Bastion Brands managing director Simon Davies says a critical consideration for biopharmaceutical companies in differentiating with clinicians is establishing an emotional connection.
Mr Davies told BioPharmaDispatch the company he founded ten years ago is driven by the notion of operating in the space "where science and emotion collide."
"Everything we do is about that," he said. "My observation of the industry when we started the business was that it is about the data. It has to be that way because a product will not be approved in the absence of significant evidence but I have always felt we could do a little better when it comes to differentiation.
"It is true you can differentiate on some of the clinical data but there is also an opportunity to build something around an emotional connection. That might be through a patient case study or building a better understanding of a healthcare professional and their fears and drivers.
"Taking them on a journey and painting the picture of the very harsh realities many patients face on a daily basis. Healthcare professionals deal with this and they can relate to how a patient is experiencing their illness or condition. As humans, we are hardwired to listen to and engage with these stories."
Mr Davies said the company's 'Stand, Story, Strategy' brand planning methodology is based on his university thesis.
"It basically says, to stand out from the crowd, you need to clearly articulate what you stand for as a brand on a scientific and emotional level. What is your point of difference because if you are not really clear on that the risk is your brand is just seen as a me-too type of product. So that first thing is to articulate what you stand for.
"The second is to build a story that is emotionally engaging and the third is that when setting a strategic objective start from three to four steps back from achieving that goal."
Mr Davies said COVID-19 has had a significant impact on engagement with clinicians, particularly at the start of the pandemic when companies stopped face-to-face engagement.
"This was hard because it has been the backbone of how the industry has engaged with healthcare professionals for so many years. I think there was a lot of shock. Obviously, there was a need to quickly move to digital and omnichannel communication, where some of our clients were already quite advanced.
"In that way, the pandemic has been a catalyst for change, quite possibly the biggest for the industry in the last 20 to 30 years. It has forced the industry to really look at the 'journeys' healthcare professionals are taking and adjust accordingly.
"There has been a lot of email and video with virtual detailing. It has been a huge change but I think we are now moving into more of a hybrid world where representatives are returning to the road. That said, while you might have had ten on the road pre-pandemic, that number might now be seven with three doing virtual calls.
"What it has shown is that sometimes there are better ways of interacting with healthcare professionals. An example might be a general practitioner might not want to see a representative face-to-face at a particular time but they are happy to do an afternoon virtual meeting."
Mr Davies said that while companies can be reluctant to change, particularly if a model of interacting with customers has worked so well for so long, the pandemic has been a catalyst to bring forward change that was probably inevitable.
"It forced a change. There was really no choice but I think most people are now saying a hybrid model might be the best way forward. Of course, each company has to look at what is best for what they are trying to do.
"This will drive other adjustments because the skills you require as a representative on the road are different to those for a virtual call, particularly when it comes to time because you might only have a few minutes for engagement via a digital platform."
Mr Davies said healthcare professionals are also adjusting with some happy to go digital and others happy to return to face-to-face.
"My sense tells me 70-80 per cent will go back to what it was but that the other 20-30 per cent will be very happy with hybrid or all digital. For companies that means even more customer segmentation and in-depth analysis.
"As for the future, I would say there will be an ever-increasing emphasis on digital channels while avoiding saturation. We really saw this at the start of the pandemic when absolutely everybody was emailing their customers but companies and the industry will get better and better at it and I expect we will see more digital breakthroughs.
"My advice to companies now would also be to take the lessons from the past year and use it as an opportunity to apply a new lens on how you engage with healthcare professionals. Realise that the world has changed and do not just go back to what you were doing pre-pandemic."
