that 39% of high-performing companies were successfully organizing remote teams’ training to keep employees updated, a little less but still 19% and 11% of moderate-performing and underperforming companies were also investing in remote training for the staff.

online training solution for pharmaceuticals industry

A competitive environment like this has forced companies to reconsider their workplace practices and look for an alternative way to provide mandatory educational training. eLearning provides an opportunity to meet some of those training needs as well as many others.

eLearning solutions offer a better learning experience based on interactive technologies, such as audio, video, graphs, and animations, and allow pharma leaders to conduct mandatory training and share valuable knowledge with all members of the teams.

5 Reasons to Consider eLearning for Pharma

A few reasons why eLearning has become a preferred mode of learning in the pharma industry come down to the various benefits it offers.

According to statistics, LMS/SaaS models provide a more standardized education environment and make up over 29% of the total eLearning market share. A survey of 2,500 companies found that those with

“comprehensive training programs” have 218% higher revenue per employee and 24% higher profit margins. On top of that, retention rates are also usually increasing by 25% to 60%.

Excellent indicators, but these are mainly economic, and let’s see what the long-term benefits are:

1.     Keep the team updated & provide the necessary training

Now practically all advanced pharma companies are mastering omnichannel. This approach has become an evolutionary link in the lifecycle of pharma’s digital transformations. But it is important to understand that the real evolution towards omnichannel takes place within.

When a global pharmaceutical company is about to master and scale the right tools correctly – the desired aim is hard to achieve. For example, when your company is deploying certain omnichannel marketing tools they may simply not be suitable for all pharma’s affiliates. In fact, desynchronization occurs at different stages.

Therefore, it is more convenient to master and learn how to use certain tools with the help of eLearning technologies that are proving a convenient learning environment that allows covering the entire team.

Together with end users, you can create your own learning plan, update it gradually with new tools, translate content across all channels, and share valuable knowledge both globally and locally.

2.     Get analytics and track the progress

Typically, an eLearning program contains a progress tracker that allows tracking the success of each learner. On top of that, organizers can also provide weekly email feedback to keep track of where the student is in the program and what comes next.

The learning plan consists of thematic modules with chapters, new modules become available as the student progresses. This creates a clear picture of how many employees of the company have mastered the new technology or completed their mandatory training and with what results.

healthcare elearning solutions

3.     Standardised approach to learning

eLearning technology may save a lot of time and money for the company, as you will have a consistent, compliant plan at hand. A professional team may create content according to your recommendations, and the system will ensure fast delivery of content to learners across all channels. For example, when our team at Viseven creates content for our customers, the process is usually as follows: they provide an eLearning plan while we do the rest: create, design, localize, build a customer journey, and plan integrations.

4.     Personalized, interactive experiences

Finally, give yourself the first good reason why you would consider eLearning. The transfer of interactive knowledge contributes to better perception, memorization of the necessary information, as well as providing inspiration to learn more. This is especially applicable to life sciences, where huge volumes of information that are not the easiest to memorize require proper structuring, bright design, and correct presentation.

pharmaceutical marketing e learning

5.     Better information retention

After all, many people use eLearning because it helps them remember and process the received information much better. It is also facilitated by the fact that the learning process, as in the case of Viseven, can be organized not only around virtual training and quizzes but also around live training, creating an educational mix for better memorization of information.

lms for pharmaceutical industry

What is a Learning Management System (LMS)?

Pharma learning management systems (LMS) represent a type of software that can be used to conduct pharma industry trainings or other learning activities and make it easier and more engaging for learners. Typically, LMS for pharma offers a wide range of interactive activities and opportunities for learning certain topics and subjects at a pace comfortable for those studying it.

LMS can replace traditional learning models and help conduct internal training for pharma companies that will be both cost-efficient and effective. It is a chance for all pharma companies to not only foster a work environment where everybody gets a chance to refine their skills, but also to incorporate pharmaceutical eLearning programs and platforms into the daily routines of all employees.

The global LMS market is expected to grow from $18.26 billion in 2022 to $47.47 billion by 2030. The demand is visibly escalating, and an increasing number of companies are already adopting learning management systems to train their staff. Let’s take a look at a few reasons why you should do it too.

Reasons Why You Should Choose LMS

LMS is an opportunity to have high-quality training for the pharmaceutical industry while working remotely

The Covid-19 pandemic forced a whole new lifestyle upon many of us, and most companies, despite the pandemic being gone, have decided to keep remote work as one of the options for their workers. However, one of the downsides of remote work is the inability to participate in live educational events. This is where the learning management system for pharmaceutical companies truly shines, uniting all the study guides, games, events, books, and lectures in one place.

LMS for the pharmaceutical industry is a very cost-effective solution

We’ve touched on this before, but let’s elaborate. eLearning solutions for pharmaceutical companies can significantly lower the cost of staff training and re-training for one simple reason: such tools provide an accessible and easy-to-manage platform the support of which won’t cost a lot. Compared to instructor-led workshops and courses, which could often cost up to a few thousand dollars per event, companies can now completely switch to a pharmaceutical LMS at a very low cost.

It becomes easier to keep up with the ever-changing market and update the content

Pharmaceutical employee training must constantly be updated due to the dynamic nature of the industry. Unfortunately, offline training in the pharmaceutical industry is always a little bit outdated, since adding tweaks and changes to it often requires a lot of time and effort, and it is often done manually. When it comes to pharma eLearning, it becomes much easier to not only quicker update the pharma training program but automate some parts of this process.

