Key Indicators: An Early Warning System for Multichannel Campaign Management

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1 Cognizant Insights Key Indicators: An Early Warning System for Multichannel Campaign Management For pharmaceuticals companies, a careful analysis of both leading and lagging indicators for multichannel physician-contact efforts can result in shortened cycle times, reduced costs and greater profitability. Executive Summary Even though pharmaceuticals sales force professionals have less direct access to physicians, a wider range of channels for reaching these key targets is emerging. These include human, multimedia and digital channels that enable pharma companies to meet growing needs for physician data, one important way of supporting the industry s emerging customer-centric engagement model. Using an appropriate mix of channels for campaigns can reduce cycle time, cut costs and enhance revenue flows from both new launches and mature brands. Engaging multiple marketing channels will achieve such results only if the multichannel strategy is carefully planned, well executed and, as necessary, adjusted midstream to fine-tune tactics based on physician responses. Further, traditional commercial operations management and measuring tools are usually not well suited to managing these campaigns that span human and digital channels. Deploying new tactics with a minimal ability to measure their effectiveness is a frightening prospect to most pharmaceuticals management personnel. However, it is an all-too-common occurrence in today s business world. Fortunately, cloud and mobile technologies combined offer an optimal multichannel management framework. This framework provides an early warning system, delivering timely leading indicators to quickly adjust tactics, while its insights into lagging indicators measure cost-effectiveness and return. Leading pharma companies today are using this framework to achieve potent results with multichannel marketing. Successful Multichannel Management: A New Game Multichannel campaigns combine traditional channels with some of today s emerging channels. Almost all campaigns leverage a very strong digital component. The mix of channels can include: Physical/human contact channels. These include sales force field representatives increasingly equipped with tablet PC presentations, phone detailing, speaker programs and service representatives distributing samples. Multimedia channels. These channels are becoming more digitized and include WebEx/ Web presentations, sometimes with a live host, video/dvd-based detailing and e-sampling, using a company-owned Web site or portal or a third-party portal service for physician sample orders. cognizant insights march 2013

2 Companies often allocate money to a brand; in multichannel campaigns, it s critical that spend allocation is aligned on an individual physician basis. Traditional digital channels. These include , digital media, social network sites, online physician communities, etc. Successfully managing a campaign that mixes physical and digital channels requires a deep understanding of these points: Cross-channel planning must increase. More planning about how data will be collected from new sources and then merged with traditional data sources is required with multichannel campaigns. Country and regional plans and measures are not adequate for managing multichannel physician campaigns. Because tactical execution occurs at the individual target level, planning and measurements must also be conducted at that level. That raises the critical question of how a tactic s success against specific individuals will be measured. Spend allocations must be realigned. Companies often allocate money to a brand; in multichannel campaigns, it s critical that spend allocation is aligned on an individual physician basis. For example, what delivery tools does a physician prefer, and how do these align with tactics the same physician responds to? The answers to these questions have a direct impact not only on where spend should be directed but on the metrics used to evaluate tactics. Campaigns can yield richer data. Channels directed to individuals can yield more data, so the management team must be prepared to collect and interpret this data to quickly adjust the campaign tactic mix. Types of data available include physician preferences about contact channels and individual preferences, garnered by digital profiling of therapy and treatment areas. The Early Warning System Channel Indicators Increased planning, realigned spend allocations and data collection abilities must be combined with the right metrics for each channel, and across channels, to ensure a multichannel campaign is unfolding efficiently and effectively. Tracking metrics most appropriate for a particular channel and its target segment enables the pharmaceuticals company to understand how channels are influencing and interacting with each other, what tactics or messaging might need to be adjusted and whether spend should be reallocated midstream based on a tactic s performance. Lack of key performance indicators (KPIs) is not an issue. The challenge is the industry s strong focus on lagging indicators, evident in reviews of channel and promotion reports. Lagging indicators tell what happened in the past, with limited correlation to what will happen in the future. Indicators such as impressions, calls, targets reached, samples and materials delivered provide insights about the efficiency of a channel. These measures, however, have only a vague or even unknown correlation to how effective a channel is in moving targets toward desired behaviors. In contrast, leading indicators offer insights about a channel s potential effectiveness. These KPIs are more behavioral and usually more complex to compute. They require multiple data sources and more planning and coordination time to identify and collect the desired data. Consumer goods and retail have used leading indicators to adjust marketing tactics to drive higher sales, a tactic the pharma industry should adopt. Some of the most valuable leading indicators include: Engagement level of visitors by traffic source. Viral reach of marketing campaigns. Cost per engaged visitor. Percent of visitors accessing specific content. The Multichannel Management Early Warning System in Action Leading pharmaceuticals companies are making more sophisticated use of leading and lagging indicators in their multichannel campaigns. The following cases demonstrate how careful identification and monitoring of indicators continually shape a multichannel campaign. Case One: From Awareness to Purchase to Loyalty Situation: A client with a diversified portfolio encompassing medical devices, consumer products and pharmaceuticals products wanted to understand how key segments progressed from awareness to actual purchase. With this knowledge, the company could monitor and adjust its promotional efforts more precisely. Challenges included creating a monitoring and measurement framework flexible enough to use with multiple business units and providing cognizant insights 2

