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Using Selling Simulator For New Drug Launch In The New Normal

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The reverberation of unparalleled business disruptions in healthcare caused by Covid pandemic, extends across its value chain – from patients and families to clinicians and pharmaceutical companies. Consequently, even many diehards or staunchly tradition-bound pharma marketers were being prompted to reimagine their marketing model, to keep the business going.

Some of these areas include, customer preferred engagement channels, platforms and associated remote or virtual training inputs – necessary for effective execution of new strategic marketing models for the evolving new normal. A few of them are also moving in this direction – garnering requisite wherewithal.

“But it has also left some of them paralyzed by uncertainty. Should they invest now in transforming their commercial model or wait to see how things play out?” This palpable dilemma of many pharma marketers, was well captured in a recent McKinsey & Company article - ‘Reshaping pharma’s strategy in the next normal,’ published on December 15, 2020.

In a situation like this, one of the critical challenges is the successful launch of new pharma products amid changing customer behavior, product expectations and other associated uncertainties. ‘As pharmaceutical companies reshape their commercial models to prepare for the uncertainties ahead, personalization and digital enablement will be crucial to launch success in the new environment,’ underscored the above article.

As many of us will know, quality training and development inputs for the same, remain a vital prerequisite before the sales force hits the marketing battle ground. Isn’t that also a challenge in the prevailing market situation? Could digitalization of the company provide a solution to this critical sales force training issue for the same, in the new normal? This article will delve into this area.

Digitalization is a basic step – the challenge is much beyond that:

As I wrote in my article dated October 07, 2019, disruptive digital transformation in pharma sales and marketing is indeed a necessary basic step. It will also help to leapfrog in the field staff training and development process by imbibing leading-edge technologies, such as AI, for giant leaps to higher growth trajectories. But, ‘Digitalization’ isn’t a panacea, either.

This was also echoed in another recent article on ‘Pharmaceutical Marketing in The New Normal’, published in the Forbes magazine on August 11, 2021. It wrote, ‘even the best, most advanced digital tools won’t help if reps are not properly trained.’ This is due to multiple factors. Let me elaborate the point from a new product launch perspective.

New normal brings unprecedented changes – no footsteps to follow:

The extent and depth of personalization required in any effective customer engagement process for successful outcomes, has undergone a fundamental shift. Today, personalization of content, channels and platforms is a necessity and no longer an option. In the new normal one size doesn’t fit all. Consequently, sales force training process, particularly for a new drug launch, has also become personalized, with simulation of new expectations and requirements of each market becoming a key ingredient, more than ever before.

Simulated sales training still not too common in pharma:

That personalized and simulated sales force training is still not too common in the pharma industry, was also captured in the February 2020 ‘The Voice of the Sales Rep study’ of the sales research firm – SalesFuel. It reported, just 30% of sales reps in the pharma industry are now getting personalized sales training based on individual needs. This study was done in the United States, and the same percentage is expected to be much less in India.

In this context, the above Forbes article also noted that at an elementary level, reps should be proficient in video conferencing and virtual CME basics, such as, screen sharing, lighting, cameras, and the likes. There could also be occasions when they may need to teach even some of the physicians for whom, as well, this type of engagement is new. Thus, simulation training may possibly play a critical role to make the sales force future ready, always.

Besides, gaining deeper insights of customers, market dynamics, and tailoring the content of personalized engagement, accordingly, will be a critical part of personalized training through simulation, especially for new product launch in the new normal.  

Doctors availing product and treatment related online services: 

While navigating through acute disruption of life during Covid pandemic, several doctors have learnt to use digital channels and platforms to avail product or new therapy related information directly, instead of through sales reps. And that too, as they want, when they want and the way they want, gaining a discretionary choice. Several surveys, such as,  2020 Accenture research, also reported many doctors want either virtual or a mix of virtual and in-person meetings with pharmaceutical reps, even after the pandemic ends.

Available studies also give a sense that the future overall trend in pharma is unlikely to be a replication of pre-Covid time, prompting the players to reimagine their customer engagement format. For example, a contemporary ‘Real Time Covid-19 Barometer Survey of physicians,’ by Sermo, found that ‘67% believe pharmaceutical companies could improve communications with HCPs and could do more to help physicians make prescribing decisions.’

Hence, even with the much-reduced threat from Covid infection, as and when it will happen, the same trend is likely to change the scope and traditional toolkit for future new brand launch, as well. Hence, pharma companies would, need to change their sales training architecture, accordingly – like simulation training – always keeping one ear on the ground.

Proven edge of simulation training in healthcare during Covid-19:

There are several studies in this area in different parts of the world. To illustrate the point, let me quote a Canadian study, published by ResearchGate in December 2020. It made several important points, which I summarized, as below.

The study elucidates, healthcare resources were strained to previously unforeseeable limits because of COVID-19 pandemic, in most countries. The unprecedented nature of disruption in health systems prompted the emergence of rapid simulation training for critical just-in-time COVID-19 education. The aim was to improve preparedness for giving high quality care to rapidly increasing number of Covid infected patients, including caregivers, across all healthcare sectors.