LMS is available across various platforms

Thanks to LMS, pharmaceutical companies’ training programs can be accessed via any device, including laptops, mobile phones, and even tablets. This makes education possible from anywhere, making it easier for workers to complete internal training for pharma companies at their own pace, whenever they feel comfortable.

E-learning fosters automation

LMS is one of the best pharma internal training solutions for companies seeking ways to automate their workflows. With the help of a learning management system, companies can implement automation of the following processes:

  • Notifications and reminders about certain courses and programs;
  • Learning progress tracking;
  • Feedback loop;
  • Content updates;
  • Assessment and quizzes.

The importance of proper training in the pharmaceutical industry cannot be underestimated, and tools like LMS are what can greatly enhance the experience of both learners and educators and make it much better and more immersive. Learning management systems provide everyone in the pharma industry with an opportunity to become better professionals and obtain the desired education needed to advance in their careers. In addition, pharmaceutical companies can spend fewer resources on training and educating their staff, while also making sure that the education provided is of the highest quality.

What is the Future of Pharmaceutical eLearning: What to Expect in 2023?

E-learning is rapidly changing the world, while also being transformed itself. There are many trends that are either already reshaping eLearning in the pharma industry or are about to do so. Here are some of the biggest upcoming trends in the pharma eLearning to keep an eye on:

  1. Augmented/Virtual Reality 

VR and AR can assist learners by creating simulations and scenarios where it is possible to practice and hone your skills in an environment that’s almost identical to the real world. It is also much cheaper and safer to train staff using VR/AR since there is no need to invest in a testing environment.

  1. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning 

AI and ML are set to change the world, and e-learning won’t be standing aside for sure. AI-driven tools and technologies will reshape the world of pharma e-learning and provide both students and educators with an opportunity to customize training programs, get real-time feedback, receive personalized recommendations, and even create online courses based on the learning style and habits of a learner.

  1. Gamification 

Gamification is about making the learning process more interesting and engaging by adding some elements that resemble games, such as scores, leadership boards, mini-games, competitions, etc. Many platforms for learning are now introducing game-based learning to their adult audience to provide them with a fun and educational experience, regardless of the chosen course and field of study.

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) found that eLearning participants learned five times more materials without having to increase the time spent studying and training. Pharma companies across the world are already investing in LMS and tools for online training to provide their teams with high-quality education and skills necessary to become better experts. Now is the best moment to embark on your eLearning journey and fully embrace the transformative innovation it offers.

What we offer

When the audience of our client says:

I need professional internal training in the pharma industry to get valuable information about products and services at the right time and in the right place, thereby saving my patients’ time and making life easier for them. 

… or the representatives of our client’s team say:

I want to have the simplest and most effective omnichannel tools at hand to make my job easier, increase communication flows with our target audience, and avoid time-consuming tasks. 

We create a comfortable interactive environment in our Virtual Academy. The process of learning is organized around a chain of people and first-class tools on the basis of an omnichannel platform.

lms for pharma

eLearning technology from Viseven is built around a specific customer journey that is tailored to the needs of each customer. Our professional team will create content according to your recommendations, while audit and contextual understanding help us take advantage of each ecosystem to reduce complexity and simplify the user journey.

You can scale the process correctly, complying with unique corporate standards for eLearning content, and unite multiple teams and offices around the world. While your company can deliver the same content to all students, Viseven provides support at every stage of content development and implementation.

We create content for various types of learning. The result is a ready-to-use package suitable for any type of self-study. While a complete ecosystem of channels will encourage learners to continue their learning.

Our omnichannel eLearning services include: 

  • concept creation;
  • technology development;
  • visual and sound design;
  • UI/UX design;
  • custom application development;
  • distribution of materials to end users.

Viseven offers a combination of high technology and team play: We are changing the daily approach to health through virtual and digital communication channels and believe that this will shape the healthcare industry of the future. Contact and join us in our Virtual Academy to exceed expectations together.

Ensuring Data Protection and Pharma Compliance in Digital Transformation

Quicker than a storm, a pandemic has left us in a black hole of confusion and uncertainty. On this matter, pharma could be compared to a large ship that suddenly has lost its navigation in a stormy sea of changes that a new wave of digital has brought along. Various regulatory compliance pharma processes were paused, and many companies were looking for new solutions and ways to adjust to the new world. Since then, information security, pharmaceutical compliance standards, and consent management issues have become much more urgent and complex. 

Events like Next Normal Week exist to give us a landmark on how to navigate such turbulent times. We were excited to be a part of this event and share our expertise on how to secure pharma companies in terms of regulation and management of personal data thanks to the best DCF security standards – one of the hot-button topics of 2023. 

Read to discover the best practices and technical expertise that provide a robust, hyper-secure ecosystem “trained” to respect information security and pharma content compliance. 

What is Сompliance in Pharma? 

Regulatory compliance in the pharmaceutical industry refers to adherence and conformity to regulations, norms, and laws that apply to various processes in pharmaceutical companies, including marketing, operational, manufacturing, and others.

The importance of regulatory compliance in the pharmaceutical industry cannot be overstated, since pharmaceutical products and services have a huge impact on public health. 

Navigating Data Security and Pharma Compliance Challenges 

Practically all areas of the pharma industry are entirely dependent on patient and HCP data and consent gathering. Pharma companies that are optimizing their content production workflows with organizations like Digital Content Factory in place often face increasing concerns regarding data security, access management, and compliance in the pharma industry.  

The rapid shift towards digital provides many opportunities for improved content management, but at the same time, it contains a lot of risk of information leakage – which has always been one of the biggest threats for pharmaceutical companies. It comes along with a snow globe of laws and regulations that only grows every year. 

