If you don't measure, you won't measure up. But how do you measure correctly?
How can we work together with other stakeholders from IT and omnichannel to expand the possibilities and reach a new level of “digital marketing maturity”?
Additionally, HCPs have increased their expectations of life science companies:
- Many companies are vying for the attention of HCPs. To stand out from the crowd, it is necessary to address HCPs precisely, in form and content at the ideal time.
- HCPs want faster access to medical information. Medical Affairs has taken over the leading role from the sales force in addressing HCPs and is now competing with marketing for digital reach.
- HCPs are pushing into digital channels on social media: LinkedIn, YouTube and TikTok are becoming relevant channels – not just for patients.
- The communicative focus with HCPs is changing from “advertising” to “education” and from “push marketing” to “dialog“.
This white paper is the first in a series of white papers and case studies in which we present methodical approaches and knowledge for practical implementation.
Measure everything that can be measured, and make everything measurable that cannot be measured.
Terms used in digital marketing
The basis of all communication is a common language. When we use words like “campaign”, we assume that our counterpart or our readers understand the same thing as we do. In reality, however, this is often not the case. In some circumstances, even departments within the same company have different meanings for the same terms.
Digital marketing works best where we can address individuals specifically. This means addressing the HCP at the right time in a way that suits their personality, opinion and interests. This sounds simple in theory, but above all it requires a lot of good data.
Interests or personality sound like a very subjective data set. In order to make this measurable, a different perspective is recommended: looking at the interactions of the individual HCPs or accounts. Every interaction generates high-quality data and allows us to measure whether and how we are achieving our goals and reaching our target group.
Channels
Customers and potential prospects are addressed via various channels. Interaction then takes place on the channels.
Channels are:
- Personal visit/face-to-face
- Telephone call
- Field service e-mail
- Mass e-mail
- Website/landing page
- Web community
- Live event
- Digital event (online)
- Instant messaging such as WhatsApp
- Mobile app
- Newspaper/magazine
- ... and more
On channels, we can only obtain passive data about the transport of information such as “Mails sent”, “Bounce” or “Open”.
Touchpoints & interactions
Channels always have one or more points of contact, so-called “touchpoints”.
Each touchpoint in a channel has at least one interaction, such as reading, clicking, downloading, viewing, logging in, registering or confirming.
The goal of a touchpoint is always interaction with it, i.e.
- increase attention
- achieve an effect
- trigger an action
Interactions with touchpoints are measurable. In many cases, we also know who is interacting. We know who has visited the channel and who has carried out the interaction. Typically, this “account” is an HCP or pharmacist, and a personalized deep link makes direct attribution possible.
Interactions with touchpoints consequently provide higher-quality data: How long was a video watched? Which links were clicked? Which slides were viewed in the eDetailer and how were they rated?
To better assign this data, every interaction should also be tagged – i.e. linked to a product, an indication or a key message. Interactions provide us with essential information about our accounts. We find out “who” is interested in “what” on which channel (i.e. “where”).
Engagement Value
Engagement value” is a conceptual makeshift metric and a strategic approach:
Each interaction of an account is given a certain value, the “Engagement Value” of the interaction, or “EV” for short. This value describes the extent to which the interaction contributes to marketing or sales objectives. Every interaction associated with an account is assigned an engagement value.
The engagement value never refers solely to the account, but always to a specific question, such as:
- How thoroughly does the account deal with a key message?
- How thoroughly does the account deal with a product or active ingredient?
- How thoroughly does the account deal with an indication?
The engagement value helps us to evaluate an interaction. Above all, however, it helps us to evaluate series of interactions across different channels.
For example: An account receives an email, reads it and clicks on the CTA button. A website now opens. The account watches about half of a video, looks at three more pages on the mode of action, a case study and an event announcement, and finally downloads the summary of a study. Each of these interactions represents a more or less valuable engagement with the desired key messages and specific product features.
With every interaction an account takes, we gain specific information about it. This information forms an increasingly accurate picture of the account and its real interests.