The researchers found that simulation training was pivotal for healthcare provider learning, alongside new systems integration, development of new processes, workflows, checklists, protocols, and in the delivery of quality clinical care to all concerned.

To cope with the new reality, triggered by the Covid pandemic, as also demonstrated by several other studies, simulation training has the potential to deliver the best learning outcomes. Some may obviously would seek a little more clarity in understanding what exactly is a simulation training that I am referring to.

What exactly is simulation training?

It won’t be terribly difficult for pharma marketers to understand what exactly simulation training in pharma sales and marketing is. As the name suggests, simulation is a replication of what happens or may happen in a real-life situation. In this particular case, it involves the simulation of changing pharma customers and market behavior and expectations, in the new normal.

Thus, a simulation training process, say for a new brand launch, would create virtual market scenarios by replicating all recent changes in customer behavior/expectations and the market dynamics – of a specific territory. This is usually done with AI based computer software, designed to help sales force learning of a real-life situation, without being in the thick of it on the ground. In simulated training, the selected trainees interact with technology, rather than reading notes or listening through the lectures of persons having similar insights.

The selling simulators are cost-effective and provides better outcomes:

Besides being cost-effective, simulation training is also considered a 24-carat way of developing new skills, and also assessing how well the trainees are translating the new learnings into practice. No wonder why even the US National Library of Medicine, after evaluation and review of several research studies, has acknowledged that simulation training imparts learning ‘just like a real thing.’

How will it work on the new product launch?

In pharma sales and marketing area, the simulation of customers’ post-pandemic new needs and expectations, can be simulated by developing a ‘selling simulator’ for new product launch, in the new normal. These simulators will integrate AI-based software with game dynamics or gamification, creating a virtual field situation for sales reps to continuously learn and hone their new-product launch skills. The required contemporary skills may often be unique in nature, beyond the traditional pathways, even where there are no footsteps to follow.

Why simulation training for a new drug launch will add greater value?

This  query is also well deliberated in the McKinsey & Company article - ‘Reshaping pharma’s strategy in the next normal,’ published on December 15, 2020, with the Covid pandemic as the backdrop. It underscores, ‘it is clear that major shifts in the way that healthcare professionals (HCPs) interact with pharma companies will present a challenge for the traditional launch model, with its reliance on face-to-face meetings with physicians and its “one size fits all” approach to engagement.’

The study further points out that “the traditional pharma commercial model will likely struggle to adapt to a different world. When reps venture back into the field, they will need to address the plurality and access challenges of the new interaction landscape. To do that, they will need to consider a new approach to launches: one that is digital, local, and personalized.”

This changing need will call for a new genre of training, and I think, simulation training for pharma reps will prove to be more productive in this area.

Conclusion:

Many uncertainties in the pharma business continue, even after the second wave of Covid pandemic, with the Damocles sword of its third wave hanging over the head, including the Indian population. In the current volatile pharma business environment, as an article on the subject, published by the Pharmaceutical Executive on July 30, 2021, articulates – the challenges of remote work mean that training approaches must be adaptable and engaging.

Simulation training, with its power to engage learners, and developed for strategically minded, and data-literate sales teams, would become a key component of the future pharmaceutical sales training landscape. This is destined to happen regardless of whether delivered on site or in remote training formats. From this perspective, I reckon, with a well thought-out – AI-driven selling simulator, especially for new product launch, to start with, could be a potential game changer in yet mostly untried new normal.

By: Tapan J. Ray  

Disclaimer: The views/opinions expressed in this article are entirely my own, written in my individual and personal capacity. I do not represent any other person or organization for this opinion.

Leverage AI For Competitive Edge With Omnichannel Pharma Marketing

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With the requirements of strict compliance to ‘Covid appropriate behavior’ becoming critical for all, pharma reps’ physical access to physicians for F2F calls got severely restricted, across the world.

A paper from IQVIA of May 14, 2021, reported: ‘As patient visits shifted to digital in 2020, pharma was pushed to digital customer engagement at the same time.’ It further added, ‘there was a 75% decrease in promotional activity worldwide, and up to a 500% increase in engagement via remote channels. In my article dated October 19, 2020, I also wrote that the pandemic propels healthcare into a new and the virtual world, creating a new growth driver for pharma.

Looking ahead the above IQVIA paper envisaged – post pandemic, when the medical profession will get ‘busy with a backlog of patients returning to in-office visits, providers may prefer to continue engaging remotely with pharmaceutical reps via email or video conference.’ As this trend gains traction with greater application of Artificial Intelligence (AI), it may prove to be a blessing in disguise, to excel in pharma business with greater cost-effectiveness and overall business productivity than the pre-Covid era.

I deliberated some of these issues in my article of April 05, 2021. However, my today’s deliberation would focus on the relevance of leveraging AI to gain a competitive edge in the changing dynamics with Omnichannel pharma marketing.

Let me start with a basic question – would Omnichannel marketing significantly help to achieve greater cost-effectiveness in pharma business as compared to the old normal?