When people are talking about gathering consent, the first thing they think about is compliance. It includes multiple areas:

  • The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
  • The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and other regulations.
pharmaceutical content management compliance

The other important layer is Personal Data Management which includes gathering and storage of users’ consents, usage of systems that help us to get it (Web Forms, CRM systems, and others), Data Flow, Cyber Security, and Data Protection – the essential elements of pharma compliance, consent gathering and other pharmaceutical standards and compliance requirements. 

User experience (UX) is often overlooked but it is an important point for modern customers who are more than ever concerned with the security of their personal data. This process must be transparent enough, as according to statistics, 

95% of customers say they are more likely to be loyal to a company they trust.

At the level of UX it is important to provide opportunities for:

  • Consent Gathering (Opt-in, Forms, Notifications);
  • Terms of Use and Privacy Policy;
  • Data Flow;
  • Data Termination (Opt-out, Unsubscribe, Notifications);
  • Right to be Forgotten. 

With the emergence of Artificial Intelligence, compliance in Pharma has started to change once more. Even though AI has opened a multitude of amazing opportunities, issues related to ethics, safety, and pharma data integrity compliance cannot be ignored.

The compliance requirements for pharmaceutical companies are set to shift again, and organizations should initiate the groundwork for new beginnings right now. Even though the future of pharma regulatory compliance is still vague, we know for sure that there will be many new rules and laws that offer better protection of personal data and enhance market governance.

The world of regulatory affairs is changing, and everyone is getting ready for what the future might hold for us. In such a highly regulated environment, pharma should apply all digital talents and pharmaceutical compliance management software to handle all processes in terms of data security and compliance management. Additionally, comprehensive training programs should be implemented to improve industry-based regulatory compliance across the organization. 

Why is Compliance Important in the Pharmaceutical Industry?

Security of Medical Database 

So, how to establish an effective data compliance system? According to the IntSights report,

about one-third of healthcare databases stored both locally and in the cloud are currently exposing sensitive patient data.

Factors like misconfigured databases present one of the highest risks to security of patients and doctors’ data. The problem is that many healthcare providers have continued to shift data and other assets online without prioritizing investments in cybersecurity tools or procedures to prevent the leakage of sensitive information. 

Another possible threat is an expansion of the functionality without involving certified developers. In some cases, the limitations of the budget or the wrong choice of tech providers may lead to unacceptable practices, such as reverse engineering or unauthorized extensions, which make data vulnerable. So, it is strongly recommended to involve certified professionals whenever dealing with a licensed system. 

In terms of access, businesses are increasingly focused on measures like multi-factor authentication. Security-conscious companies may further limit the number of accesses to specific IP addresses and implement manual review or confirmation systems to minimize the risk of data leaks.  

Security of Content 

While the question of security and compliance issues in the pharmaceutical industry remains urgent, customers still expect coherent messaging and best-in-class content. The secure production of pharmaceutical content needs a specific protocol of the required measures and regulations. That’s why industry leaders are currently looking for a solution that can automate these processes. 

When pharma has an idea for a new project, they need an agency to turn it into reality. But it also comes with risks, as a lot of the data contained in the marketing and promotional materials are sensitive for the pharma companies. 

While meta-tagging greatly simplifies the search for the necessary information in digital asset management (DAM), a much better solution in terms of data security would be establishing access hierarchy. Under this system, each user is provided with a specific level of access to information. 

Also, to provide additional security when working with content, agencies can sign an NDA agreement and implement monitoring through a briefing tool. This approach improves the outcomes of pharmaceutical-agency partnerships.

Even though a comprehensive brief is very important, it’s not always transmitted in a secure manner. It is much more convenient to use tools designed specifically for briefing, and that are built into the platform for working with content. 

pharma content compliance

The Brief Tool from eWizard is a valuable platform functionality used by Pharma & Life Science brand managers or marketers to provide comprehensive instructions to production partners. This tool outlines the vision for producing specific assets such as IVAs/eDetailers, Landing Pages, and Emails. It integrates pre-approved content modules and other branding elements, helps to define content structure and design expectations, ensuring the resulting production aligns with the brand’s objectives and guidelines. 

Consent Management 

Now, for the most part, the consent-gathering process is happening at the meetings with HCPs. This happens as follows: med rep asks an HCP if they are willing to receive updates from the pharma company. If the HCP is ready to share personal information – the consent-gathering process starts (see scheme 1). After that, all the data is going to the CRM or Marketing Automation system and the HCP starts getting bombarded by traffic from the pharma company.

This is the model that is basically associated with the multi-channel approach. The problem is that it does not allow differentiation of the initial interest of the HCP and provides targeted communication where each message presents a real value for the customer. 

why is compliance important in pharmaceutical industry

Scheme 1

Where the change of mindset should happen

Where the change of mindset should happen 

Instead of getting a single tick from HCP that they are willing to receive further information on one channel, HCP is getting a full detailed list of the options you are offering as a service. From that moment on, the HCPs are getting targeted information that is based on their initial interest.

For example, if the HCP ticks a face-to-face visit, the information goes straight to the CRM system or the Consent Management system, depending on the infrastructure that the company is using. Then, a sales rep can process this information and plan the eDetailer presentation and further activities accordingly. 

If the HCP chooses to receive a broadcast email, it brings the whole integration with a marketing automation system. HCPs can get various types of marketing information from marketers, contractors, and other people who are in charge of this process. This practically changes the name of the game and gives the customer a broad picture of what they are signing up for and what type of information they can expect from the pharma company in exchange for consent. 

