Pharma Field Forces Embrace Customer-Centric Approach in Digital Transformation Era
核心洞察
Pharmaceutical companies are shifting from product-centric to customer-centric engagement models, driven by changing HCP preferences and accelerated digital transformation following COVID-19 (搜索).
Industry experts from Takeda (搜索), Novo Nordisk, and Sanofi emphasize the need for data-driven segmentation, personalized omni-channel strategies, and new metrics to measure quality of HCP interactions.
Companies that take a holistic approach to sales operations transformation, rather than implementing isolated changes, are more likely to succeed in justifying field force value and improving customer engagement.
The pharmaceutical industry is undergoing a significant transformation in how field forces engage with healthcare professionals (HCPs), with customer-centricity emerging as the critical factor for future success. Industry experts agree that the traditional "brute force" approach to HCP engagement is no longer viable in today's rapidly evolving healthcare landscape.
"Access to HCPs has been growing more difficult for a while now. Meanwhile, their preferences are changing and technology and AI are transforming healthcare," said Vandana Singh, principal of commercial excellence at Axtria (搜索), during a recent industry webinar on customer engagement and pharma's field force future.
Shifting from Product-Centric to Customer-Centric Models
The COVID-19 (搜索) pandemic has dramatically accelerated digital transformation in pharma, forcing companies to rethink their engagement strategies. Steve Green, head of sales operations for neuroscience at Takeda (搜索), emphasized that the risk of wasting an HCP's time is now greater than ever.
"Historically, we've been very good at broadcasting our message via brute force, but we don't have the opportunity for that frequency anymore. We've got to get more adept at being customer-focused and delivering true value," Green noted.
Manvendra Singh, senior director and head of sales innovation at Novo Nordisk, added that while customer-centric representatives have always been more successful, the industry has often failed to fully embrace this approach.
"Previously we've paid a lot of lip service to customer centricity and patient centricity, but we haven't lived up to it; we have still mostly organised and governed ourselves from a product-centric viewpoint," he said. "All the basics are still there – you need to be calling on the right customers with the right message at the right frequency. But now you also have to deal with the right content, right channel and right context."
Data-Driven Decision Making
A key component of the evolving customer engagement model is the use of data to understand HCP preferences and tailor approaches accordingly. According to Axtria (搜索)'s US Customer Engagement Planning And Execution Benchmarking Survey, 44% of companies are currently rolling out multi-channel activity plans, with more considering implementation in the near future.
However, many companies are hesitating due to concerns about data quality or reluctance to override field representatives' judgment. Vandana Singh noted that successful companies are moving toward dynamic segmentation methodologies that analyze preferences to determine the optimal channel for each customer.
"You can no longer have a one size fits all model in terms of customer engagements," she emphasized.
Takeda (搜索) has partnered with data organizations to better understand customer preferences through predictive modeling, resulting in useful segments such as "doctors more interested in virtual communication" versus "more traditional doctors." This data-driven approach allows for more personalized engagement strategies.
Learning from Other Industries
Melchior Mpanjo-Penda, head of sales force excellence, incentives & compensation at Sanofi, suggested that pharma can learn valuable lessons from other industries that have already undergone digital transformation.
"Look at the operating model of the banking industry 20 years after the internet was brought in. Can you imagine not having your bank account on your mobile phone? We are at the beginning of that journey in pharma," he said.
"For me, learning from other industries is essential. That's what I do in my team. We go to forums, we listen to Ted Talks, we talk to partners that we have in other industries, just to make sure that we speed up our learning curve on this."
The Role of Customer Reference Data
The quality and management of customer reference data is another critical factor in pharma's digital transformation journey. According to Rebecca Silver, general manager at Veeva (搜索) OpenData, the industry often struggles with having accurate data on doctors and the organizations they work for.
A Veeva (搜索) European Customer Reference Data Survey revealed that 41% of companies are not satisfied with the quality of their third-party legacy providers of customer data. This dissatisfaction stems from data being siloed in different parts of the company rather than centralized for company-wide access.
"Complexity comes in when data's in silos and fragmented. If the data is in silos within a pharmaceutical company, you'll find multiple people that are buying the same data assets and storing them and managing them in various systems completely disconnected from each other," Silver explained.
"It's almost impossible to get a single, comprehensive view and an actionable view of their customer. It makes it really difficult to derive insights from that data because they're not getting the full picture of their customers."
New Metrics and Reward Systems
As pharma companies evolve their engagement strategies, they must also reconsider how they measure success and reward their field forces. Dany Labrecque, a global biopharma independent advisor and consultant, emphasized the need for innovative metrics.
"The company must be innovative in how they measure the quality of interaction with the HCP, which means this operation team will have to be able to articulate that and bring that back within the organisation," Labrecque said.
Manvendra Singh added that reward mechanisms need to align with customer-centric goals: "If you're going to reward based on product performance and not customer performance, then how are you going to move away from the old model? You'll also have to look at team-based rewards versus individual rewards if you want to have more customer-centricity in your organisation via a collaborative approach."
The Path Forward
Industry experts agree that a holistic approach to transformation is essential for success. Vandana Singh cautioned against implementing changes in isolated pockets: "If you don't look at all aspects of your sales operations in terms of promoting customer-centricity, you may not be able to achieve the desired results."
Steve Green warned that maintaining the status quo could threaten the future of field forces: "If we remain in our old habits, we're going to have a hard time justifying the size of our sales forces going forward. Everybody on the team has to make sure that that interaction with our customers is the best it can be every time."
The COVID-19 (搜索) pandemic has accelerated the need for this transformation, with companies increasingly adopting hybrid approaches that combine traditional face-to-face meetings with digital engagement strategies. As Silver concluded, "Customer data is the foundation of companies' success; data is now cool."
For pharmaceutical companies navigating this transformation, the message is clear: embrace customer-centricity, leverage data effectively, learn from other industries, and take a holistic approach to change. Those that do will be better positioned to meet the evolving needs of HCPs and ultimately improve patient outcomes in the digital age.