The digital transformation is changing the way pharmaceutical companies interact with healthcare professionals (HCPs). Life sciences decision-makers need to equip their teams with powerful data to help them best capitalize on HCP communication preferences as well as their geographic, therapeutic area, specialty, and patient mix. With email automation and virtual conferencing capabilities on the rise, embracing digital innovation by working around the pandemic will allow organizations to best decide how to target physicians for the most meaningful interactions.
Screen-to-screen is the new normal
Gone are the days of relying on face-to-face interactions. Even in our personal lives there is a heavy reliance on screen-to-screen communication and now this trend is spilling over into the pharmaceutical industry. Especially within commercial organizations, there has been an emphasis on e-detailing strategies whether it be through pre-approved emails or video conferencing.
With this trend only on the uptick, reps need to understand how to use digital technologies for more engaging, virtual interactions that provide lasting value to the customer. Standing out to customers when there are many physical barriers can be quite challenging. Therefore, it is important to embrace technology as the pandemic’s time frame is unknown, causing lasting effects on the life sciences industry as a whole.
The meaning is in the data
While virtual engagement capabilities are helpful in the face of remote work, they aren’t what makes engagements meaningful. In order to have a clear-cut engagement strategy when interacting with physicians, data needs to come into play. Commercial teams need insightful data that helps them in targeting and segmenting physicians based on location, patient type, specialty, and affiliation.
In addition, understanding what topics are most popular will help commercial and medical affairs teams refine their strategies. For instance, sample ordering and clinical trial results are some of the more common topics discussed during interactions in the face of COVID-19. Ultimately, thoughtfully planned interactions means using data to create targeted and segmented messaging to provide the most value to the physicians that your reps and MSLs engage with.
Emphasizing Medical Affairs and MSL Collaboration
The pandemic has caused a shift in the priorities of HCPs, especially those who treat a high volume of patients. HCPs are typically most concerned about new possible treatments, treatment protocols, product supply, and safety and efficacy. However, COVID-19 has HCPs more concerned with how the virus can affect their patients’ existing treatments.
This prioritization shift of HCPs requires commercial teams to collaborate more with medical affairs. These functions must work hand-in-hand to provide the most value to HCPs by addressing their immediate concerns. This need typically was not as high in demand pre-pandemic, so advanced capabilities and digital tools are needed to help with these collaborative efforts.
Start with Digital
With physical barriers almost eliminating face-to-face contact, TikaMobile’s solutions step in to support your team. With TikaPharma, you can equip sales reps with the meaningful data they need about their customers in real-time so they have targeted messaging and relevant information for strengthening key relationships. More importantly, the Physician Targeting module promotes strong segmentation strategies while keeping conversations concise and meaningful with key prospects and customers.
Make the most out of your virtual engagements either via TikaConnect or our Automated Email capabilities. Use these tools to share important information through targeted messaging for more meaningful and engaging conversations. Maximize impact with TikaMobile.
Citations
https://www.firstwordpharma.com/node/1716504?tsid=17
http://www.pharmexec.com/how-covid-19-forcing-pharma-adopt-new-physician-interaction-models