3 relevant data for known targets as well as diverse groups of anonymous consumers. Further issues included the extreme differences in end-user purchase cycles and the relative lack of branding for some key products. Solution: The client collaborated with us on a framework that tracked individuals and groups as they moved along a pathway from awareness to interception and engagement on to purchase and eventually loyalty. We defined key leading and lagging metrics for each channel that gauged targets movement from one step to the next. These included: > > Awareness: KPIs included the number of touch points in the marketplace and how target audiences reacted to those, indicating a move toward interception. Traditional metrics such as impressions and clickthrough rates were supplemented with leading indicators of what users did once they clicked through to content. This was considered interception. > > Interception: After a user interaction, which represented interception, the framework measured the types of online behavior exhibited by the user. This allowed us to show how many intercepted customers were moving toward true engagement, and how many were merely window shopping. > > Engagement: Metrics were ordered to represent likelihood to purchase. These metrics ranged from participation in games and online events up to requests for information and downloads, which indicated potential customers. By tracking the movement through the types of engagement, the client was able to refine its marketing information and Web site design to move targets to the purchase stage as quickly as possible. > > Purchase/intent to purchase: Measure involvement of users in activities associated with imminent purchase. > > Loyalty: Track the perceptions and social participation/viral spread generated by current users to guide the development of advocates. Spillover impact was calculated by accounting for the viral reach of users and social participants to gauge the wider reach of the brand, which would funnel potential new customers into the initial awareness stage. This reporting framework allowed the client to recognize and adjust weak links in its campaigns. In one situation, the reporting showed that while awareness and interception were high, communication and promotional efforts were insufficient to move the users to the engagement and purchase cycle. Investigation showed that while many targets clicked through to the Web site for more information, content organization on the site itself was a barrier to engaging targets. A simplified Web design, with key engagement activities on the home page, led to increased engagement and intent to purchase activities such as requests for information, use of surgeon locator tools and CRM enrollment. Case Two: Worldwide Multiple KPI Identification and Tracking Solution Situation: A European client running a worldwide multichannel campaign required a means of identifying and then tracking and reporting KPIs in each channel in a more efficient manner to provide insight to the management team. The channels included service reps, tele-sales reps, a contractual sales force, congresses and digital channels. Solution: In partnership with us, the company individually reviewed each channel and identified and grouped performance indicators by type of promotion. For channels with any type of personal, representative interaction, the KPIs were the number of customers reached, number of targets reached, number of calls by target segment, number of days in the field, calls per day, share of customers reached and number of sample drops. KPIs for Web-based channels include number of clicks per day, number of site registrations, time spent on site and requests for information. Those for symposia and congresses included number of acceptances, attendees and requests for visits, samples or information. Leading KPIs received special attention. Three or four key messages were identified for the tele-sales reps to attempt to deliver; those actually delivered were tracked as a measure of engagement in key conversations. A simplified Web design, with key engagement activities on the home page, led to increased engagement and intent to purchase activities such as requests for information, use of surgeon locator tools and CRM enrollment. cognizant insights 3

