We know that customers who have a good experience with a product will likely buy that product again. But how important are the other elements of the purchasing process? Does it matter that consumers feel they’ve gotten the proper attention and all the necessary information? For Paul Hooper, marketing director for Lundbeck, the answer is a resounding “yes.” According to Hooper, supporting patients throughout their experience with a particular medication brings huge benefits to both the patient and the pharma company.
In October of 2007, Hooper spoke on “How to use eMarketing and the Internet effectively for a customer-centric campaign” at an eyeforpharma conference. Says Hooper, Lundbeck’s primary purpose is to “improve the quality of life of people suffering from psychiatric and neurological disorders.” To that end, the company piloted a program that would offer support for patients taking the anti-depressant medication Cipralex.
As Hooper points out, patients suffering from depression offer particular challenges. They are often unmotivated, they lack interest and are withdrawn; getting such patients to participate in their own recovery can be difficult. One key issue is that patients frequently don’t take their medications long enough to fully recover. Studies have shown that patients suffering from depression should continue to take their medications for six to eight months. However, patients often begin feeling better after three or four months, and despite warnings from physicians that they stand a 50% chance of relapsing, opt to discontinue their treatment.
Drivers for a support system
Obviously, given the customer-centric culture at Lundbeck and its emphasis on improving patient outcomes, adding value for patients was a primary driver for establishing a support system for Cipralex patients. However, what’s good for the patient can also be good for the pharma company. Increasing patient compliance means increasing company revenues, so commercial concerns were another motivating factor.
One question the company wanted to answer was, given the millions of dollars invested in research and development, was the drug being used properly? One way to ensure that patients have access to all the pertinent information about the drug as well as about the disease is to offer an interactive support system.
Taking cues from other industries, Lundbeck decided to focus on the consumer experience. If the ultimate goal is to help patients, says Hooper, then we must ensure that customers have answers to key questions: Do they know precisely what condition they are suffering from? Do they know how their medicine works? Do they know how to take it, including dosage, frequency and duration? Do they know what side effects they might experience and how soon they might reasonably expect to begin feeling better? Knowledge has value to patients; fulfilling that need has value to both patients and pharma.
Why focus on consumer service?
“Consumer experience is key to sustainable value,” says Hooper. By enhancing the customer’s experience, we can increase retention. Customers will feel comfortable with the drug and comfortable staying on it for a longer period. We can increase advocacy, as satisfied patients report positive results to their doctors. That, of course, will result in increased market share and in a greater rate of acquisition as physicians who have seen good results begin prescribing it for new patients.
The Internet is an excellent channel for providing customer service, Hooper says. Already, some 143 million European customers are searching the Internet for details on health-related concerns. Of that number, 63 million are looking for pharma information, and 21 million are accessing pharma company sites. And what do they do with the information they’ve found? Around 100 million people report discussing what they discover with family and friends, and most importantly, 50 million were motivated enough to take it up with their family physicians.
Clearly, the Internet offers an opportunity for pharma to engage directly with customers. Users are comfortable with the Internet when seeking information and support; pharma companies want to help consumers and help the brand. As Hooper points out, harnessing all these together can drive better outcomes for patients and for the brand.
The iCan Experiment
Before undertaking a pilot program that would link Cipralex patients and Lundbeck via the Internet, the company wanted to be certain the program would work as intended. There were some key questions that needed to be answered before the program began. First, does a support system add value to the consumer experience over the short- and long-term? Well, studies indicate that customers who have support tend to have better compliance and better results.
Second, is the population that they’re targeting a “relevant segment” in the UK? There are 47 million adults in the UK, and fully 63% of them (29 million) are on line. Therefore, the online audience represented a “highly relevant” segment of the adult population.
Finally, the company wanted to know if consumer experience overall was really that important to the UK population. A study on car-purchasing decisions demonstrated that consumer experience could make all the difference. With a good car and a good dealer, 40% of buyers would buy the same make of car. With a good car but a bad dealer, that number dropped radically – to only 16%. If consumers got a bad car but had a good experience with the dealer, 24% would buy the same make again. Clearly, customer experience played a key role in purchasing decisions.
With that research to support them, Lundbeck undertook the iCAN (Interactive Cipralex Aid Network) project. The goals of iCAN were to “improve patient outcomes, get patients endorsing Cipralex to their physician, and provide an added-value service that enhances the benefits of Cipralex.” The goals would be achieved by educating patients on both the condition and the drug, providing advice via cognitive behavioral therapy-style tips and an “Ask an Expert” service, and equipping patients with a self-monitoring tool that would allow them to track their progress. Only patients with Cipralex prescriptions were allowed to enroll and access the site.
The site offered many interactive tools designed to keep patients engaged in their own recovery. Patients could ask questions to an online panel of experts and receive answers within a few days. An online diary encouraged users to detail their experiences and share them with other patients. Every day, users got an “action list” of things to do, some of which were triggered by the results of self-tests they could take on the site. Patients supported each other and built an online community. In one instance, a patient was having trouble with nausea. Others reassured the patient that the side effect was short-lived and he or she should stick with the treatment.
Encouraging results
Within four months, the iCAN project had met and exceeded all its targets. The company wanted to have 250 patient registrations; it got more than 450. Lundbeck wanted 60% of users to agree or strongly agree that iCAN helped them to cope with their depression and that iCAN reassured them to continue taking the medication as prescribed. Instead, the responses were 85% and 90%, respectively. Now, just a few months later, and with very limited promotion efforts, the site has over 1,000 registered users.
Will that result in increased revenue for the brand? When Lundbeck tracked Cipralex before the study, results showed the usual treatment decay curve. Given a starting number of 100 patients, within a month, that number dropped to 60, then to 40 after two months and so on. The first drop, says Hooper, can be accounted for, as drugs generally are only effective for 60 to 70% of the population. But, given that the drug works for the rest, it should be possible to dramatically reduce the other drop-offs.
And it is. The iCAN program yielded a true win-win scenario, says Hooper. Patients using the iCAN system increased their treatment duration, with 35% more months of treatment and £1,700 of increased revenue per 100 patients. If the program could be extended to cover 10,000 patients (only 5% of patient uptake) in a year, Lundbeck would see a 35% ROI.
An interactive, online, customer-support service like iCAN is clearly a great way to help patients and increase revenue for a brand, Hooper says. Improving the consumer experience means customers are retained for longer and will advocate the drug to their doctors, which in turn will drive up market share and acquisition of new patients. According to Hooper, the most important lesson to take away here is, “Look after your consumers and they will look after you.”
Author: Shannon Perry, journalist, eyeforpharma
