Why “Closing the Loop” is No Longer Enough: Progressing from Automation to True Engagement
"No other industry has the face-to-face interaction that exists within pharma with the sales rep; they are the ones with the local knowledge that is attuned to the HCP and their needs. If they are merely robots executing centralized strategy, we are missing out on a valuable opportunity".
To realize the promise of CLM, pharma must use it as a tool to create deeper engagement. By gathering and analyzing feedback, sales reps can continually refine the message in real time. Consumers receive information that is relevant and interesting to them, and pharma companies can position themselves to strengthen commercial opportunities. In reality, the message delivered is not individualized but campaign-based and while you are closing the loop in terms of gaining feedback on what the customer want, you are not responding to their needs with a tailored solution. Giving the customer what they want is delivering a relevant message and the lynchpin in the equation is an empowered sales rep who is in tune with the customer, is listening to their feedback and is co-creating a tailored message with the customer. When you want to activate your Closed Loop Marketing and go from mass communication to individual communication, you can no longer just automate everything. Instead you have to empower people, such as sales reps, to make decisions about customers on an individual level.
CLM can transform the selling process into one of collaborative engagement, with the customer at the centre of a web of multichannel communications that they drive and an empowered sales rep as a co-pilot, who assists in steering the customer in the direction he wants to go.
Scratching the Surface
While CLM is gaining traction, there is still a considerable way to go for pharma to harness its full potential. According to a recent eyeforpharma report, “Innovative Sales Strategies & Metrics”, one-third of pharma sales and marketing sources reported that they have not initiated iPad use yet, despite its launch in April, 2010. Citing poor training as a reason for low adoption, most considered that at the moment, iPad content simply mirrors print materials and therefore does not provide a motivation for use by the sales team.
Morten Hjelmsoe, CEO and founder of CLM software company, Agnitio concurs with this assessment and contends that many pharma companies are merely scratching the surface when it comes to deriving true benefit from utilizing CLM technologies.
“It’s a case of many pharma companies going from paper to glass (i.e. print to digital) and applying the old push mentality to push harder and faster. Using the technology as an amplifier is not bringing anything new to the table. To derive real benefit from digital technologies you need to individualize the message, tailor presentations to the knowledge levels of the person and their interests, gather feedback, analyze data and reconfigure on the fly. It’s about delivering a truly customized experience using content that is well-conceived and takes into consideration the unique nuances of the individual to deliver an engaging, valuable and relevant experience. To harness the value of digital technologies will require a complete change in mindset, where the sales person is empowered to give the customer exactly what they want, when they want it. We need to move away from the campaign-based thinking that is prolific, where content is delivered on a firm-centric schedule, delivering the same push message four times a year. That’s not individualized and it becomes an irritant instead of a source of value”.
Empowering Reps
Through CLM, the industry has the opportunity to empower the sales rep and improve performance by turning the model around to a pull model, using interactive devices for detailing. This opportunity is often missed, however.
Sales reps are the ones with the local knowledge, the ear to the ground that is attuned to the HCP, their individual concerns, their issues, their problems. If they are merely robots executing centralized strategy we are missing out on a valuable connection to the customer
Using CLM technology won’t make the message more relevant. Empowering the people closest to the customers - “the foot soldiers” - to deliver the most relevant information to the customer is where we see real results, because they are the people who are in-tune with customers’ individual needs. With multiple channels in play, sales reps can encourage physicians to access a customized microsite after the face-to-face meeting. They can listen and adapt and customize the message to foster the desired behavioral change. What the technology can do is help you deliver your strategy. If all you have to deliver however, is a one-size fits all message delivered in campaign chunks, you are closing the loop in terms of learning what the customer wants but you are not able to deliver what they want, which is the relevant message or solution. Going beyond closing the loop to empowering the sales rep is key to giving people what they want; the sales rep can figure out where the customer is on the adoption ladder and working in tandem with the customer and based on customer input, they can present an individualized message accordingly. That requires a rethink in terms of organizational structure. But in order to move on to a more advanced offering this is what’s required. Consider this - no other industry has the face-to-face interaction that exists within pharma with the field rep. Sales reps are the ones with the local knowledge, the ear to the ground that is attuned to the HCP, their individual concerns, their issues, their problems. If they are merely robots executing centralized strategy we are missing out on a valuable connection to the customer”, asserts Hjelmsoe.
Evolving Towards Co-Creation
Traditional methods of fuelling growth through 30 second commercials and products developed exclusively by in-house R&D have run out of steam. They are increasingly being replaced by a collaborative, co-created view of value that emphasises the individual’s needs rather than the “one-size-fits-all” model of mass marketing.
“We need to rethink marketing, not as a function or as a department but as an embedded pattern of behavior that is obsessed with the customer; creating and nurturing customer value. If pharma wants to get enduring competitive advantage they need to embrace the new type of customer they are dealing with – one that is media savvy, more collaborative and wants an active voice in the product/service offering they are getting”, states Hjelmsoe.
Looking outside of industry, there is a multiplicity of examples of co-creation. Nike achieved remarkable success with its Nike+ co-creation initiative, which enables a community of over a million runners to interact with one another and the company, increasing its market share by 10 per cent in the first year.
Customers are reached, observed, segmented, marketed to and sold to but that’s not engaging them. Engagement is giving people what they want, consulting with them and working in collaboration to deliver a solution to their needs
Pharma organizations are locked into a firm-centric paradigm of value and its creation. Engaging people in generating better products and services that deliver outcomes and value is a considerable shift in mindset. Customers are reached, observed, segmented, marketed to and sold to but that’s not engaging them. Engagement is giving people what they want, consulting with them and working in collaboration to deliver a solution to their needs”, concludes Hjelmsoe.
There is a large, unstoppable trend where people are becoming increasingly resistant to being “sold to”. Modern buyers want to engage on their terms and digital technologies allow levels of access and customization that were previously inconceivable. The biggest challenge going forward will be getting the organization to look at CLM as part of a holistic customer communication strategy. Engagement Marketing, done well, means connecting with audiences who want to hear from you, in relevant, meaningful, interesting ways. Therein lies the keys of the proverbial kingdom.
Morten Hjelmsoe will be launching Agnitio’s latest CLM offering, Rainmaker, at eyeforpharma Barcelona in March. For more details, click here.