However, the other cast-iron rule is that the customer, at any minute, has a right to unsubscribe from the information they previously agreed to receive. Another key aspect of changing the mindset in the consent management process is hat with this model, customers have the option to opt out of communication through one specific channel, such as broadcast emails (see scheme 2), while still receiving information through other channels like portals and events. By using this checkbox, the company may deactivate undesirable activities without interrupting an entire communication with the HCP. 

Scheme 2

This way, we can generate the golden rule of consent management: the customer should always be provided with transparency regarding the use of their data, communication channels used, and meaning behind each checkbox they choose. 

Which ISO is for the Pharmaceutical Industry? 

The International Standards Organization (ISO) means that the company has implemented a number of procedures, policies, and guidelines, allowing it to attain robust control and protection over the company’s assets. Thanks to ISO, we can guarantee complete pharma regulatory compliance. 

There are a few other certifications that pharmaceutical companies must have to continue operating safely and without causing any harm to their clients and patients. Here is a short list of those certifications: 

  • ISO 45001

This certification helps create a safe environment for employees and reduces various health and safety risks. 

  • ISO 9001

This standard specifies the requirements for Quality Management Systems. Before launching a new pharmaceutical product, it’s crucial to ensure that it complies with all applicable regulatory requirements to guarantee its safety and efficacy, and this is what this certification is responsible for. 

  • ISO 14001

With this certification, companies can improve their environmental performance and mitigate environmental harm. 

Pharma regulatory and compliance guidelines are constantly evolving, requiring many organizations to stay updated with the latest industry standards. Pharmaceutical companies manage a huge amount of sensitive information that cannot be disclosed. Today, the need to remain competitive and provide a secure environment for pharma customers prompts us to be certified against a strictly defined and delineated standard which is ISO/IEC 27001. 

pharma ISO certification

Viseven has successfully passed the first supervisory audit ISO 27001. Among the main advantages of adhering to the completed pharmaceutical compliance certification norms and pharma compliance regulations are asset protection from leakage, theft, or loss; higher trust from the customers, as well as employees’ confidence. All of this ensures our greater strength in the highly competitive landscape, with clear and transparent workflows, as well as role distribution among our specialists. 

In case you have questions concerning our expertise in establishing a robust hyper-secure ecosystem – turn to our experts for insights and guidance. 

Go Beyond HCPs: Set Up Patient Support and Value with Pharma Content

Take a moment to think of how your health behavior has changed over 2020. Can it be measured exclusively by the number of thoughts about hygiene and clean hands? Or was there something more to it?

The positive impact of coronavirus (strange though it might sound) is in the change of mindset concerning our health. Some of us have started thinking more about our chronic diseases; some have been just evaluating the possible outcomes in case of infection. The truth is – we all did that. 

It means only that awareness has grown, that the management of our own health is above all in our hands whatever they are clean or not.

Let’s discuss the role of the modern post-covid patients in the pharmaceutical industry and figure out why it’s a good time to spread value with pharma content far beyond HCPs.

Set value with pharma content – cover all the touchpoints

Something important in pharma has changed for good. It’s not simply customers’ expectations – the patient’s mindset has changed.

The reasons for this were both the growing role of digital technologies in healthcare and the pandemic that has become a powerful impetus for change.

As per most surveys, close to 25 percent of the consumers today are driven by health and hygiene choices. – Gaurav Sharma, Investcorp India

Modern patients no longer want to surrender their health to the doctor’s hands, they want to be actively involved in the process of treatment. This new type of patient requires something more than just product information, they strive for assistance in aspiration to manage their own health.

Thus, modern patients need personalized, interconnected, engaging, and even entertaining interaction with a healthcare provider.

Meanwhile, 81% of pharma manufacturers still rely on healthcare providers to educate patients on their services. That’s why, in a big way, they target content primarily on HCPs, investing very little in patient and pharmacists’ awareness.

What can pharma do now?

We caught probably the most appropriate time to finally change our mindset as well and realize that our engagement shouldn’t be limited to HCP, it shouldn’t have boundaries.

How to expand the dialog with healthcare professionals

Pharmaceutical content for patients, in the traditional sense, is 100% valuable. At the same time, it’s not engaging, it’s not personalized, and it’s not even entertaining.

You might say that it’s not supposed to be ‘entertaining’  the purpose is different, BUT your target audience might have a different opinion.

  • 80% of customers say the experience a company provides is as important as its products and services
  • 57% of customers have stopped buying from a company because a competitor provided a better experience

If even these percentages are not convincing enough, then just think of billions of dollars spent on promotional materials when desired outcomes were never achieved.

Patients lose loyalty when they don’t feel that the brand cares enough about their treatment outcomes. Moreover, this leads to patients’ nonadherence which is every year responsible for the loss of between 100-300 billion dollars in the US alone.

Sometimes people do not follow a treatment or are unable to cope with side effects because they have little knowledge about their condition and treatment.

It’s about time to invest more effort and creativity in content for patients and pharmacists.

More pharma content for pharmacists and patients: Benefits

Patients

  • Better understanding of how to manage the specific condition.
  • Active participation in the process of treatment
  • Better outcomes and motivation to complete the treatment
  • Less frequent misuse
  • Minimized damage to overall health

Pharmacists

  • More trusting relationships between pharmacist and the patient
  • Being able to deliver patient-specific medical information necessary to stick to the therapy plan.
  • A profounding, outcomes-oriented drug therapy plan for the patient
  • Possibility to consider patient adherence.