Would digital transformations yield greater cost-effectiveness?

This point was also deliberated by the JAMA Health Forum on September 08, 2020. It found: “The switch to video meetings and online presentations has made drug promotion far less costly for companies – no travel expenses for sales reps and doctors, no fine dining events, and low fixed costs of producing video content that can reach a large audience. History and economics tell us that the lower the costs of doing something, the more firms will engage in it.”

The article further reiterated – now that remote working has dissolved the boundaries between home and office, sales reps can reach doctors in their homes, at all hours, ratcheting up the intensity of exposure to product messaging. Having validated greater cost effectiveness of the digital shift of the pharma business operations, including marketing, let me get back to some key findings of the above IQVIA report dated May 14, 2021.

The new customer engagement model will expand to remote and digital:

The above IQVIA research captured the following worldwide trends, vindicating the above:

  • The trend of customer engagement preferences and behavior is shifting toward virtual and in favor of remote channels.
  • Relationships won’t go away, but reps will need to shift their focus from relationship management to more scientific engagement to ensure that detailing adds value to the doctors.
  • Remote detailing is here to stay with in-person detailing remains at an all-time low.
  • Depending on the therapeutic area, telehealth visits will increase anywhere from 50% to 200% from pre-COVID-19 numbers, with both patients and doctors appreciating their value.
  • To stay competitive in this new reality, pharma companies will have to adopt new models of customer engagement across their entire organization with more agility than ever before.
  • Companies will need to quickly understand different customer preferred channels, types of engagements with them, and shift investments based on the new information they’re receiving.
  • Flawless integration of such information for precise execution is critical for remote Omnichannel engagement capabilities – to deliver the right content and services to customers, while measuring impact.

A few years ago in the old normal, on December 18, 2018, I emphasized that: “Pioneering ‘Omnichannel’ engagement is pivotal” in the pharma business. Let’s have a quick recap of this area.

Relevance of Omnichannel marketing in pharma: 

For the last several years, pharma companies have tried to go beyond its traditional F2F interactions of sales reps with its customers, especially the physicians. However, Covid pandemic triggered a paradigm change in this area with a rapid increase in the use of multiple digital channels to offer remote interactive, and mostly live platforms to them. The channels, nature of content for each, time, and place of such personalized interactions, are selected according to specific customer preferences and are generally made available 24×7. The key objectives include, building customer loyalty towards pharma brands/services of the company and make them feel valued.

According to ‘Prognos Health’ - an Omnichannel approach in pharma includes a cross-channel strategy that seamlessly integrates content – both online and offline – to provide consistency across multiple end-to-end touch points

during the customer’s journey. This approach is especially important in pharma marketing where physicians tend to be short on time and are under pressure to make treatment decisions quickly for their patients.

A well-researched and innovative Omnichannel campaign when meticulously executed, is expected to be more effective, as it helps pharma players to reach the right customers, at a right time with the right content. Besides, it is more cost-effective, as by leveraging AI, it can help optimize the nature and quantum of promotional spend – based on previous outcomes and other measurable impacts.

According to Prognos Health, an Omnichannel approach in pharma includes a cross-channel strategy that seamlessly integrates content – both online and offline – to provide consistency across multiple touch points during the customer’s journey. That said, this approach comes with a challenge – clarity of mind for pharma marketers while taking each major strategic step in this endeavor.

Omnichannel marketing isn’t another name of Multichannel engagement:

It is important to note that ‘Omnichannel (all-channel)’ pharma marketing isn’t just another name of ‘Multichannel (many-channel)’ engagement. However, both will be able to deliver targeted contents to patients through several interactive digital platforms. These include smartphone-based Apps, specially formatted websites, social media community and the likes. But the difference is - ‘Omnichannel approach connects these channels, bridging technology-communication gaps that may exist in multichannel solutions.’

An article on why pharma marketers are embracing Omnichannel marketing, published in the Pharmaceutical Executive  on June 30, 2021, highlighted: ‘An integrated strategy based on Omnichannel marketing is now increasingly replacing multichannel marketing.’ Nonetheless, any change from the fragmented and siloed multichannel approach to Omnichannel marketing would entail ‘simultaneous orchestration of channels across personal, non-personal, and media.’ This is essential to address the integrated needs of multiple stakeholders –consumers/patients, healthcare professionals, and payers. ‘Bringing the channels and stakeholders together in a truly integrated manner is the pivotal shift required to break through today’s noisy and crowded pharmaceutical marketplace,’ the article said. No wonder, why Omnichannel pharma marketing is considered by many as ‘‘The Cinderella of marketing activities,’ as it were.

Omnichannel approach – ‘The Cinderella of marketing activities’:

The pharma players’ confidence in juggling traditional channels with digital means is certainly increasing since the onset of Covid pandemic. Interestingly, the L.E.K Consulting article on this subject, published on May 24, 2021, also articulated, why only an astute pharma marketer can handle it the way it should be.

