With an unprecedented number of drug launches, the need for field force engagement has never been greater – but it’s the right type of engagement that matters. Field reps often perceive that providers want them to identify patient opportunities with new therapies, but a recent study by Bain & Company found that providers actually want their reps to provide trend data, patient support, and introductions to top experts in their field.
In fact, 65 percent of healthcare providers say that input from key opinion leaders plays a significant role in their treatment decisions.
Adopting turnkey marketing tools can empower the field to offer these important value-add opportunities. One great example is national broadcasts. Today’s top pharma brands are building promotions around a series of live peer-to-peer broadcasts, giving reps an opportunity to engage providers with timely clinical information. Hosted by key opinion leaders, these broadcasts introduce providers to new therapies or new indications and provide a deep dive into safety and efficacy data, dosing information, as well as real-world patient experiences. Providers also value the ability to get their pressing questions answered by key opinion leaders at the end of the sessions.
These video-based programs give the field a tangible way to add value to providers by helping them understand how best to apply emerging therapies in their practice.
Driving healthcare provider and field value through live broadcasts and enduring video content
Live broadcasts engage providers by:
- Keeping the brand strategy and messaging unified
- Giving reps an opportune way to offer something of value to providers
- Creating a sense of urgency
Reps often invite providers to lunch to view the live programs together or to discuss the program afterwards. It’s beneficial for brands to offer these professionally produced broadcasts live over multiple days and times so busy providers can select the time that works best for them. Many firms then use the live broadcast to create an enduring asset, and procure approval to post the program on demand for extended engagement for value-add in-person and online follow-up. The content can then be syndicated to channels that providers already use to further non-promotional marketing.
Setting up reps for success
Preparing the field before national broadcasts is a crucial element to success. Access needs to be seamless and intuitive. To that end, hosting online orientation sessions for the field is an ideal way to introduce the concept and value of these live and on-demand sessions. From there, reps benefit from having easy-to-use tools such as email invites, registration pages, and live event day support. These tools reduce the “friction” of online registration, giving reps and providers a positive experience from the start. With tracked logins and other metrics, these programs can also bring measurability to field force enablement programs.
Exceeding expectations
One leading pharmaceutical company used this approach to reach hematologists, oncologists, as well as primary care physicians at treatment centers authorized to perform CAR T-cell therapy to provide an understanding of the unmet needs of patients with relapsed/refractory large B-cell lymphoma. To do so, they worked with PlatformQ Health to produce nine live broadcast sessions over a three-day period, followed by a six-month enduring campaign. Led by key opinion leaders in the oncology field, the sessions introduced healthcare providers to safety and efficacy data from relevant clinical trials, patient case examples, guidelines for early patient information, as well as details about the treatment journey.
The initiative focused heavily on encouraging the field force to promote the sessions to their customers and/or to set-up in-person meetings for deeper engagement. Field force materials provided included leave-behind invites, field-triggered emails, access instructions, field orientation/onboarding, an incentivized registration contest, as well as live day support.
The program was a great success. 291 physicians attended the live session and 142 attended the enduring program, with an average time in session of approximately 50 minutes. 131 of these participants were driven by the field force.
Conclusion
This novel approach enables the field force to build and accelerate customer relationships in person and online. By offering something of value – in this case, introductions to key opinion leaders and their clinical experience – brands are driving early awareness and adoption of new therapies.
Have any questions or want to learn more about our field force enablement solutions? Email us at digital@platformq.com