Pharma

  • Become a household brand among HCPs
  • Remove information supply barriers between pharma manufacturers and patients
  • Establish long-term relationships between medical representatives and HCP.
  • Better patient adherence and brand loyalty
  • Deliver the right message about your pharma brand.
  • Rise in prescriptions

Pharmaceutical content enjoying success among patients

The goal of any doctor is to create a clearer picture of the disease and engage patients in active treatment. That’s why, above all, from a med rep, HCPs need corresponding materials that would help them complete their mission. Such content should be valuable, well structured, interactive, and contain the right message about your pharma brand. Concerted efforts, when pharmaceutical companies would provide HCP with corresponding materials, and further HCP deliver it to the patients could be referred to as «cascade sharing». These efforts have a strong potential to elevate patients’/HCPs’ engagement and fit well into the picture of modern healthcare. Health applications, websites, landing pages, portals, videos, and many other materials can perform this mission and explain all aspects of the disease to patients. Let’s dive deep into the characteristics and capabilities of such materials.

mHealth Apps

In the era when being healthy isn’t simply vital but greatly trendy, it’s important to stay focused on patients. With 67% of the world’s population being mobile phone users, the most feasible way to stay patient-centered is mobile applications – offering truly engaging, gamified experiences, communication and information –and above all, psychologically calculated ways to support the patient in their journey.

Moreover, these apps are great facilitators of patient adherence, providing beyond-the-pill value with its pill reminders, information on products, patient leaflets, calculators, symptom diary module (shareable to chat), information and articles on diseases. They may also contain video tutorials, quizzes, surveys, rewards and live chat 24/7 with the option to schedule calls with the HCP – offering a truly gamified patient experience.

Web portals, websites and landing pages

Today patients’ path to treatment begins online as over 70% have researched a prescription medication or medical device online in the past year. A brand’s websites, web portals, and landing pages have become a critical resource of true for patients. Therefore, they act as a critical entry point to access treatment and help patients improve adherence. 52% of patients rely on brand websites to research prescription information. 88.3% want pharma brand websites to connect them to providers. Thus, you can note that patients feel certain power being able to find the right information to manage their condition better.

To choose the right treatment,  pharmacists also should be updated with the latest health-related information. Therefore, if there were more such sites, there would no doubt be matching demand for them.

A well-structured, user-friendly, and interactive website provides your pharma brand an enhanced online presence, the ability to be available for customers 24/7, and to gain consumer insights due to collected analytics.

Emails

Broadcast emails and approved emails are default facilitators of HCPs engagement. It is impossible to imagine a more personalized way to communicate with HCP, especially with all the interactive features users currently can enjoy.

The truth is that one personalized email can generate more reactions than any other content. HCPs are eager to receive emails and they enjoy great success with an 18.58% open rate throughout 2020.

Would it be equally interesting for patients and pharmacists?

Definitely, yes. It would be beneficial for all sides of treatment as it would stimulate a dialog and inspire tight collaboration between them.

Pharma can send specialized emails with information that the HCP could later forward to those patients who would benefit from it. The email with information from the HCP currently managing their condition will certainly enjoy great confidence and inspire more loyalty. Meanwhile, pharma can create more trust in their brand and be sure that patients receive the information they need at the moment.

This practice is also beneficial for pharmacists, who are likewise required to work in concert with patients and healthcare providers to promote health and deliver patient-oriented support.

Self-detailing

Self-detailing is the practice when the medical rep invites the HCP to get familiar with an eDetailing presentation independently. Self-detailing has gained popularity among doctors because it is not tied to the doctors’ schedule, thereby giving them time and the opportunity to delve into the materials fundamentally. During the quarantine, the number of doctors interested in this practice was constantly growing. Also, the greatest value of Self-Detailing in the pharmaceutical market lies in its versatility and ability to complement any communication channel and any device.

This practice could also be favored by patients who might be able to learn more about their condition and the methods of treatment. The equally nonintrusive manner could inspire more patient loyalty and bring certain benefits for pharma companies as well. During self-detailing, the patients can look through the structure and key messages in the presentation at their own discretion. That way, this channel gives a better understanding of the target audience, and gives honest metrics for the campaign, as it is likely to see a different pattern of slides and time spent on each of them.

Parting thoughts

Now of all times those unique moments when patients are eager to take care of their health and cooperate with the pharma. Let us help them in their quest to be healthier. We hope that now you see that moving beyond the creation of pharma content just for HCP brings recognition and loyalty among modern health-oriented patients.

Finally, take a look at an example of a customer journey that reflects how all of these types of content can fit perfectly, complement each other and create value in pharma’s picture of customer engagement.

Imagine that you want to promote a special mobile application among patients with poor adherence. Here are two interaction models that reflect how these types of content can foster collaboration with the HCP and generate loyalty and success of your app among the patients.

An example of promoting a mobile application using content for a patient

You may have noticed that this model of interaction is rather multichannel, but note how the one piece of content that is valuable to both the HCP and patient complements the efforts of other materials and encourages the patient to download the app.

The next example shows how such content can encourage patients that have downloaded your application to fill the survey about the reasons for their non-adherence.

If you got interested in more details on all aspects of work with such content – contact our experts. We’ll help you to choose those options that will be right for you, develop promotional campaigns, and calculate the most reasonable ways of implementation to create value in the new era of healthcare and life sciences.

