FDA Hearings on Social Media

As you probably know, last month the FDA held a public hearing on the promotion of prescription drugs (and other FDA-regulated medical products) using the Internet and social media tools. A variety of interested parties weighed in, from patients and caregivers to HCPs to Internet vendors, ad agencies, and, of course, pharma companies. There were suggestions for different regulatory approaches, thoughts on how technology can be used to spread information, and discussions about who is responsible for what. Through it all, one theme kept popping up: Through responsible engagement, pharma companies may be able to address and even correct misinformation about their products online—which could actually help patients and physicians make informed health decisions.

With every passing day, it becomes increasingly clear that social media play a very important role in public health and health literacy. I’ve heard from several pharma players who want to advocate for flexibility in the regulatory approach so they can participate in the online conversation and provide accurate and credible product information in real time.

Is your company planning—or already pursuing—a social media presence? What are your views on how pharma can responsibly engage in this arena? Send me an e-mail at awestmeyer@rmarketing.com or click on the Comments link below to share your thoughts.

Top 10 Trends for 2010 – One Perspective

At the recent Eye for Pharma conference in Philadelphia, a senior product manager from UCB talked about the top 10 trends for 2010:

1. Social media becoming more mainstream


2. Pervasive use of technology in solving market challenges


3. Shift from “wait and see” to “try and learn” mentality (see my previous post on this topic)


4. Patients and HCPs using online tools and resources


5. Data becoming the underpinning of pharma marketing programs


6. Shift toward multi-disciplinary solutions


7. Growth of branded mobile health applications


8. Technology empowering sales reps


9. Value beyond the pill – selling solutions, not just products


10. FDA interest in online tactics

From where I stand, these are definitely some of the most predominant trends in pharma. But are they the top 10? What do you think of this list? Is it in line with what you’re experiencing? Click on the Comments link below to weigh in.

Checkmate

Today, I have chess on my mind. You know, knight takes rook, checkmate, etc. I heard once that great chess players think 8 moves in advance.

On recent trips to New York and New Jersey, I've come to realize something. A lot of pharma brand teams out there rotate their players in and out. They bring them in from the field force for a 3-, 6-, or 12-month rotation, then they send them back out to the field (or they move on to another department altogether). It's good all-around marketing training. But with such motion and constant flux, it’s hard for brand teams to consistently think—let alone plan—8 moves in advance. Add to that the unpredictable nature of an approval process. Or suddenly some surprise DDMAC comments force a strategic marketing retreat. Or worse—inertia.

I truly believe there is a solution to the gap between short- and long-term strategies—insight and foresight. At RMI, we believe an integrated approach, across media, combined with a data-driven backbone, brings both experienced insight and incredible foresight to the table, like a master chess player. We think far ahead, and we share our insight with you along the way. It’s like predicting weather, but guaranteeing sunshine. 100%. Yes, even 8 moves in advance.

Our powerful message map tool is an entry point that gets us onto the playing field. Our dashboards, monthly metrics reporting, and insight from extensive pharma experience help guide your moves with knowledgeable strategy. We can help you better utilize your data. Help you hit targets.

Want to see how we do it in three moves?
1. Call us.
2. Share your challenge.
3. We’ll solve it.

Checkmate.

Try and Learn

I’ve always believed in the power of experience to teach us some of life’s most valuable lessons, which is one reason I was particularly pleased to hear Brian O’Donnell of Klick Pharma mention this trend in his keynote address at the recent Eye for Pharma conference in Philadelphia. O’Donnell said that pharma companies are moving from a “wait and see” attitude regarding social and mobile media to a “try and learn” attitude.

While I am encouraged by this shift, I also believe there is a caution to this strategy—make sure you can measure what you try so the learning is meaningful and actionable. This means making an investment.

At RMI, we’ve made an investment in measurement and learning by hiring a new Director of Market Insights, Scott Clair. A former associate research scientist at Yale, Scott has almost 20 years of experience in statistical data analysis and behavioral research. We’re excited for Scott to lead our data analytics team in making sure all the programs we implement are accurately analyzed and provide results that drive action.

Let the learning begin!