It said, ‘true Omnichannel engagement — the integration, orchestration and tailoring of customer interactions across multiple channels to match HCPs’ profile-specific needs — has been the Cinderella of marketing activities. Although, multichannel engagement — the use of two or more channels that run relatively independently from one another — is increasingly in use, ‘the Omnichannel engagement model is altogether more dynamic and complex.’

Let me take this thread to flag, how dynamic and complex Omnichannel marketing is, to reap a rich harvest in the pharma business. Application of AI will be necessary to facilitate this process.

The role of AI in Omnichannel pharma marketing:

Although, drug companies have now the requisite tools for stakeholder engagement across several channels – Omnichannel marketing will prompt their marketers to clearly know – from relevant data analysis – the answers to some critical questions. These queries include – which channels to choose for the specific customers? In what frequency? What should be the right content for each?

Yet another article from the Pharmaceutical Executive, published on July 15, 2021, underscored: ‘The answers to these questions at scale – can only be achieved using AI.’ It further reiterated that in this process, AI creates a more personalized engagement. Ironically, in this scenario, “the artificial intelligence enables a natural experience – infusing humanity back into marketing and sales.” 

Conclusion:

In the hindsight, many experts interviewed in the above article, feel that historically, pharma’s traditional product-driven marketing model has fallen short of delivering coherent and high-quality customer experience. This is sometimes due to internal competition between brands, besides lack of customer listening, and frequent employee turnover. Following this model – for a long time, alienated pharma companies, their customers, the patients, the public at large, and also the regulating authorities.

In the new normal, when Covid-19 pushes pharma to walk the talk of ‘Patient-Centricity’, the companies need to jettison its product-driven marketing model. ‘No matter how many apps and brand portals a company offers, the model was doomed to failure because it centered on the brand, not on the customer,’ as several hands-on global pharma leaders believe.

In this scenario, as I wrote on August 10, 2020, the drug players need to shift from disease centered care to patient-goals directed care in the new normal where Omnichannel marketing – backed by AI, will play a game changing role for excellence. AI will help pharma marketers use real time – unbiased data, to know what exactly a customer’s expectations are from the company, and deliver the deliverables accordingly, to delight them. From this perspective, I reckon, leveraging AI to gain a competitive edge through Omnichannel marketing, could be a game changer to win a pharma marketing warfare.

By: Tapan J. Ray  

Disclaimer: The views/opinions expressed in this article are entirely my own, written in my individual and personal capacity. I do not represent any other person or organization for this opinion.

 

Appears On Radar New L&D Needs For Pharma’s New e-Environment

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As drug companies were desperately trying to navigate through the operational disruptions due to Covid crisis, the Learning and Development (LD) plans of most organizations, considered so important for employees, got badly impacted. This was ably captured in the article – ‘Adapting workplace learning in the time of Coronavirus’, appeared in the March 2020 issue of McKinsey Accelerate.

It highlighted, as businesses around the world postpone and cancel in-person meetings in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, “workplace learning is emerging as one of the earliest and hardest-hit business activities.” The paper further elucidated: “Based on our observations as of early March, roughly one-half of in-person programs through June 30, 2020, have been postponed or canceled in North America. Whereas “in parts of Asia and Europe, the figure is closer to 100 percent.”

Interestingly, no one is talking much about it as much as the need for quick digitalization in the pharma industry, to respond to the challenge of disruptive changes. A quick return to employee L&D initiatives in the new normal, I reckon, would encourage, particularly the hands-on staff members on e-marketing to come out with more innovative digital solutions to reap a rich harvest from remote engagement with customers, on an ongoing basis.

In this article, I shall explore this area from the perspective of increasing employee productivity in the digital work environment of the new normal.

Why is L&D more relevant to pharma employees, now?

To effectively respond to post-Covid changes in customer behavior – aspirations – expectations – other market dynamics, alongside a different genre of competition, new learnings in the digital space, is critical for all employees. Which is why, it is so important for pharma players to quickly refocus on this process, just as digitalization. Without requisite digital skill development, corporate performance may look lackluster, eventually.

It is important for all to recognize that just digital transformation of business isn’t a panacea. For example, e-marketing is certainly a powerful contemporary marketing tool that a company must go for. But, it is no less important to know how making effective use of this versatile technology would appeal to individual customer emotions, with personalized content. Medical Representatives of pre-Covid days may not be generally well-versed in this area, at least, as much as they ought to – now.

Some pace-setting Indian examples in this area:

According to an article, published in leading Indian business daily on June 17, 2020, the Indian pharma major – Lupin, reportedly, used the lockdown as an opportunity to train its sales teams on medical acumen, soft skills, disease knowledge, effective communication etc. They conducted over 200 sessions using Microsoft Teams. In some sessions, the attendance count reached 8000 people.

As the article points out, using digital tools and platforms, the company reps were enabled to record a video of brand detailing and share it with the doctors who can view it as per his or her convenience. It also says, ‘Lupin team reached out to more than 1 lakh doctors through live webinars, ECMEs, e-mailers, webinars to update them with the latest medical and therapeutic advancements.’