Overview: 4th Edition of the Salesforce “State of Service” Report

When pharma professionals are taking the course on the brighter post-pandemic future, it is important to look around, orient towards the professionals, and get the latest insights from the fields in a timely manner. Thus, we could not ignore Salesforce’s latest State of Service Report based on over 7,000 survey responses worldwide, discovering how the top teams are navigating the ever-changeable pharma weather and what trajectory customer service is having now. Looking to the future be aware of the most recent data on the hottest topics that were on everyone’s lips during the turbulent 2020:

  • How the service standards have been changing in the midst of a crisis
  • Strategies, tactics and solutions organizations are turning to in the new normal
  • How teams are navigating the changes in their work environment
  • The trajectory of field service during a time of social distancing

Time sets the new standards of the customer service

The post-pandemic HCP engagement will sharply differ from the pre-2020 routine, as the pandemic, among other things, has set the new standard for customer expectations. A dramatic shift that occurred in the healthcare industry forced the pharma teams to permanently shift the emphasis of their work. The Salesforce report offers eloquent statistics reflecting how exactly the pandemic affected the regular operation of people, process, and technology.

The impact of this make-or-break year on how teams work can hardly be overestimated. Managing remote employees during the pandemic, provide employees’ safety, maintain “social distancing” and “contact tracing” is the challenge that proved to be in the power of only high performers. Therefore, the set of skills that employees must apply in their work is becoming wider and more diverse. 55% of agents say they need better training in order to do their jobs well. Not to mention the lack of technology that specialists suffer from against the background of an increased number of digital channels and acceleration of digital initiatives during the pandemic.

Amidst economic uncertainty, the companies were holding off on increasing their budgets. The report proves this point by the figures showing that in 40% of teams, the budget stayed the same when 28% saw a decrease. It means that from now on life sciences invests more in easily deployable and cost-effective digital solutions that would cut the marketing resource consumption. It is confirmed by the fact that from March to December 2020, several dozens of new customers have adopted eWizard platform.

The key tactics and solutions to embrace the changes

Life sciences have checked the code to comply with the success measures, and it is a secret to no one that it is agility. This philosophy of allowing companies to pivot on the fly and quickly respond to change is synonymous with an omnichannel strategy. Pandemic forced pharma strategists to master these two essentials of today’s and, without doubt, tomorrow’s HCP engagement.

Have a look at our PDF, revealing all facets of the omnichannel art of customer engagement, or contact our experts to immediately get insights and guidance on the essence of true omnichannel.

Earlier in our blog, we introduced 3 working models that set the tone for agility inside the organization. Briefly, it is:

  • agile teams
  • flexible processes
  • reusable assets

Be sure while you reading, the other companies are rapidly automating their processes. According to the report’s numbers, 77% of agents automating routine tasks allows them to focus on more complex work — up from 69% in 2018.
Life sciences are implementing various solutions to add a good share of empathy the modern HCPs need and build relationships that would be more than “strictly business”. That’s why, for example, AI/ML, chatbots, and other technologies have revealed the full extent of their capacities as the solutions that are helping to gather more basic information about patients, understand their behavioral patterns, automate their feedback, and generally personalize the interaction.

Learn more about the power of artificial intelligence in HCPs engagement and how it shapes the future of healthcare management in our latest overview of TechIQ Global Virtual Conference.

We hope the challenges will fade as 2020 comes to an end because for all of us the best is yet to come! Take the first step into a new future, being armed with valuable reports reflecting the true current state of the market. Download the “State of Service” report and be aware of the latest updates from the customer service professionals.

 

7 hot topics and takeaways from Veeva Commercial and Medical Summit Online, Europe

What’s the perfect meeting place for pharma marketing, communications and IT professionals to exchange their practical insights and experiences over the past several months? Numerous excellent events exist to express tendencies and ideas, but when it comes to real-world, tangible cases, the first thing that comes to mind is the platform provided by a giant innovation enabler that is Veeva. Year by year, Veeva Commercial and Medical Summit has been justifying its reputation as that single powerful community builder one conference after another – and 2020 is not an exception.

Fresh intriguing findings from the world of medical reps, HCPs in the time of crisis, sophisticated, COVID-proof marketing strategies and sudden answers to questions with a long history, such as customer experience in pharma – all of this was wrapped in the format of a virtual event. No single blog post would suffice to describe everything, so let us just look at the seven most intriguing ideas – and suggest viewing the sessions themselves on demand for the ultimate immersive experience.

It is definitely worth the time. We at Viseven Group, being certified Veeva Technology Partner, Multichannel Partner and a provider of solutions and services for Veeva users for years, can confirm this from an insider point of view.

Setting the scene

In the opening keynote to the event on November 17, Chris Moore, President at Veeva Europe, noted one thing that most of us working in and for pharma communications can relate to the year 2020 has been truly special in terms of innovation and creativity. Looking back on these days, we are likely to see them as a turning point that made hundreds of professionals rethink almost everything, from digital tech to value propositions. The changes urged by the world situation will stick around and affect both the “digital haves” and the “digital have nots” – but what are these changes in practice?

Two interesting sessions seem to define quite many of the hot topics and ideas that resonated through later panel talks and Q/A’s. One of these was a session with a medical representative and the other an inspired talk between marketing specialists. Together, these two organizationally unrelated episodes make for a perfect exposition of the event.

The “fireside chat” with Romain Piccolo, Sales Representative (Respiratory) at Boehringer Ingelheim, was dedicated to the experiences and insights from the fields that only actual reps can provide. No need to say, this year especially such insights are valuable, considering how the tables have turned with digital and remote engagement. Beside the observations on how to engage HCPs in the new remote format in a country like Spain, where the traditions of in-person visits are strong, there are surprising and quite encouraging findings.

For example, it turns out the “traditional”, go-to demographics like age have little to nothing to do with the actual digital affinity score for an HCP, with various groups completely ready for the format itself. It looks like in the future, the golden number of, say, 15 visits a day will give place to a golden ratio between different channels in the HCP engagement structure. While trying to diversify that channel mix, however, pharma unlocks yet another challenge, and that is content.