Sniffing Out Opportunity

As I was walking a friend’s dog the other day, I was struck by how he flitted from one area of grass to another, sniffing and then eagerly jumping to the next interesting smell. He was getting a pretty good sense of his environment, but he was spending a lot of energy jumping around (and causing me to chase after him!). It reminded me of how some companies look at segmenting their physician target audience. Running after volume metrics, like TRx and NRx, without using APLD (anonymized patient-level data) to better understand the true prescriptions “in play.” Click here to find out how we typically recommend companies approach this challenge.

Multi-Disciplinary Teams

As the business of delivering healthcare moves toward a more multi-disciplinary team approach, I’ve spoken with an increasing number of pharma executives who are interested in multi-partner integration, particularly as it relates to their non-personal programming. While this is a service RMI has offered for several years, it seems brand managers are looking to outsource this more now than ever before.One area of particular interest is our ability to consolidate data to tell a cohesive story and build synchronized campaigns across multiple channels. We are currently managing data for four other partners and coordinating the message strategy across all of these players for a new launch brand. It’s been great to work together with these other experts, and I’m amazed at how much we’re learning as we go. As big pharma tries to build more efficiency, it’s inspiring to see the innovative way our competitors have become our partners.

Lazy Days of Summer

Is it me, or has summer heated up faster than any other year? It seems like the first half of 2009 was slower than usual—most likely the victim of a poor economy. Now that the dog days of summer are upon us, I’ve had more conversations with brands gearing up for a successful fall and 2010. I think everyone is looking forward to a recovering economy.

One comment that has come up a lot lately is the need for effective planning and leveraging data. Everyone has plenty of data, but making sense of it and using it to drive messages and marketing programs is sometimes not easy. As we move into the latter half of 2009, we’re looking to work alongside great companies like IMS, Wolters Kluwer, Health Market Science (HMS), and SDI to continue bringing unparalleled data insight to our clients and their programs. And, like you, we’re looking forward to the economy heating up like this summer weather!

Hypothetically Speaking

Is it just me, or is the pharma world planning ahead and looking down the road more proactively? When I reflect on my recent conversations with pharma executives, I’m noticing topics that usually come up in August came up in April and May. Obviously not every pharma company is on a calendar fiscal year, but many are. And there seems to be a definitive planning season. Based on my experience, planning usually kicks up right after people return from summer vacations. Usually July is a quiet month, but come late August and September, hang onto your hat! I can only hypothesize about why this may be occurring. I think it’s probably related to the economy. Some analysts will say that pharma is a vertical that is a bit more recession-proof than other businesses. I’m sure if I consulted the CFOs of several big pharmas, I might hear they don’t agree with that statement. Nonetheless, I do think pharma marketers are being more thoughtful in how money is spent and what they expect the investment to reap. As such, they’re engaging with marketing service providers earlier to explore their options.

Am I right? I’d love to hear from you to confirm or deny my hypothesis.

Pharma 20/20: Marketing the Future

Not long ago, PriceWaterhouseCoopers posed the question: Which path will you take?

According to PWC, by 2020 the current role of the pharma industry’s sales and marketing workforce will be replaced by a new model as the industry shifts from a mass-market to a target-market approach to increase revenue. They issued a report that highlights some fundamental dynamics that are reshaping the pharma marketplace:

• Chronic disease is soaring
• Healthcare policy makers and payers are increasingly mandating what doctors can prescribe
• Pay-for-performance is on the rise
• The boundaries between different forms of healthcare are blurring
• The markets of the developing world, where demand for medicines is likely to grow most rapidly over the next 13 years, are highly varied
• Governments are beginning to focus on prevention rather than treatment
• Regulators are becoming more risk-averse

PWC believes that, to be successful, companies will need to stop the aggressive marketing focusing only on the product of the current model and:

• Recognize the interdependence of the payer, provider, and pharmaceutical value chains
• Invest in developing medicines the market wants to buy
• Adopt a more flexible approach to pricing
• Develop plans for marketing and selling specialist therapies
• Manage multi-country launches and live licensing
• Form a web of alliances to offer supporting services
• Create cultures that are suitable for marketing specialist healthcare packages
• Develop marketing and sales functions that are fit for the future and a knowledge-based commercial organization

To download the full report, click here.

Trigger Marketing: Is It for You?