The core idea of this initiative is undoubtedly worth imbibing, although, it is still not clear to many, how effective were those digital marketing strategies in the form as it has been described.

The new e-environment needs new sets of L&D models:

From the above perspective, the take home message, I reckon, is - in pharma’s new normal, digitalization isn’t just about a modern and contemporary technology. It is much more profound – signifies the criticality of credible data-based, novel decision-making process, offering high yield solutions to complex sets of disruptive problems in business.  Consequently, now appears on the radar a new set of L&D needs for the new e-environment of the pharma industry.

Ramifications of e-environment changes in pharma business: 

Many studies have pointed out to a number of changes in pharma industry’s e-environment, in the new normal. Just to give a sense of such mega changes, let me quote another recent paper in this regard. The paper on ‘Telehealth’, published by McKinsey & Company on May 29, 2020, writes: “Our claims-based analysis suggests that approximately 20 percent of all emergency room visits could potentially be avoided via virtual urgent care offerings, 24 percent of health care office visits and outpatient volume could be delivered virtually, and an additional 9 percent “near-virtually.”

The paper further adds, ‘up to 35 percent of regular home health attendant services could be virtualized, and 2 percent of all outpatient volume could be shifted to the home setting, with tech-enabled medication administration.’ These changes will overall add up to US$250 billion in healthcare spend in 2020 that could be shifted to virtual or near-virtual care, or 20 percent of all office, outpatient, and home health-spend across all types of health care, the paper highlights.

Although, this article was written against the US pharma industry backdrop, considering the current Indian government’s strong push on telemedicine – as a facilitator, one may envisage similar changes in India too, over a period of time.  

Covid-19 could still be a long-haul battle, pharma should be prepared for it:

Echoing this sentiment, ‘The Washington Post’ flashed a headline in its February 10, 2021: ‘Variants mean the coronavirus is here to stay — but perhaps as a lesser threat.’ Elaborating the point, it said: ‘In early December, the end of the pandemic glimmered on the horizon. Blockbuster vaccine results suggested a clear path forward.’ However, thereafter, ‘the euphoria dissipated,’ as mutation-ridden variants of Covid-19 with concerning new characteristics were detected. ‘The path forward is still hopeful, but longer and more labyrinthine’, the news report added.

It is now becoming increasingly clear that Covid-19 variants can slip past some of the immunity generated by vaccines and prior infections.  Vaccines may have to be updated, perhaps regularly. And the world will have to prepare for the possibility, even the likelihood, that over the long term, the novel coronavirus will become a persistent disease threat.

The World Health Organization (W.H.O) also confirmed this point on January 21, 2021. It said, ‘Yes, this is a very important point that vaccine developers keep in mind. Covid-19 vaccines could possibly be like vaccines against the influenza virus, where ‘scientists have to change the structure of the vaccine every year, based on the circulating strains and WHO coordinates this global network that actually identifies which strain should be used every year.’

Conclusion:

The bottom line, therefore, is, no one can vouch with any degree of certainty, as on date, when exactly Covid crisis will get over completely, despite Covid-19 vaccines being available now. At the same time, even after several disruptive covid related changes in business, the need for rapid adjustment to further changes of similar in nature and scale, may continue to exist.

To properly understand these changes, their implications on business, impact on customers, re-engineering needs of marketing strategies and then thrive, are of fundamental importance. Thus, along with on-the-job learning, contemporary e-learning of employees – is a critical success ingredient for both individual and organizational development, especially in the dynamic digital environment.

It is worth noting that digital initiatives are not confined to modern tech-based apps and platforms. The basic prerequisite of any digital marketing strategy is to understand the versatility of its power and core values. This is essential to effectively influence customer behavior and their expectations, for creating a sustainable ‘doctor-patient- brand or corporate relationship. That’s why L&D remains a critical tool for capacity building, even for e-marketing. It will help ensure, employees are able to deliver expected deliverables by successfully meeting newer challenges in the digital space, in sync with the organizational expectations and goals, in the new normal.

Today, when digitalization has become a buzz word for pharma’ success – occupying virtually everybody’s entire mind space, also appears on the radar today new L&D needs for the new e-environment to make digitalization work, paying rich dividend to the business.

By: Tapan J. Ray      

Disclaimer: The views/opinions expressed in this article are entirely my own, written in my individual and personal capacity. I do not represent any other person or organization for this opinion.

 

Fostering EQ For Pharma’s Excellence In The New Normal

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On February 25, 2021, one of the top Indian business daily flashed a headline – “It will be working from home, post-pandemic too at many top companies.” It wrote, companies like, Tata Steel, Philips, Infosys and Maruti Suzuki are evaluating job roles to permanently enable employees working from home, or remotely – even after the pandemic. This is just one example, out of many unique outcomes of last year’s disruptive business turbulence, causing a potential mental or emotional impact on many employees.