While the “how” of HCP engagement is now being secured by nifty solutions – e.g. the HCP being able to request what they want to see, and health centers organizing calls – there is a mismatch between the available and the perfect when it comes to content. Particularly physicians tend to value content that is created by peers (such as key opinion leaders) more than the more commercially wired variety, and of course, more scientific topics is a common wish, not to mention the need to personalize the information that comes to the doctor.

The second session that defined the hot topics for the summit featured Melissa Fellner, Global Marketing Director at AstraZeneca, and Veeva’s Business Consulting specialist Leonie Goddard, discussing the journey to digital excellence that AstraZeneca is undergoing. Apart from the vital role that Veeva’s assistance played in adapting to the new digital norm, several other things are noteworthy here.

First and foremost, it’s the customer experience. Looking at what other industries now have to offer to the consumer, one cannot but wonder how to emulate that in pharma. Essentially, good omnichannel means integrating the brand offering in the customer’s own lifestyle, and it turns out life sciences are capable of that even regardless of the regulatory environment and other well-known “impediments”.

The future of pharmaceutical communications, according to that view, is determined by factors such as deep customer insights, integrated campaigns and dynamic segmentation. These, in turn, equate to supplying personalized content (content again!) across an extended, modifiable channel mix that includes digital services from pharma. With handy tools that provide the next best actions and prompts (for example, to the medical representative as the engagement orchestrator), brands can arrive at the stage where they deliver carefully tailored experiences that can be measured and perfected along the way.

Below are seven ideas that were partially outlined here, as expounded in other sessions in more interesting detail – ideas likely to influence 2021 and the years to come.

1 Let the HCP decide!

In the eventual turn of events (even if we don’t think of the pandemic for a moment), letting the HCPs themselves decide to a bigger extent what they want to hear from pharma proved inevitable. This attention to what the HCPs themselves experience and feel is noticeable even as one looks at the summit agenda. On Day 2 of the event, several sessions were specifically dedicated to listening to practicing healthcare providers, one in English, one in Spanish, yet another one in Italian. Companies have been relaxing the messaging intended for those medical professionals most under pressure from the coronavirus, and adapting the tactics for the rest, which is just an extension of a trend that emerged earlier on: recognizing the importance of the audience’s choice.

As a climax of this development, Veeva introduced a solution called MyVeeva for Doctors in a session led by Paul Shawah, Senior Vice President for Commercial Strategy, and Chris van Löben Sels, General Manager, MyVeeva for Doctors & Veeva Labs. The idea behind MyVeeva is simple and powerful – a single app intended to make it easy for the HCP to connect with pharma and search for reps or MSLs. Once invited by their representative to use the app and successfully registered, the HCP can not just communicate with that particular rep in an in-app chat, exchanging files and messages, but also find other representatives, as well as schedule meetings and enjoy a number of other services, including digital leave-behinds, patient resources, samples and more.

2 Meet the hybrid engagement model

While in March it may have seemed that remote engagement is the eventual horizon for everything and everyone until COVID-19 is a chapter in history books, the actual practice proved otherwise. Human interaction in F2F mode is extremely difficult to eliminate from the equation, and frankly speaking, it is not to be eliminated entirely. On the other hand, the restrictions and safety considerations have opened the potential of other channels, leading to the emergence of a “hybrid” model – with some touchpoints occurring at rep calls as before, and others either orchestrated by the rep or done via non-personal promotion and led by the marketing teams themselves. In his presentation, Giovanni Luca Merlotti, Head of Global Multichannel Execution, Sanofi Pasteur, explored the intricacies of balance between the rep-driven channels versus the HQ-driven ones in the mix. Eventually, such a mix is intended not just to expand the reach and increase the frequency of interactions, but also strengthen customer engagement as such. Remote detailing, as empowered by Veeva solutions, plays a crucial role here, and so does content.

A similar sentiment can be observed in the strategy discussed at another session featuring, among others, Adela Schulz, Multi-Channel Customer Engagement and Digital Transformation Lead at MSD: decisions now have to be made what topics should be discussed F2F, and which ones online. This measure was the result of the crisis, but its consequences will naturally extend into the future. Another participant of that same session, Anna Casanovas, IMCM Business Integration, Bayer, supplemented the topic of agility in life sciences’ communication strategy by emphasizing the need for personalization and modular content.

3 Customer experience, 4 Value proposition, and 5 Push and pull

At the current stage of omnichannel development, pharma is in the position where other industries can provide an insight into how customer experience can be furnished in better ways. However, there is obviously no single set of pre-packed ideas and solutions, since industry specifics plays a major role. There is much room for creativity, and a lot of questions to be answered, especially when it comes to the regulatory nuances and sensitive topics. However, is this the real blocker along the road to great CX?

An attempt to split the problem into manageable chunks was made by Victoria Serra Gittermann, Principal Consultant, Business Consulting, Veeva, in her presentation titled The Six Imperatives of Great HCP Experiences. The analysis started with identifying the six common blocks that impede building a successful CX for the physician audience. The first of these is the desire to exert too much control over the dialogue and formalize the customer journey, essentially robbing the HCP of the opportunity to make choices. A frequent mistake at the initial steps of omnichannel implementation, this is typically solved once the engagement model moves to the next step of maturity, not least due to better data work (see below).

Another problematic point is a value proposition that is inherently narrow because it focuses heavily on the product itself, instead of offering something broader and “growing” from the actual working practice. At the same time, this leads to lack of transparency about the objectives of communication – a known detriment to building trust that the reps’ personal qualities only partially bridge. One more blocker that stems from here is the “mass content coverage” practice from yesterday’s playbooks, with insufficient personalization and targeting.

