My interview with Eyeforpharma, podcast available in: http://social.eyeforpharma.com/marketing/podcasts/speed-and-usability-are-key-insights-boehringer-ingelheim

1. 1‐Nov‐11
"Speed and Usability are Key" ‐ insights from Boehringer Ingelheim
An interview with Serkan Erkovan (www.twitter.com/serkovan )of Boehringer Ingelheim @ Eyeforpharma
http://social.eyeforpharma.com/marketing/podcasts/speed‐and‐usability‐are‐key‐insights‐boehringer‐ingelheim
How Do You Think, Speed & Usability Will Attract Physicians & Get Engaged In Your Communications?
This has become one of the major priorities for pharma companies, especially for the ones who have
countrywide limiting regulations in reaching to health care professionals. In my opinion, since the
measurement of physician engagement is not so easy, while you change the way of trying to attract
physicians. Since the technology is evolving, companies should take into account that Speed & usability are
the major bullets in your communication strategy.
Speed is the indispensable component in communication platform, while considering that sales rep has a
limited time frame in physicians office.
One of the key message about speed from my experience would be: You need to keep your content also
offline on your mobile device .
With the other words; Rep needs to switch to different slides or videos or any content without losing time,
in case your internet connection speed is low or the connection is totally lost.
Browser based web applications should be replaced with mobile applications, in order to get use of fast
browsing and the speed of your information access during the interaction.
In many surveys, it’s obvious that, physicians prefer usability. They have limited time for their rep
interactions and this speedy functionality will make their life easier.
While designing the communication platform, marketing teams have to make sure that they establish clear
goals and just try to focus on them with prioritizing those goals using key messages. So the reps will not
suffer from reaching the content in their devices with long waiting sessions. It will make both sides life easier
and the physicians will be a fun of it.
How Do You Plan To Have Your Sales Force Adapt This New Technology?
In order for sales force teams to meet expectations, they must know more and faster. The new technology
will enable sales force teams to store, retrieve, and analyze the data which physicians need and respond
with specific answers that are customized for each type of profile.
adaption period to this new technology will turn into a competitive advantage in between pharma
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2. companies, all business processes in pharma companies need to be changed. For example, when you recruit
a sales representative, you look for standard skill set like communication skills, negotiation, good looking,
time managing etc. Now HR colleagues need to look for digital savvy selling skilled people who can use such
kind of digital components or interested in the new technology era.
Otherwise you’ll need a huge training budget.
For example, Reps on field should be trained for using shortcuts and reaching the content within the fastest
manner.
As a result, pharma companies have to re‐define their skill sets for classifying their sales organizations with
different skills, because of high tech digital devices and new functions in various operating systems. At the
same time, they have to provide online and offline learning courses, create internal available digital savvy
talents in the company.
What Are The Key Learnings From This Process?
Actually during this switch to new digital technologies, we still have some road to go.
Starting with pocket pc solutions and now coming to mobile devices, tablets – I’ve had the chance to gather
practical information from all regions of Turkey with different conditions.
As far as I’ve experienced from the colleagues in the field in my company, they’re really positive in new
mobile solutions suggested to them. For most of them, they look for speedy, time‐saving, simplified
solutions which will enhance their daily sales routines and increase the effect of their visits and the
efficiency of work life balance.
Let me give you some more details about field experience:
Firstly, I’d like to emphasize on this operational workload. They really spend a valuable time period in the
late afternoon or evening instead of spending time with their families or other private things etc.
They also have adaptation challenge during short sales visits. In most cases the sales visit does not last more
than 15 minutes for several reasons like Physicians availability or hospital’s policies.
Managing follow‐up questions is another challenge in daily sales routine. During their visits sales reps face
the situation in which the Phyician asks questions for which they do not have the answer.
Then, they try to set a date for providing the information.
First, they have to record the question and then find the answer from the relevant colleague in head office,
which takes long time.
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When reps have a long gap between their contacts, what they can do is to wait for the next meeting. They
may try to visit another doctor but most of them like them to call them before hand, sometimes a few
weeks in advance.
Such kind of time lost on the field can be managed by mobile devices and save time from the evenings.
Every time reps come, doctors expect to have something new. They also want to hear other doctors´
opinions, their experience with the drug. Even though you know your drug quite well, a doctor believes
another doctor more than the rep.
Using KOL’s videos / speeches in rep interactions would bring the opportunity to inspire from them, pop up
the image that rep is supported not only by a fancy mobile device, but also rich content is with them on the
field.
Not only for related content, but some additional services would be provided by mobile applications during
off topic chats between rep and physician. For example, one of my colleagues on the field told me that,
some physicians ask them for searching or checking into flights and make life easy during the day. When the
rep gives this unexpected service, they’re really pleased and give rep the chance to promote their xproduct.
Additionally, sales people also need information notifications from the headquarter. From office people
perspective, marketing and medical people would also like to know what sales people are doing on the field
with in real timeline.
With this collaborative thinking approach, sales organizations will be able to be fully supported by marketing
and medical people from headquarters.
Companies have spent much money on sales force automation projects in order to create additional value
for business, and they will continue spending for testing issues.
All these bring us to new generation solutions, which are appearing on the market one by one.
To sum up the key learnings, companies should make their priority list for each of their business segments,
theraputic areas and start implementing with pilot teams involving each level of employees in sales and try
to see the outcomes. In the first phase, it is going to be tough for measuring the success of those initiatives,
but later on we will have differentiating metrics in the pharmaceutical market.
1 Supporting the Pharmaceutical Sales Force through Mobile Information and Communication
technologies: an Exploratory Investigation, Chihab BenMoussa
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