Let’s face facts. Existing sales models in today’s pharmaceutical landscape are breaking down. Manhattan Research’s ‘Taking the Pulse of Europe’ suggests that pharmaceutical sales reps are now only making 200-400 customer meetings per year, down from a peak of 1,000 just five years ago. Couple this with regulatory restraints, changing habits in how, when and where HCPs find information, lack of brand benefit differentiation due to a greater choice of drugs, blockbusters coming off patent, weak pipelines, and increased performance and profit pressures driving a trend for less resources to perform the same quantity of work without a quality decline. The outlook is grim. Many pharma leaders get their start in sales. So when pre-existing models start falling apart they have few alternative experiences to draw from. An ‘I know what I know and I like what know’ sort of mentality ensues. ‘New’ solutions end up protecting the old models.
Big change is needed – and fast.
Enter Closed Loop Marketing - touted as the sales saviour of the pharma industry as far back as the late 1990s. A 2003 study by Accenture found that early implementations of this approach resulted in a 70% increase in the amount of time physicians gave to sales reps. The study further suggested that by adopting Closed Loop Marketing, pharma companies could increase sales on a US$500 million drug by US$75 million, while lowering their marketing costs.
But if you look at the companies listed on Cafepharma as an indicator of the number of drug companies with sales forces and then overlay the number who have either active Closed Loop Marketing programmes or are in the pilot stage, why is the market share for Closed Loop Marketing currently only around 10%?
Two main reasons. A lack of understanding of what Closed Loop Marketing really is, combined with a lack of commitment to the right resources and buy-in within pharma companies.
What is it, really?
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A multi-channel Closed Loop Marketing strategy extends way beyond the PC Tablet model that is driven by so many technology vendors. It also includes service portals and websites, on-line meetings and e-conferencing, call centres and so on. This type of approach offers a unique opportunity to move away from the traditional mass produced detail aid, scripted sales call and software-focussed perspective, towards a more consultative and customer-centric marketing approach. It’s based on what the HCP actually wants to know, at a time and place that suits them.
Know your customers
Key to this is a Closed Loop Marketing model whose foundation is built on customer insights, not the technologies that happen to be out there. Technology is a commodity and it’s possible to build and complete bespoke end-to-end Closed Loop Marketing systems based on open source applications in less than 10 weeks. And it can (and should) be linked to a company’s pre-existing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system.
Manhattan Research suggests that 90% of HCPs are turning to the web for clinical content and that they average almost 10 hours per week online for professional use, both in practice and out of practice hours at home. In 2009 we conducted our own research amongst HCPs to find out what they’re looking for when it comes to digital solutions from pharma companies. This is what they want most:
- Relevance of site content
- Trustworthiness
- No marketing speak
- Easy to access, navigate and find content
- No intrusive advertisements or product promotions
- Improved service and experiences based on user feedback
The learning: make sure your Closed Loop Marketing programme and content are developed with HCP needs in mind, not just your business or brand objectives. If they don’t see the value, they simply won’t engage.
Committing the right resources
Getting the change management aspects right is mission critical. Implementing a successful multi-channel Closed Loop Marketing programme needs board level sponsorship, buy-in throughout all levels of the organisation, new ways to organise, motivate and train sales teams and getting the brand team to start producing relevant and tailored digital content, not just a clickable PDF version of the detail aid.
Conducting eMarketing workshops are an indispensable way to get digital on the agenda, increase awareness about the opportunities in digital and understand how to organise around digital content. Insight gathering sessions with internal stakeholders are also essential – from top management to foot soldiers. Don’t forget to understand external stakeholders at all levels – from NICE and payors to prescribing leads and jobbing doctors and nurses. As to training, sales forces will need to understand how the new model impacts them as well as how to use the system to improve productivity and results.
Moving towards an integrated multi-channel Clossed Loop Marketing approach impacts every part of a pharma company, so the project steering committee must include key stakeholders from every part of the business. Don’t forget local and regional representation if you’re aiming for a multi-market programme – their input from the outset means you’ll minimise those costly mistakes that don’t work at a local level.