An emerging trend in pharma marketing is the use of market, clinical, or sales triggers to identify the most opportunistic moment to contact a target prescriber. If you’re not using your data to leverage this type of program, you may be missing opportunities to grow your brand. 

Lately we’ve been seeing success with trigger marketing programs where we leverage patient-level data to coordinate non-personal communications and call plan activities. For one oncology brand, we track prescribing behaviors and then align messaging with ideal times to communicate with targeted physicians, ensuring the brand remains top-of-mind and is considered at appropriate patient treatment milestones. We also arm the sales force with actionable reports, empowering them to focus their conversations and positively influence prescribing patterns. It’s a powerful one-two punch—and it’s working. 

Other examples of trigger marketing strategies include:

• Sales Force Triggers – When reps fall below call goal, we can complement their efforts with a non-personal message based on past behaviors to individual prescribers. Vacancy programs are also examples of trigger marketing.
  
• Clinical Triggers – We can track observable titration of a competitor’s brand, indicating a need for a new drug therapy, or we can monitor for drugs often used concomitantly with your brand, which may indicate that your brand is under consideration for patient therapy.
  
• Market-Related Triggers – During the launch of a competitor, we can monitor switching behavior and respond immediately to prevent continuation, or we can implement proactive touch points when a competitor receives a black box warning and opportunity exists to gain market share. Managed care contract changes may prompt pull-through messaging customized to the prescriber based on how many of their patients are impacted by the care plan.
  

Could trigger marketing be right for your brand? Post a comment here to let me know your thoughts on this subject, or e-mail me at awestmeyer@rmarketing.com to request a case study about the oncology brand I mentioned above. 

Turbulent Times

One of my favorite people has authored a whitepaper on how to succeed in turbulent times. He’s someone who has been in sales during two different recessions and has made keen observations on what works. 

1) Feast or famine is a result of where you focus – have a mentality of abundance, not one of scarcity. It’s all a state of mind.

2) Figure out how to take advantage of the recession – the economy will weed out competitors and there is still demand, so now’s the time to acquire new customers. Adversity is the breeding ground for opportunity, but you have to slow down enough to notice it.

3) Know your leading indicators – what key measurements, if taken in real time, will tell you the direction you’re headed?

4) Care enough to communicate more – now is not the time to cut travel expenses. See your people more often, not less!

5) Find out what you are doing right and do more of it – success is all about finding the right fit for you and your business.

6) Focus on solidifying relationships – sales is about focusing on effectiveness, not efficiency. Genuine relationships are the only way to grow and thrive.

7) Quit focusing on products and services and instead build value. There are three levels of value: a) What your product does; b) The experience your product creates; and c) The transformation your product produces.

8) Control the things you can control. To be in business, you have to transfer an idea. To transfer an idea, you must sell your idea, and selling is nothing more than a transfer of confidence and enthusiasm. Control the things you can, making your confidence the most important thing to control.

Click here to read the complete whitepaper.

Author: Jim Lobaito, Owner and President of the Performance Group

Agree More?

Yesterday was a great day. We won a new client, which is awesome, but something else happened that was almost more meaningful. A client said they appreciated the way we challenged their thinking, how we politely pushed back and debated the issues with them. This happened to be the same person who was a prospect a mere two days ago and now is our newest client. What I most appreciated about their compliment was that we chose to debate during turbulent economic times...when it might have been safer to simply agree and tell them how right they were. There were times during the sales process when I questioned the wisdom of those conversations, but we were doing what was right. We have evidence to prove our approach to RM works, and we stuck to our guns. Something to keep in mind the next time a colleague or supervisor questions your suggestion. It might be safer to agree more and debate less, but in the long-term it’s not the best thing for you or them.

Update

As a follow-up to last week's post, I thought I'd share this recent article about pharma companies using social media: 

FDA Official Tells Blogger That Pharma Social Media OK

The Role of Online Communities

At last fall's Eye for Pharma eCommunications and Online Marketing Summit, the Director of Electronic Communications for a major pharma company talked about navigating the brave new world of online communities. Before and since hearing that presentation, I've been thinking a lot about "social marketing" and its role or place in what we do as pharma marketers.

