Omnichannel Engagement and Medical Teams in Pharma

Although commercial activities have quantifiable performance metrics such as market share and revenue, the impact of medical activities (via MSLs and medical advisors) is harder to measure objectively using third party market data. However, medical activities such as disease and treatment awareness through education and support for healthcare professionals are critical as they lead to better treatment outcomes for patients.

While their success and performance are not measured through market data, the opportunity to increase their effectiveness using customer engagement metrics often seems overlooked. Indeed, in many pharma organizations, the medical function is usually slower to adopt the latest data-driven engagement tools made available for commercial teams.

It's important to remember that digital engagement tools are designed to personalize engagement and deliver a tailored value proposition to each customer. Considering the cost of generating valuable content such as educational programs, webinars and other forms of training, the importance of reaching the right customers is paramount. An increased share of voice yields greater return on investment for content generation

Tools such as customer relationship management systems, marketing automation platforms, and analytics can help medical teams understand customer preferences, and tailor their engagement initiatives accordingly. However, configuring these tools to automate certain processes and to offer new and unique opportunities to address customers' needs is how I have had the most success in generating enthusiasm and excitement for these tools withing medical teams.

Many pharma companies are only now realizing the importance of leveraging omnichannel customer engagement tools and practices for medical teams, and struggling to catch up to commercial teams in terms on onboarding and adoption. Focusing on the immediate value proposition is key to medical into the fold.