How does it work?
A big five pharma company decided it was time to think differently, for all the reasons outlined earlier. They’re introducing sweeping changes to their sales and marketing approach to HCPs and payers by implementing a multi-market, multi-channel Closed Loop Marketing programme.
A multi-market, cross-functional project team reporting to the board was formed from the outset. Each individual was involved to a greater or lesser degree depending on the stage of the project. Six key functions were identified to make it work. Marketing, sales and brand teams, who would be working much more closely together. Medical and legal regulatory needed to be involved because this is a new way of looking at content. Medical people would have direct contact with customers in the new model, so their input was vital. Support functions would have a role in tying in the programme to pre-existing CRM software and content fulfilment. HR’s role in training and contracts was essential.
A thorough feasibility analysis of the business was conducted. This included multi-market research and insight gathering, internal and external workshops and reviews of current sales and marketing processes and the company’s pre-existing technology.The multi-channel strategy starting point was based around HCP segmentation models in terms of their interaction and touch point preferences. These were overlaid with the needs of sales reps, call centre staff and 3rd parties. From this a number of interaction models, channels and tools were identified:
| Channels and tools | |
| Self-studies/Self directed | On-line Detail-aid, Customer Service Portal |
| Rep aided | PC Tablet, On-line meeting tool, Customer Service Portal, email marketing tool, on-line chat |
| Call-centre aided | On-line meeting tool, Customer Service Portal, email marketing tool, on-line chat |
| 3rd party (e,g KOL) aided | On-line meeting tool, Customer Service Portal, on-line chat, email marketing tool, Social Networking Platform |
Basic prototypes were built and tested on HCPs, allowing refinements ahead of designing, branding and building the system and content. Then the system was piloted for three brands in six local markets, ranging in size from small to large. This included development of ‘glocal’ content and staff training. Ongoing refinements based on pilot feedback from customers and staff led to a final solution roll-out across all brands and markets.
Here’s an example of how the system works. Sales reps meet HCPs face to face. Due to time constraints, these only consist of high-level product messages on a Tablet PC. This is where Closed Loop Marketing normally stops, but this system goes much further. Now conversations can continue online. Based on the HCP’s personal needs, sales reps can make specific content and services available online. The HCP receives a personalised email from the rep inviting access a web page. The page may contain treatment guidelines, medical information, KOL videos, product information, clinical trial information, patient-education material, conferences, local content, interesting links and RSS feeds. It also provides individualised services such as events, CME/eCME and online meetings. The HCP can make scheduled or on-demand contact with their local team within the pharma company, including medical officers.
All activities and interactions are tracked, analysed and made available to the sales and marketing team. This creates a virtual feedback loop ¬for the sales rep – accessing richer information enables sequential selling and a better response to the HCP’s needs.
How is success measured?
There are three main ways to measure the success of a Closed Loop Marketing programme and it’s critical to put a framework in place to measure all of them:
1. Impact on business
What business benefits are seen in terms of sales, but also classic marketing metrics like share-of-voice and message recall?
2. Customer satisfaction
This is the most critical measurement as it indicates whether the pharma business has actually created a solution that meets the HCP’s needs. If the relationship is there and the HCP sees the value, sales will follow. This will also supply invaluable feedback on your customers’ needs, allowing you to continuously refine your Closed Loop Marketing activities.
3. Employee satisfaction
Has the solution made life easier for the sales reps? Does the solution help them meet their targets? Is the relationship with the targets developing is a positive way?
When done right, Closed Loop Marketing is a win-win situation for pharma companies and HCPs alike. Yes, it requires time, effort, leadership from the top and a shift from the silo mentality all too often seen in pharma companies, but the reward is increased revenues through more targeted and relevant communications to customers. At the same time, HCPs have better access to personalised resources and people in the pharma company, and can access those resources at a time that suits them. Plus a true multichannel Closed Loop Marketing approach allows sales reps to target more HCPs, increasing their productivity and potentially reducing costs.
