Improve omnichannel collaboration to drive HCP engagement
Digital forms of communication have become the norm for life science organizations over the past couple of years. While the industry was slowly leaning towards digital engagement, COVID caused rapid adoption.
Healthcare providers (HCP) and sales reps are now adept in navigating digital engagement as companies invest in tools to make it possible. In fact, field reps now send 295% more emails to HCPs, and providers have open rates at 41%, an all-time high.
While reps may use more technology to reach HCPs, organizations miss out on more valuable opportunities to leverage their digital tools. Companies have a critical chance to improve the customer experience (CX) by enhancing digital collaboration between commercial and medical affairs teams. These behind-the-scenes improvements in digital capabilities enable organizations to create more effective engagement and improve value to HCPs and other critical customers.
Here is what you need to know about enhancing digital collaboration between departments to deliver a superior CX.
Beyond Digital On-Stage Engagement
Life science organizations have long been hesitant to adopt advanced digital tools. From privacy concerns to entrenched practices, relying on traditional, siloed practices to engage with customers was easier. However, 2020 quickly changed that approach. Companies scrambled to build out their digital methods and used various “quick fixes” in their technology to bridge the communications gap that came with social distancing.
While these changes were once considered temporary solutions in response to an emergency, it is now clear that returning to traditional engagement is no longer an option. Two years on, pharma organizations must decide which changes they want to make permanent and how they anticipate the future of customer engagement.
Many organizations have excellent digital “on-stage” capabilities because of the stop-gap measures they implement. Life science businesses regularly reach time-sensitive product milestones with rep-triggered emails, tablet detailing, and drip campaign emails. Digital engagement continues to refine and mature as reps and marketing agencies use them regularly. However, these on-stage engagement tactics overshadow the potential for developing behind-the-scenes capabilities that improve overall engagement.
While pharma’s digital capabilities are improving, organizations have plenty of room for digital growth. Collaboration between the traditionally siloed departments in life science organizations is the next stage in enhanced digital communication, providing more value to customers and deeper engagement.
How Digital Collaboration Improves the HCP Customer Experience
Healthcare providers receive a flood of digital content each day. As a result, they only engage with those who provide the most accurate and helpful information. To stand out from the competition and provide the most value to HCPs, the collaboration between commercial affairs, medical affairs, and marketing is critical. Cross-functional collaboration gives marketing and commercial affairs access to crucial information and insights from medical affairs, enabling them to create better content that stands out from more siloed organizations.
For many companies, this collaboration is challenging to achieve, especially between field teams and marketing. Fields teams have an intimate understanding of HCP pain points and goals. They gain deeper insights into the market because they engage with customers daily and hear from them directly.
However, much of this vital information remains unstructured and uncaptured. Without the right digital tools, they cannot record their insights, and companies miss out on insights and feedback.
On the other hand, marketing relies on technical data and information to perform mass outreach and brand awareness. They lack the personalization and supporting engagement to see the best results for their efforts. Without deeper customer insights, their campaigns will be limited, and they could miss out on valuable markets.
When departments more easily share information, customers benefit from a company that understands their pain points and goals more deeply. Improving the collaboration between these two departments can help combine both strengths for better-targeted campaigns and strategies. Working on the “behind-the-scenes” collaboration can also create the more seamless communication modern organizations require to transform the customer experience.
Many life science organizations lack more in-depth levels of communication because their technology was not built to support collaboration. Legacy tools that most companies rely on weren’t designed to support virtual engagement or the future of communication. For example, many legacy customer relationship management (CRM) platforms were not created to provide access to customer data for different functions and a holistic customer view. It impedes organizations’ journey towards a customer-centric experience and keeps them from harnessing full access to vital insights to improve their campaigns, content, and engagement.
Harnessing Quick Wins to Improve Commercial and Medical Collaboration
The road towards improving collaboration requires improving digital tools and processes, often taking organizations time to realize its benefits. However, enhancing collaboration and handoffs between commercial teams and medical affairs is an achievable goal that provides life sciences businesses with short-term wins.
Healthcare provider interest is typically focused on medical affairs during the early phases of a new brand, particularly pre-launch. Organizations should focus on enhancing collaboration during key campaigns and launches. For example, enhancing digital collaboration between medical affairs and sales teams allows reps to answer a physician’s unsolicited medical questions with almost real-time interactions. Plus, insights gathered during this time are critical to the long-term success of campaigns.
Linking digital activity is a strategic process but enhancing commercial and medical collaboration is one way to get a quick win and realize the benefits of behind-the-scenes digital engagement.
Build Engagement with effective digital collaboration tools
Life science companies have dramatically improved digital-first engagement over the past couple of years but have yet to realize the fullest benefits of digital communication. Behind-the-scenes digital collaboration is vital for enhancing the customer experience by improving content, engagement, and campaigns.
Organizations that invest in digital collaboration tools provide better personalized customer journeys, effective content, and deeper customer insights. Starting with quick wins, behind-the-scenes collaboration ensures that companies are ready for the future of engagement.
Why Omnipresence
Exeevo’s Omnipresence is a single digital ecosystem with omnichannel capabilities that provides life science organizations critical support and in-depth insights for collaborative commercial and medical customer relationship management. The platform offers support at each stage of the customer journey empowered with Microsoft AI across devices and applications.
Resources
[1] Cision. 2022. Digital engagement continues to soar amongst biopharma in APAC.
[2] Missakian, N. 2022. Don’t spam us, healthcare professionals plea, as they seek quality over quantity from pharma marketers. Fierce Pharma. Retrieved from https://www.fiercepharma.com/marketing/hcps-want-less-clutter-more-relevance-from-pharma-marketers-survey-shows