This is not only important data for the sales force and the MSL, but it is also an elementary component of a targeted digital funnel. If, for example, an account's current interest in product/indication/key message XYZ exceeds a certain threshold value, the account can be upgraded in the corresponding adoption ladder and a resulting next-best action can be proposed to the sales force with a concrete, data-based justification.
In summary, this means that if an account uses the channels and touchpoints we offer, it collects “points,” i.e. the engagement values of the touchpoints used. If the points collected per contact reach a threshold value, further and more targeted marketing measures can be applied.
How precise does such a points system for engagement value have to be? The sky is the limit, but often a very simple system for awarding points is enough. This is measured by the effort of the reception or the interaction with the touchpoint.
An interaction can achieve value points for several aspects:
- 1 Point
Initial engagement with a topic - 2 Points
Minor engagement with a topic, at least 300 words (one A4 page), 50% of a video watched - 3 Points
Intensive study of a topic, at least > 600 words, 75% of the video watched - 5 Points
Download of a document, video watched completely (> 90%) - 10 Points
Time-consuming form filled out, participation in event, webinar or ordering of products
Since every interaction generates value points, these accumulate. An account quickly reaches 10 to 15 points. From 7 points, an account can be rated as “very interested” and you can become active accordingly. The longer a campaign runs, the clearer it becomes which threshold values are appropriate. This experience can be used in subsequent campaigns and be constantly reevaluated.
If you only look at the channels and neglect the touchpoints, you might even believe that the highway is already your destination – what really counts is where and how you reach people.
How to implement and run this system?
The first step in implementing such a system is to plan marketing activities that focus on touchpoints.
This was almost always rated as the most important issue in our consulting projects. Mainly because it simplifies the handling of selectors and the definition of measurable goals. Further information on this, as well as specific materials and case studies, are available in our other articles.
In the following, we answer the question of how this works by looking at the processes and the technical solution. We use terms and concepts from Veeva CRM, due to its prevalence in the life sciences.
Like almost every other CRM platform in the life sciences, Veeva CRM already tracks interaction with emails and eDetailers. It becomes more challenging when the behavior of an account on a website or other channels needs to be tracked. Many companies track this data already, some even use a central data cloud. From there, data can be automatically aggregated and transferred to Veeva as multichannel activities, insights and even as product-specific attributes (product metrics). But even without centralized data management, the data generated on the website can be transferred directly to Veeva CRM.
The incoming data triggers automated processes in Veeva, known as flows. These evaluate the data situation and create suggestions when predefined conditions are met. Suggestions are recommendations for action to sales reps or MSLs. They contain a specific recommendation for action and an explanation which threshold value has been reached and which action is recommended as a result.
Flows can also be used to set other attributes of an account. Series of interactions then lead to changes in the product metrics or the adoption ladder, for example.
Larger companies often already use a marketing automation platform (e.g. Salesforce Marketing Cloud or Adobe Campaign). These offer significantly more extensive automation options.
Next Steps
In this white paper, we have introduced the core concepts of our consulting approach: Channel, Touchpoint, Interaction and Engagement Value. We have also provided an idea of how this ambitious goal can be achieved from a technical perspective.
In the following whitepapers we show:
Tim Neugebauer // Digital Engagement Consultant
Tim is an expert in engagement of any kind. Whether digital or analog, he ensures that your content finds the optimal route to its target. Vault Platform Associate Administrator & IQVIA OCE Digital certified.
Additional sources
[2024, EMJ & Pharmax, „Digital Channel, Expectations & Behaviors, HCPs worldwide“]
[2024, Veeva, „Der vernetzte Kunde in der Biopharma-Industrie“]
[2023, Healios, „Understanding HCP Channel Trends & Preferences“]
[2023, EPG Health, „The future of HCP Engagement Impact “]
[2023, Reuters, “Medical Affairs versus an Explosion of Data”]
[2023, Indigene, “The Digitally-Savvy HCP Learnings to Engage HCPs Around the World More Effectively and Efficiently”]