4 By focusing on these issues, the company was able to better identify a successful combination of channels to improve its customer targeting. Indicators as a Best Practice The right leading and lagging indicators for specific tactics and targets, monitored in near real-time and coupled with anytime, anywhereaccessible dashboards and reports, add up to an effective early warning system for multichannel campaigns. The system also provides detailed physician data and an analysis of return on investment for use in crafting future campaigns. As pharmaceuticals companies rethink their customer engagement models and reinvent their operations, multichannel campaigns can be powerful tools for enhancing revenues. Effectively measuring these campaigns while they are in progress as well as after completion is clearly an emerging best practice, one made possible by using a sophisticated key indicator early warning system. About the Authors Tom Jirele is a Principal and Practice Leader within Cognizant s Multichannel Marketing and Measurement Center of Excellence, focusing on the measurement and interaction of marketing channels to optimize client spend. He has over 30 years of experience in measurement and modeling across the life sciences, retail, finance and education industries. For the past 15 years he has worked in the life sciences industry, leading engagements related to promotional measurement, marketing strategy and multichannel optimization. He can be reached at Thomas.Jirele@cognizant.com. Klas Eriksson is an Associate Principal in Cognizant s Enterprise Analytics Practice. He focuses on multichannel marketing, dashboards and tools, segmentation and targeting and promotion response. Klas has extensive international experience in consulting for major pharmaceuticals companies. He can be reached at Klas.Eriksson@cognizant.com. About Cognizant Analytics Cognizant Analytics combines business consulting, in-depth domain expertise, predictive analytics and technology services to help clients gain actionable and measurable insights and make smarter decisions that future-proof their businesses. The practice offers comprehensive solutions and services in the areas of sales operations and management, product management and market research. Cognizant Analytics expertise spans sales force and marketing effectiveness, incentives management, forecasting, segmentation, multichannel marketing and promotion, alignment, managed markets and digital analytics. With its highly experienced group of consultants, statisticians and industry specialists, Cognizant Analytics prepares companies for the future of analytics through its innovative Plan, Build and Operate model and a mature Global Partnership model. The result: solutions that are delivered in a flexible, responsive and cost-effective manner. About Cognizant s Life Sciences Practice Cognizant s Life Sciences Practice partners with 27 of the top 30 global pharmaceuticals/biotech organizations in addition to serving companies in the medical devices, CRO and life sciences product sectors. Whether it s driving process improvements to your clinical operations, increasing sales and marketing effectiveness, meeting regulatory requirements or enhancing drug safety, we are redefining the way companies benefit from and experience global services. We enable business transformation by delivering consulting, analytics, IT and business process support to fuel innovation and competitive advantage. cognizant insights 4

5 About Cognizant Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) is a leading provider of information technology, consulting, and business process outsourcing services, dedicated to helping the world s leading companies build stronger businesses. Headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey (U.S.), Cognizant combines a passion for client satisfaction, technology innovation, deep industry and business process expertise, and a global, collaborative workforce that embodies the future of work. With over 50 delivery centers worldwide and approximately 156,700 employees as of December 31, 2012, Cognizant is a member of the NASDAQ-100, the S&P 500, the Forbes Global 2000, and the Fortune 500 and is ranked among the top performing and fastest growing companies in the world. Visit us online at or follow us on Twitter: Cognizant. World Headquarters 500 Frank W. Burr Blvd. Teaneck, NJ USA Phone: Fax: Toll Free: inquiry@cognizant.com European Headquarters 1 Kingdom Street Paddington Central London W2 6BD Phone: +44 (0) Fax: +44 (0) infouk@cognizant.com India Operations Headquarters #5/535, Old Mahabalipuram Road Okkiyam Pettai, Thoraipakkam Chennai, India Phone: +91 (0) Fax: +91 (0) inquiryindia@cognizant.com Copyright 2013, Cognizant. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the express written permission from Cognizant. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.