Virtually across industries, many such significant changes have taken place in several facets of businesses including traditional operational processes. As has been widely witnessed, many desk-bound office jobs – temporarily, partly or fully – shifted to remote working – almost overnight, as it were. Such a shift is being contemplated in several work-areas by a number of drug companies, as well.

For understandable reasons, another concurrent and instant demand surfaced for a critical hard skill – involving applications digital tools and platforms. This was mostly to ensure that key business communications and customer engagements, at least, keep ticking during the crisis, despite unprecedented initial headwinds.

However, sans a catalytic soft skill that helps address several current-environment specific several organizational needs, even applications of digital skills are unlikely to be able to leverage the full potential of digitalization. While navigating through today’s uncharted frontiers, where there are no footsteps to follow, the organization will need flexibility and resilience among leadership, ensuring employee adaptability to change, and creating a new climate of fostering creativity with digital technology.

Interestingly, this soft skill – ‘Emotional Intelligence’ – often referred as ‘Emotional Quotient’ or EQ, wasn’t discussed, as much, for various reasons. In this article, I shall deliberate, why this much-known soft skill is indispensable for business excellence in the new normal – from the pharma industry perspective.

EI/EQ in business isn’t a new idea, but more important now than ever before:

Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer coined the term ‘Emotional Intelligence (EI)’ in 1990 describing it as “a form of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and action”.

In 1995, Daniel Goleman in his book ‘Emotional Intelligence’ defined EI as the ability to:

  • Recognize, understand and manage our own emotions and,
  • Recognize, understand and influence the emotions of others.

In other words, ‘this means being aware that emotions can drive our behavior and impact people (positively and negatively) and learning how to manage those emotions – both our own and others.’The ability to manage emotions is measured through Emotional Quotient (EQ).

EQ – a cutting edge of excellence, especially in the new normal:

Much before the pandemic, in 2018, McKinsey & Company had projected that between 2016 and 2030, demand for people with high EQ would grow across all industries. Again, in May 2021, the Company reiterated: ‘To meet this challenge, companies should craft a talent strategy that develops employees’ critical digital and cognitive capabilities, their social and emotional skills, and their adaptability and resilience.’

However, with unprecedented changes in pharma business dynamics, the process has been further accelerated. EQ is now expected to be a cutting edge for performance excellence – in any organization. Hence, digital savviness may not be just enough in the new order for organizational turnaround aspirants. Sans people with high EQ, among both – the leadership and staff members, digital transformation alone may not be enough for commercial success.

Long ago, Daniel Goleman epitomized it in his article - ‘What Makes a Leader?’ This was published in the Harvard Business Review (HBR) in January 2004, where he wrote: ‘IQ and technical skills are important, but emotional intelligence is the sine qua non of leadership.’ This old advice assumes even greater importance, in the new normal. 

With emotions prevailing in workplaces, high EQ improves performance:

COVID pandemic has demonstrated to all, including highly tradition bound and slow to change – the pharma industry that the name of the game of survival, particularly when a crisis strikes as a bolt from blue, is quickly adapting to changes. A time came as ‘national lockdown’ started – when a sense of losing control and confusion, virtually engulfed the work environment, which is so necessary for livelihood. A key example of these changes include, a sudden shift from remote working, related to remaining engaged with customers.

Alongside, home life and work life got merged for many. New ways of remaining in touch with customers, sometimes gave rise to a sense of seclusion or alienation, causing mental or emotional stress. Many employees’ keen desire and expectation of the return of the old normal – in the same form, are causing more emotional complications with them.

A study by EQ training provider TalentSmart also found that emotional intelligence is responsible for 58% of one’s job performance. Thus, any pharma company’s ability to be in sync with all employees, at the emotional level, is one the key requirements to boost performance. It will determine the effectiveness of digital tools given to employees to deliver the deliverables. Further, as other studies established, ‘the ability to connect with people on an emotional level – is crucial to maintaining strong and resilient teams.’

Some telltale signs of low EQ in an organization:

Some common telltale signs of low EQ in an organization, were well captured in an article with Covid pandemic in the backdrop. This was published in Inside HR on September 01, 2020. The manifestations of low EQ include, when employees:

  • Don’t want to take responsibility for their own feelings, but blame others for those,
  • Let things build up and then blow up,
  • Often overreact to life’s minor events while struggling to remain in emotional control.
  • Lack empathy and compassion,
  • Tend not to consider others’ feelings before acting,
  • Lack self-awareness of their own emotions and the emotions of others around them.

Such signals, if not addressed promptly, can lead to a number of adverse business outcomes. Especially when, quick adaptation to fundamental changes in the business environment, business operations and key customer behavior, is the name of the game. People’s EQ in an organization, could often stand between business success and failure – in the new normal, more than ever before.

Conclusion:

As pharma industry has started navigating through the new normal with wide-scale application of digital technology, employees also need to keep pace with these changes, and come on board. In such a ‘never before’ situation, emotional needs of both internal and external customers are to be properly understood, and effectively addressed, just as the need for digitalization within the organization.

