Bayer AG, GSK, Novartis: The Enterprise Value of KOL Insights
At Veeva’s EU Commercial Summit, I had the opportunity to hear how medical, commercial, and digital leaders are approaching key opinion leader (KOL) engagement with an enterprise mindset. Rather than take a somewhat siloed approach, as was historically the case, these top pharmas have aligned KOL data across multiple functional teams. This has resulted in improved KOL identification, deepened customer understanding, and powered internal analytics engines.
Medical approach: Catherine Best, Executive Director, Global Field Medical, Novartis
“I already know my customers” is one of the most common objections field teams raise when adopting a KOL insights solution. At Novartis, we focused on working in partnership with field medical teams to navigate any hesitancy—not only using Link Key People to validate and enhance existing KOL lists but also to discover new KOLs, such as emerging experts.
We found that field teams had typically identified 85% of KOLs, but a 15% gap remained. And, we were able to identify broader groups of key people who had recently entered the patient pathway. The value created by this exercise encouraged platform adoption among MSLs and head office users, e.g. Medical Leads. We saw an increase in Link Key People superusers who leverage the platform daily.
My colleagues and I also use Link Key People to implement a dynamic approach to KOL mapping. Historically, entering a new therapy area meant partnering with an agency to create a static KOL map — a process that often took weeks or even months. By the time the report was delivered, it was effectively out of date. Now, we use real-time data to identify new customers and have broadened the scope to include digital influencers.
Sales impact: Sam Pinner, Director Digital Transformation Region Europe, GSK
Having previously been a sales representative, the importance of preparing for HCP meetings still resonates. Access to the most up-to-date information enables reps to walk into an HCP meeting with confidence. When armed with resources such as recently published clinical papers or background on an HCP’s network, you present yourself (and your organization) as a credible partner. As a rep, I would have loved having the information on Link Key People at my fingertips.
More broadly, at GSK, advances in machine learning and AI have enabled my colleagues to process much larger data sets, such as those provided by Link Key People. Because it’s validated and updated in real time, we can pull Link data into our targeting and segmentation model and better inform next-best-action (NBA) strategies. For sales reps, NBAs have to add value to be actionable. This data does exactly that – and has led to an increased uptake in NBA use cases.
Commercial and clinical applications: Sebastian Reupsch, Deputy Director, Medical Customer Excellence, Bayer AG
From the outset of our Link Key People roll-out at Bayer AG, we included both commercial and medical teams. We brought these groups together for training to ensure they were working from the same trusted data. This created a one-stop shop for information on HCPs instead of relying on scattered searches.
We’ve since moved beyond the initial implementation of Link Key People to explore new therapy areas. Our medical and commercial teams are off and running, using the platform for stakeholder and expert identification, eliminating the need for external agencies. And, as the landscape of a new therapy area can be fast-changing, we’re building up analytical capabilities powered by Link data to track relevant updates.
On the clinical side, we initiated a grassroots effort to test Link Key People, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive — they also see value in the platform. In addition, we have just started rolling it out to our cell and gene therapy area.
Find out how to improve customer engagement using deep KOL insights.
Note: The views expressed in this post are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of Bayer AG, GSK, or Novartis.