Today, 5 of the top 10 websites are social sites: YouTube, MySpace, Wikipedia, Facebook, and Blogger. Next year that number is expected to rise to 7 out of 10. This is clearly a trend not to be ignored. Many people -- including your sales and marketing targets -- are spending valuable time on these types of sites, engaging with their peers and seeking information.

So how can we develop online communities that are meaningful for physicians -- or pharmacists, PBMs, or payers -- in a way that provides real value, while also sharing our key messages? I'm interested in your thoughts on this subject. Post a comment here or e-mail me at awestmeyer@rmarketing.com.

REZULTZ

The license plates on my car speak directly to my passion for measurable results. I love being right -- who doesn't? -- and there is simply no better way to make the right decision than by relying on data to show you the way. I'm amazed at how many of the 20 different pharma executives I've talked to in the last month have been managing their businesses with old and aging data. It's like driving a car by looking in the rearview mirror.

Data, when delivered in a timely and actionable way, can help you make the right decision. This week, I invite you to tell me your biggest promotional data challenge. Send me a quick e-mail at awestmeyer@rmarketing.com. I'm compiling information for a strategic brief on the work we're doing to create real-time promotional response data, and I'd love to learn if we can help address  your challenge.

I gotta run -- the open road is calling!

50% Fewer Resources, 100% of Goal

What do you do when you have a new indication to launch for your brand and your field force has just been cut in half? Oh, and did I mention that your launch goal for the first 90 days stayed the same? I recently spoke with a brand director who is faced with this situation. He actually has two new indications with a third pending that will be of enormous benefit to his brand, but he's coming up short on getting the word out with reps.

This is the perfect scenario for leveraging precision non-personal promotions. Through our partnership with IMS Health, RMI can identify the most opportunistic prescribers based upon some key clinical events. With the client mentioned above, there is a test patients are given to determine their propensity for a gene mutation that will cause a rash during treatment. If the patient is identified as at-risk, a proactive treatment regimen is prescribed to avoid the rash, ultimately enabling the therapy to be more efficacious. Through claims data, we can identify when the test is ordered, which is a trigger event for prescribing this company's drug. What could be more ideal? We use a triggered, customized, non-personal contact to reach a doctor who is in decision-making mode with an ill patient.

We have several programs where non-personal promotion is triggered based upon specific clinical events such as titration. Using Anonymized Patient Level Data (APLD), we can identify titration or concomitant use -- indicators a prescriber may consider alternative brands. If you're facing any of these scenarios, please give me a call at 866.446.6688 x 174 and I'd be happy to discuss your market situation and brand to find a strategic way to leverage non-personal promotion in your brand plan.

Building the Plane as You Fly It

One of the most nerve-wracking and stimulating things an executive does is building a business or brand without all the needed staff, data, customer insight, etc. needed to ensure success. I love the phrase "building the plane as you fly it." I feel like this describes my professional life to a T. Critical decisions are often made much more quickly than I'd like -- I assess enough data to determine a trend and a direction for my initiative, but I probably don't have time to study all of it. Not all people are wired for this type of role; TriMetrix is a great tool for helping you assess your natural behavior and better understand how you might react to this type of pressure. (See my February 8 post about TriMetrix for more info.)

Here's how I personally approach these critical decision moments:

• Look for trends in information that is currently available.
• Evaluate whether the decision fits into our annual plan objectives.
• Consider how much time and resources are required to implement. If we need more, can it be managed with temporary or freelance talent?
• Determine the ROI.
• Ask: "Will we be better for it?"

Finally, trust your instincts. You've gotten to this point in your career by doing something right. I'm willing to guess it had something to do with listening to that voice in the back of your head.

Take a Guess...

Can you guess where I took this photo?

(Hint: It's not an airport!)

Share your answer by clicking on the Comments link below.

What Makes You Tick

Ever wonder what makes you tick? Better yet, ever wish you knew what makes your co-workers tick? When it comes to personalities, I'm very curious, so I started exploring a variety of different assessments that reveal motivations and behaviors. During my career, I've spent a lot of energy working to shore up my weaknesses. In my study, I discovered that one's focus should not be on improving weaknesses, but instead on taking full advantage of strengths.