Notably, low or high EQ are not genetic, neither are these pre-implanted in the brain by God. EQ comes as one learns through ongoing experience in life, and also from the advices of elderly, interaction with peers, superiors and training by professionals. This is a lifelong process of learning, which is continuously honed through practice in real life situations. It’s not bizarre, at all, if EQ of an individual has changed before, during and after the pandemic. What really matters is fathoming, how is the employee EQ today, monitor it continuously, and help the individual as and when required – to help the organization.

Several studies have established high employee EQ as a stronger predictor of success, that helps strengthen hard skills like digitalization by helping to think more creatively while using the tech tools and platforms. Thus, amid unparalleled changes in business operations, customer behavior and the need for quick adaptation to digital technology, fostering employee EQ to encourage them committing to the corporate shared goal, is an imperative for pharma’s performance excellence - more than ever before.

By: Tapan J. Ray      

Disclaimer: The views/opinions expressed in this article are entirely my own, written in my individual and personal capacity. I do not represent any other person or organization for this opinion.

 

Covid Propels Healthcare Into A Virtual World: A New Growth Driver For Pharma?

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Amid ongoing Covid pandemic, most discussions on pharma specific ‘digitalization’ initiatives continue to predominantly hover around its traditional business growth drivers. In fact, even before the Covid time, it was no different, in a smaller scale and with a lesser intensity, though.

Incidentally, since quite some time, with the explosion of different types of web-based businesses, offering opportunities to buy and receive, virtually everything, at one’s doorstep, many things started changing rapidly. Almost all businesses started offering the state of the art, easy to use smartphone app-based e-commerce solutions, in different formats, to grow their businesses. Alongside, more and more people started managing their daily needs and wants online, even in India. Intriguingly, despite the availability of telemedicine, telehealth and e-pharmacies, even in the old normal, most people continue to prefer in-person health care solutions, including buying medicines.

Then came a bolt from the blue – the unprecedented global health crisis, caused by Covid-19. Almost overnight, amid requirements of maintaining stringent personal measures to keep Covid at bay, making in-person doctor-calls for brand demand generation activities, posed a great challenge. Doctors, too, became hesitant to meet general patients and medical representatives, in that situation. Thus, to keep the business up and running, most pharma companies gave top priority in finding out a digital solution for the brand demand generation processes. Interestingly, this was happening, when many patients, especially those with non-Covid ailments, also faced a similar situation to meet their health care needs.

Finding no other viable alternatives, many patients were pushed to search for a robust digital solution for health care needs, as well – just as they were already meeting their other regular needs – online. In that sense, Covid propelled many patients to step into a new virtual world of healthcare - telehealth or telemedicine. As mentioned above, although, these services were up there in pre-Covid days, many patients, apparently rediscovered them, in a new Avatar, to get relief from ailments and also save their lives.

On a hindsight, it appears, why the need to leverage telehealth or telemedicine in that crisis, did not appear to be a priority for most pharma companies to foster patient-centric growth of the business. Thus, continuing with the core concept of my previous article, – this article, will focus on the possibility of pharma spearheading the process, aiming for a win-win outcome – boosting access to high quality affordable care for all, on the one hand. And simultaneously, harnessing this new growth driver to excel in the business, on the other.  

Telehealth or e-health will grow just as other e-businesses, unhindered: 

With the Government of India issuing guideline for telemedicine practices on March 25, 2020 and later, on May 12, 2020, publishing those guidelines in the gazette, ‘Telemedicine’ has been made a high priority health care enabler. The notified guidelines also make telemedicine consultation provided by a Registered Medical Practitioner (RMP) under the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956, legally permissible. In addition, effective October 01, 2020, Telemedicine costs will be covered under medical insurance in accordance with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India’s (IRDAI) new guidelines.

The net effect of these measures will not just help reduce pressure on the fragile public healthcare infrastructure of the country, but will also expand access to lower cost and high-quality private care to a large number of people.  

Telemedicine is here to stay and be a key pharma growth driver:

With Covid propelling health care into virtual platforms, providing and receiving medical care through telehealth has become a necessity for many people, for different reasons. However, the question that surfaces, will patients return to the old normal, if and when the pandemic ends?

The article – ‘3 reasons telehealth is here to stay,’ published by the MedCity News on October 09, 2020, presents a practicing physician’s perspective on this issue. The author envisages, ‘telemedicine will continue to gain traction with my colleagues and most likely, become a permanent clinical option for patient care.’ Going by such hands-on experience, I reckon, telemedicine will continue to grow for several important reasons, such as:

  • Technology to make telehealth increasingly user friendly: Ongoing IT innovation is making telehealth platforms simple and more effective for doctors and a large number of patients belonging to all age groups. “All they have to do is click a link on their smartphones, which is sent to them via text automatically.” Thus, these tools will increasingly become the best option for treating a broad range of conditions, long after the pandemic subsides.
  • Telemedicine costs are covered under medical insurance, now: Effective October 01, 2020,Telemedicine costs will be covered under medical insurance, even in India. Moreover,‘Telemedicine’ has now been made a high priority health care enabler, carrying a permanent legal status in India. 
  • Health Equity and affordable care: Access to affordable health care is not evenly distributed across the India. Telehealth can help fill these gaps, with increased affordable access for all, even in rural India, as patient location won’t be a problem in getting prompt and quality care at a low cost.