In practice, this entails the focus on “push” tactics rather than creating enough “pull”. Finally, if you add the limited coordination and governance around customer engagement, siloed workflows and lack of agility in the processes, the picture becomes complete enough for the problems to be solved.

To untie this knot, the presenter suggests six imperatives:

  • Move from static to dynamic insights (behavioral/attitudinal segmentation, dynamic customer journey mapping, etc., content tagging)
  • Align value proposition to customer needs (targeted key messages, focus on health outcomes)
  • Build trust (transparency, consistency, doing the right thing over time, shared purpose, ecosystem, evidence)
  • Making it easy to engage, on the customer’s terms (channel integration, predictive analytics & next best actions, automation)
  • Make it personal (Modular content, metrics and tagging, content automation)
  • Build a customer-centric operational model

The need to work on a broader definition of value proposition was also emphasized in the session led by Suzy Jackson, Executive, Life Sciences, Accenture, dedicated to the impact of COVID-19 on the digital field model. One of the key findings cited was that in the light of current changes, pharmas are starting to “…redefine their relevance… and healthcare providers are seeing the value.” However, this particular session also contributed interesting insights to illustrate the next point.

6 What’s there in-house? Take stock of your processes, capabilities, and skills

The need to build in-house digital capacities is a recognized one by now. After all, convoluted processes, reliance on too many external agencies and subcontractors, together with silos, have long stood in the way of even the most ambitious projects. Of course, no one talks seriously about transferring all the digital activity inside the organization – rather, it is now the matter of flexibility, ownership and agility.

Notably, much has been spoken about pharmas’ in-house talent in terms of data management. This is an extended topic that would require an entire blog post all to itself even if only to scratch the surface. Here, we can mention such sessions as Bayer: Advancing Digital Transformation with Data & Technology with Elie Dubrulle, CRM Project Manager at Bayer Healthcare, and Angela Genco, Head of Integrated Multichannel Marketing & Sales, Bayer Italy.

However, it is not just with data strategy that a revisioning of in-house capacities can lead to good results. Turning back to the Accenture session mentioned earlier, an interesting insight was revealed: when a medical representative has the autonomy to send an Approved Email with a link to pre-selected content, impactable sales rise by 7%. Is this about content? Yes. Is this also about letting more flexibility into the working model and allowing decisions to be taken in a multi-level pyramid? Definitely. Does this presuppose educating the workforce? Of course, it does.

New governance and process models are also beneficial in the realm of content, to be sure. This is, however, just a small part of how content work has changed.

7 What does the perfect content look like?

Any equation for communication excellence will necessarily involve the content variable. What’s the catch? The very fact that content is, in fact, a variable – because each HCP’s needs are that, too. But then, how do you ensure the content you deliver is flexible enough to function as such?

A presentation by Puneet Srivastava, Content Strategy Leader at Bayer, explores the ins and outs of content excellence as it is available to Veeva users. In an intriguing classification, the different types of content are placed along two axes:

“Long” content – “short” content

and

“Active” content – “passive” content

In this way, one may characterize, for example, remote and face detailing and webinars as “long-form” and “active” (with real-time HCP involvement and interaction), websites, ebooks and videos as “long” and “passive”, and email/SMM as “short” and “passive”. However, there is one missed spot, and that is the one offering short and active engagement. This, in practice, corresponds to the new content consumption patterns and requires even more interactive materials to be designed and deployed.

How to enable content production and circulation at such rates? The answer lies with processes, governance and tracking. Plugging together strategic content creation, on the one hand, and content publishing, on the other, presupposes rethinking the way content itself is handled.

Much has been spoken about, and already implemented, in the realm of modular content for life sciences. In essence, the materials circulate as flexible topical units that can be assembled into channel-specific templates, which allows for better, more meaningful tracking – and easier governance and MLR procedures (you can read more on this in our previous publications, since Viseven has been among the pioneers of the approach and covered this topic extensively in first-hand accounts).

Back to the presentation, with the modular strategy in hand, Bayer is able to ensure not only the right structure, but also a well-defined content taxonomy and tagging, pinpointing performance indicators and tracking, and a standardized content supply center. All of this allows the company to maintain a high level of informational value offered to its vast HCP audience across channels and along the axes of the content-based touchpoint spectrum.

This overview is just scratching the surface of what was discussed at the event. You can request video recordings of the sessions that interested you on-demand at the official event page. For all purposes linked with Veeva expertise, related services and collaboration around Veeva ecosystems, feel free to address Viseven team as a certified Veeva partner.

5 highlights from Veeva Commercial and Medical Summit Online 2020

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

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!

How to make pharma brand messages reinforce one another with email fragments (2 practices)

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:

  1. more value
  2. 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.

HCP Webmail

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:

  1. those who value RWE and clinical trial data, and are interested in the scientific part of information about any product
  2. the patient-centric thinkers who peruse profiles and want examples of how the product will actually solve particular issues and complaints
  3. the HCPs with a strong sense of community, relying on guidelines and key opinion leaders.

A generic email template is first created: This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is fragm04.png 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: This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is fragm05-1024x1024.png 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: This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is fragm06-1200x673-1-1024x574.png Then it can be inserted into the invisible vacant slot in different email templates: This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is fragm07.png 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.

Powering Through the Pandemic. Plan Your Content Production Facilities Growth

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 creates 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, websites – 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

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:

multichannel omnichannel difference

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:

  1. Campaign launch;
  1. Customer engagement;
  1. Data collection;
  1. 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.

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