Rep engagement is key to digital innovation in life sciences
The model of HCP engagement has been evolving to meet some of the key challenges the industry is facing. The biggest challenge is to identify the most effective way to optimise customer engagement through dynamic and personalised communications. Engagement of sales reps is always the number one challenge that comes up, while other challenges include segmentation targeting; performance tracking; insights and more.
Across the life sciences industry, it is clear digital innovation is critical for businesses to addresses their key challenges, remain competitive and bring life-savings drugs to the market faster while maintaining compliance.
However, like with all innovation, there are barriers to overcome and one of these is the engagement of sales reps in the field becoming active and willing participants in adopting digital channels to drive better outcomes.
This is where the right technology solutions come in: having integrated platforms that can help to track HCP engagement data, manage content distribution, and provide analytics to inform engagement strategies.
Rep engagement is key to digital innovation
As mentioned, one of the biggest issues currently facing the life sciences industry when it comes to digital innovation is engaging sales reps and getting them excited to use digital channels in addition to face-to-face interactions.
To support your organisation to engage reps to actively use the digital tools:
- Define the ‘why’. Encourage reps to use digital materials by highlighting the benefits and what they can achieve by adopting an omnichannel approach.
- Embed behaviours through coaching. Train your reps to use digital materials most effectively.
- Monitor execution and the customer experience. How do you track if your reps are using the right content with the right customers?
At Veeva, we often support our customers to design engaging and interactive e-learning programs which equip reps with the skills they need to be successful in a digital world.
The engagement model is evolving to meet today’s challenges
Traditionally, face-to-face engagement has been the primary interaction platform for healthcare professionals (HCPs). Not only have the past few years have changed all that, forcing the industry to rapidly adapt and pursue digital channels, but the model of engaging has been evolving regardless to address some of the industry’s challenges. In addition to rep adoption of digital platforms, other challenges include access to market and industry insights, HCP willingness to engage, technology enablement and performance tracking amongst many others.
Globally, companies are partnering with Veeva to help change the way they do business and to address these challenges. We combine industry expertise with unique data and software to deliver differentiated insights—and better business outcomes—for healthcare professionals and their patients.
Digitally enabled reps are more effective
Veeva Pulse data shows that digital channels are performing exceptionally well for companies as part of an omnichannel mix of HCP engagement, effectively building relationships through use of relevant content and increasing the number of interactions HCPs can have. Omnichannel engagement isn’t about adding more channels, but about offering the right channel and relevant content at all stages in the customer journey, resulting in a more personalised customer experience.
Recent data in the latest Veeva Pulse Field Trends Report, the largest global industry benchmark of its kind on healthcare professional HCP engagement, showed digitally enabled field teams are using HCP time more effectively in Asia Pacific than those who continue to use only in-person interactions.
According to the data, nearly half of HCPs are limiting their meetings to only one company per month. Those that are using digital channels in addition to face-to-face gain approximately 67% more HCP meetings for reps. This also results in longer meeting durations, with a 30% increase in Australia, 105% increase in Korea and 57% increase in Singapore when comparing in-person only interactions with hybrid interactions. It’s clear that combining in-person and digital channels improves accessibility, and therefore results.
The new omnichannel environment requires increased precision
The current omnichannel landscape calls for increased precision in sales, medical and marketing execution.
Some of the questions to think about to develop more effective field strategies include:
- Right customer – how can I identify and prioritise HCPs that can impact most with my brand?
- Right messages – what is the best messaging and content for each HCP to drive meaningful outcomes?
- Right frequency and channel – how can I coordinate the channel mix and frequency according to each HCP’s needs or preferences?
- Right structure – what is the optimal operating model with resource allocation based on engagement requirement?
- Right metric and action – what are the key performance indicators to track and monitor to generate actionable insights?
This is where having the right platform and data to support these insights is important.
Insights are the focal point of business apps. Veeva Align helps organisations to manage their field force and digital channels in an agile way, optimising sales planning and enabling teams to adapt to change, maximise their field activities, and deliver more impactful digital engagements.
Creating a scalable approach for the future
In-person, virtual, hybrid, on-demand: they are not mutually exclusive. They are all part of the many options that solutions like Veeva offer to the pharma industry to design the best engagement experience for HCPs.
To find out more about maximizing your commercial content approach, register now to join us at our upcoming APAC Commercial Summits 2023 here: https://www.veeva.com/ap/events/commercial-summit-asia-pacific/