From the above perspective, it appears, it’s high time for pharma to leverage Telemedicine and Telehealth as a major growth driver, powered by innovative business strategies.

Is there any difference between Telemedicine and Telehealth?

Very often these two words are used interchangeably. Mostly because, both telemedicine and telehealth are the practice of medicine using technology to deliver care at a distance.

Telemedicine offers remote clinical services, such as, virtual consultations, diagnosis, prescriptions, preventative care, monitoring via telecommunication platforms, including text, video chat, wearable devices or even phone calls. Whereas, telehealth, in addition, can include remote non-clinical services, such as health care training, administrations and continuing medical education.

Reasons for pharma’s cashing on this new growth driver at a low cost:

Besides Government’s support to telehealth and telemedicine, growing health care consumer demand and user-friendly technologies, are catapulting virtual care to the mainstream health care delivery systems. In tandem, driven by unique and long-term value offerings, telemedicine is being increasingly recognized as a critical means to get prompt care for minor but urgent ailments. Consequently, moreusers are getting attracted to its convenience and benefits, which may have a snowballing effect. Some of which are as follows:

  • Prompt access to disease treatment services, as and when needed by patients, without any long waiting time, for any reason.
  • Significant health care cost saving for all – more for rural population who will be able to avoid long distance travel, involving both time and money, besides associating hassles.
  • Prompt follow-up consultation facilities, will help avoid disease complications, reducing the burden to hospitals for secondary or tertiary care.
  • Further, pharma can offer even greater patient satisfaction by leveraging virtual healthcare platforms, as these will help ensure more effective follow-up and enhanced treatment convenience than traditional in-person visits. Several studies, such as the article, published in ‘The American Journal of Managed Care,’ on January 15, 2020, vindicate this point.

In short, accelerating rate of use – with the increasing need for prompt, easy and affordable access to care, are driving telemedicine to be an integral part of healthcare service delivery system. Which is why, expansion of pharma business in this new virtual space, with well-integrated collaborative strategies, could prove to be a key growth driver – over a long period of time.

Moreover, there doesn’t seem to be any need to deploy a large and cost-intensive field force, as is usually followed for expansion of pharma business in newer areas. This is because, ‘telemedicine requires a different approach to promotion.’

Telemedicine requires a different approach to promotion

That telehealth requires a different approach to marketing and promotion from traditional pharma marketing, was deliberated by ZS in the article -‘Four telemedicine myths for pharma to avoid,’ published on July 05, 2020. The paper underscored, ‘instead of building brand awareness and engaging patients in education and information, telehealth promotion needs to drive patients to take one specific action: call today!’ It further elaborated:

  • Brands that bury the telehealth link on page 8 of their website or make linking to a physician one of more than 20 different calls to action, will find low patient engagement and low pull through.
  • As virtual health care is here to stay, telehealth itself should be a strategy for active promotion, by optimizing the steps to get patients connected to a physician in the shortest and the easiest way possible.

From this perspective, brands that will find the right pathway for engaging in telehealth, will reap the benefits of increased engagement with patients and telehealth physicians. To achieve this objective, with a robust, commercial strategy, the first step for each brand will start with understanding the needs of patients and physicians that needs to be addressed on priority. Then comes, mapping out how the brand will get used to meet those needs.

Conclusion:

We are still in the midst of an unprecedented new Coronavirus pandemic. As of October 18, 2020 morning, India recorded a staggering figure of 7,494,551 of Coronavirus cases with 114,064 deaths.

With the pandemic severely curbing most patients’ access to care – following the traditional process, Covid propelled health care into a virtual world, almost in no time. Telemedicine brought to the fore, its game changing potential to provide expanded access to high quality and affordable health care, through multiple channels, sans physical presence. Location of a patient or of a competent physician isn’t an issue, any longer, in the disease treatment process. With telemedicine patients will be able to get treated as and when they will want.

The future of Telehealth or telemedicine appears to be promising even beyond Covid time, with more people preferring digital platforms for affordable and more convenient medical care than in-person visits. With virtual care getting integrated into traditional health care delivery systems, pharma players will need to explore this space, as a new growth driver – for wider reach, and greater share of mind of customers for their respective brands.

For Telemedicine to be successful – benefitting a vast majority of both urban and rural populations, country’s health policy makers and, especially the pharma industry should work in unison. Only then, the net outcome will offer a win-win situation – both for the Government and also for the drug industry. It will help expand access to high quality and affordable care to all – seamlessly, irrespective of location. Consequently, pharma marketers will get access to another powerful business growth driver – in telemedicine. Its time about time for all to act – sooner the better.

By: Tapan J. Ray    

Disclaimer: The views/opinions expressed in this article are entirely my own, written in my individual and personal capacity. I do not represent any other person or organization for this opinion.