Agenda 2021 Special Feature: What’s now and what’s next, COVID edition

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What’s now and what’s next, COVID edition

By Pete Mehr, a principal at ZS

Let’s start by identifying a few key changes brought on by the pandemic, and then discuss what will and won’t revert back to as they were after the pandemic.

Changes brought on by the pandemic:

• Not surprisingly, sales rep contact with physicians (both in-person and virtual) decreased dramatically during the pandemic. ZS research shows average call activity in November 2020 was about half its pre-pandemic level. However, there is significant variation across companies: fully one-quarter of companies achieved more than 80 percent of their pre-pandemic call volume, while another quarter fell below the 50 percent average. The type of face-to-face calls have changed – with virtual calls increasing significantly post-pandemic and comprising of 40 percent of all face-to-face calls, compared to 0 percent pre-pandemic.

• Content – and the ability to tailor content based upon customer needs – has become critical to sustaining customer engagement during the pandemic.

• Engaging with HCPs consistently has become much more difficult during the pandemic. ZS research has identified the top five reasons HCPs gave for repeated virtual interactions with sales reps: 

1. Provided information on patient support resources

2. Reached out proactively for my needs at this time

3. Available on-demand to answer questions

4. Provided information on access and reimbursement

5. Tailored conversation to suit my practice’s needs during COVID-19

• In addition, HCPs are more comfortable with digital channels. ZS research shows rep-triggered email volumes increased by a factor of three pre- to post-pandemic, while the average email open rate also increased – from 21 percent before the pandemic to 27 percent during the pandemic. 

– A higher volume of rep-triggered emails indicates sales teams are comfortable with this digital tactic.

– A higher open rate indicates that HCPs find value in rep-triggered emails.

– A higher volume of rep-triggered emails and higher open rate for these emails signal this method of communication has become a very valuable way for companies to engage with their customers.

• We have also seen an increased volume of website visits – increasing by a factor of 2 to 4 over the pre-pandemic levels – indicating that HCPs are more comfortable gathering information on their own.

• For patients, recent ZS research captures a decreased number of visits to physicians compared to pre-pandemic levels. This indicates patients continue to put off seeing their physicians.

• Patients are increasingly focused on leveraging mail order for their medicines, co-pay assistance and educational information on COVID-19 and how the pandemic may impact their treatment plans.

Given these trends, we anticipate the following after the pandemic:

Pete Mehr

1Face-to-face interactions will increase, but not to pre-pandemic levels, as digital will continue to play a significant role in driving the customer experience. Look for digital to drive a bigger portion of the customer experience going forward. Successful companies will develop the ability to drive a seamless, integrated experience for HCPs across both in-person and digital. 

2) The pandemic led field teams to tailor engagement and content by geography, due to varying COVID-19 restrictions. This local market focus will continue post pandemic, as sales teams recognize the value of personalizing the HCP experience based on local factors, including hospital or institution restrictions and differences in patient demographics.

3) A link will continue to develop between commercial field teams and medical field teams. Historically, these two teams have been siloed, with minimal – if any – connection. The pandemic proved the value of linking these two teams to drive a more valuable customer experience. This linkage will, of course, need to be done in a compliant way – and companies are already working to figure this out.

4) Digital promotion will change significantly. At the start of the pandemic, digital promotion focused on increasing frequency of interaction to compensate for lack of in-person detailing. This had marginal benefit. Companies are now starting to realize the value of digital late in the pandemic as they use it to gather deep insights on their customers and develop and deliver engagements tailored to each customer’s needs.

5) Personalizing content to the needs of the customer will be critical to drive sustained engagement. This change will impact not only how content is created, approved, and deployed, but also how field teams tailor available content based on what they know about their customers. 

6) Patient visits will spike post-pandemic, and patient support will become even more critical to patient outcomes. New patient support services will need to deliver tailored experiences based on the patient’s unique situation. These require an ability to engage on demand, provide financial assistance, proactively address questions around COVID and their medicine and use AI to develop predictive capabilities to anticipate patient events — instead of engaging after the event.

7) Lastly, and probably most importantly, marketing strategies will change. Marketers now know that their customers are looking for individual, tailored experiences with personalized content delivered seamlessly across both live channels (e.g., face-to-face interaction, call centers, patient advisers, etc.) and digital channels. Developing annual “brand plans” focused on channel mix and siloed content will no longer work. Marketers need to develop more dynamic strategies, at a more granular level, and have a direct link to the marketing and sales operations capabilities to ensure customers receive the experience they intended. 

That’s a lot of change! So, what will go back to the pre-pandemic approach? Frankly, I can’t think of anything. In fact, even how we work will change. Many companies are considering work from home as an ongoing part of how teams engage and get things done.

The pandemic has changed the industry in profound ways. In some sense, the pandemic has greatly accelerated trends that were already occurring. Our ability to recognize and act on these changes will have significant value to both HCPs and patients.