I've done some coursework that helped me observe activities that energize me, as compared to those that drain me. Have you ever stopped to notice those activities that allow you to lose track of time? Those are the things that are fueling you -- they provide you with renewed energy. I bet you've also noticed those tasks that feel like drudgery and seem to take forever to complete. For example, I learned that the tasks I have long disliked (yardwork!) were detailed tasks I was simply not suited for. Strategic projects were the kind of thing that suited me. So now instead of dreading lawn work, I hire a service and am really enjoying working on a landscape planning project for 2009. I am now able to see clearly which tasks zap my energy and which fuel my excitement, both in my career and in my personal life.

I was so impressed by the difference this knowledge made that I extended an invitation to our employees to take the TriMetrix analysis. TriMetrix has proved to be an invaluable tool in the hiring process, too! If you haven't taken this kind of assessment, I encourage you to try it out. Click here for an overview of the tool, and if you're interested in some guidance in this area, I recommend The Performance Group. I'd also be happy to discuss TriMetrix with you -- leave a comment on this blog, or e-mail me at awestmeyer@rmarketing.com. I believe it's important that we all invest in our strengths, which starts with understanding what energizes you.

Beyond the Sales Force

If you're like most of our clients, you may be finding it increasingly challenging to get your message out to your target audience with a shrinking and, in many cases, distracted sales force. Just how challenging? According to research presented by ZS Associates at the Eye for Pharma 2008 eCommunications and Online Marketing Summit, 17% of physicians are considered "no see" and 21% are "hard to see," but a strong 40% are open to being called on by sales reps. Unfortunately, the ZS research also shows that only about 10% of sales calls are considered "effective" and half of physicians say sales calls are neither relevant nor comprehensive. So how do you keep growing and connecting with physicians?

I recently spoke with a pharma executive who faces a strong sales growth goal while his brand's position is being reduced in the call plan. I told him about the Virtual Rep programs we often implement to simulate sales rep contact and help our clients develop relationships with physicians. These programs include a wide variety of strategies and tactics -- sometimes we develop creative direct mail or electronic media vehicles to provide information typically shown in a detail aid or communicated verbally by a rep, sometimes we engage physicians through sample requests and other offers. There are many ways to bridge the gap.

If you're interested in learning more about our Virtual Rep programs -- or our Air Cover programs that offer back-up for busy sales reps -- post a comment on this blog or e-mail me at awestmeyer@rmarketing.com. I'd love to talk to you!

New Video: Cost Reform & Transparency Seminar

Pharmaceutical cost reform and transparency is a hot topic these days. Do you ever wonder how it might impact you and your company?

RMI recently hosted an event called Cost Reform & Transparency in the Pharmaceutical Industry: Positioning to Win in a Game of Changing Players. We were pleased to have many clients and pharma professionals participate online through live, streaming video, and some even joined us in-person at the Drake University School of Pharmacy.

The seminar was presented by Cliff Gold, former CEO of one of the Top 100 managed care networks in the U.S. For me, the key takeaway of Cliff's presentation was this: Cost transparency will dramatically alter the tried and true relationships in your value chain -- and successfully managing these dynamic relationships means altering the way you communicate with each player. Today's brand managers need to consider new targets -- not just HCPs. Do you know how to effectively market to a PBM or HMO to build brand success?

Click here to watch the video. It's only about 50 minutes long and you can quickly navigate by topic.

What other topics interest you? We plan to sponsor more seminar events in the future and value your input. Click the Comment button below to give me your suggestions.

Turning Frustration Into Solutions

Do you ever get frustrated? Probably a silly question. But have you ever considered that from frustration a better or more ideal solution is found? Recently I got frustrated because one of my colleagues didn't provide a progress report to me on a project I delegated to her. As I thought about the situation and muttered to myself, "I should have just done it myself," I realized I probably wasn't clear about my expectations. The frustration I was experiencing made me think more deeply and I discovered a better way to manage the situation in the future. Often frustration is created from unmet expectations. Frustrations arise when we don't articulate our expectations clearly and without frustration we may not raise the bar on our collective performance.

In the moment, frustration is annoying at a minimum, and potentially the source of failed relationships in the extreme. However, frustration motivates problem-solving, leading to defined expectations and ultimately delivering a better solution.