Editor’s note: Holly Carter is a product marketing director with market research firm Confirmit, New York.
From searching for new and innovative ways to fight diseases to managing government regulations and consumer perceptions, it can often seem as though pharmaceutical, life sciences and medical device companies face more challenges than any other industry. It will come as no surprise that these factors can have a major impact on profitability. That said, it is imperative for health care companies to improve their profitability through cost containment and revenue growth.
The world’s most prominent names in the pharmaceutical industry have turned to marketing research to help identify different ways to lower costs and improve revenues. Companies have worked to develop feedback programs precisely tailored to their individual business needs.
This article will walk through five lessons that pharmaceutical companies can apply to marketing research initiatives in this challenging environment. Before diving into the five lessons, it’s important to note the multiple types of pharmaceutical customers. 
In addition to the obvious – patients and caregivers – companies need to consider hospitals, doctors and pharmacists.
1. Gather feedback from all customers.
It is important to consider your wide customer base when choosing how to conduct a survey. Managing a variety of surveys and research across all customer types will help you identify and prioritize issues that will have the biggest impact on your company’s success.
For example:
- Hosting an educational seminar? Follow it up with a physician satisfaction survey.
- Want feedback on a store/hospital product? Implement a satisfaction survey.
- Interested in insight around the patient assistance department? Following contact, send out a patient/caregiver satisfaction survey.
- Hosting clinical trials? Make a pre- and post-clinical trial survey a part of the process.
2. Monitor customer feedback at every touchpoint.
Leveraging multiple channels for feedback can improve the quantity and quality of the feedback received. With the use of these channels, measure and monitor customer sentiment. Do this effectively by making it an integral part of business operations and key performance objectives. Take it one step further by ensuring that feedback contributes to the development and/or the evaluation of new initiatives.
Reach customers via the following channels:
- pop-up and passive Web surveys for both ordering and bill pay;
- paper surveys in the field following physician education seminars;
- e-mail to Web surveys following any form of e-mail support; and
- IVR surveys following phone support.
3. Accommodate the diversity of the customer base.
The ease of collecting and sharing feedback from customers around the world can help pharmaceutical companies identify ways to improve their market. For this reason, global reach and multilingual deployment need to be viewed as a requirement rather than a “nice to have” for any MR initiative. To address and resolve customers’ issues in a timely and proficient manner, pharmaceutical companies that have hundreds of users across the globe need access to role-based dashboards and near real-time information.
This can be a big undertaking, so to prepare properly, check which countries you plan to deploy surveys in and which languages are available as standard by your preferred survey platform.
4. Leverage a strategic voice of the customer (VOC) program to support compliance and regulatory requirements.
The health care industry, particularly the pharmaceutical industry, has fairly strict rules regarding patient privacy and adverse events. Building compliance into VOC programs not only reduces risk but also streamlines compliance initiatives, saving both time and money.
For example, in the U.S., federal law requires all open-ended comments to be reviewed for adverse events within 24 hours. To combat this potential obstacle, use fields in survey questionnaires for agents to document that they have reviewed each comment. Use hierarchy capabilities to make it easier for managers to sign off on actions so that you can be sure you have acted appropriately.
5. Internal communication and action are the keys to success.
Feedback is not an island. Real-time, role-based reporting and dashboards help companies to identify and prioritize issues. It also helps to streamline communication across departments and regions, eliminating silos that create an inconsistent or even unpleasant customer experience.
Remember – real-time alerts help leadership respond and resolve issues quickly. Live dashboards with real-time results, as well as analytic tools and reports, help to improve customer satisfaction.
Surveys can also be used to capture the voice of the employee. Listening to employees could streamline the number of systems to fulfill orders, for example, reducing customer hold times. Happier employees ultimately deliver improved customer service.
With these five lessons, pharmaceutical companies will be able to navigate through the often challenging waters and succeed in implementing effective marketing research.