Provide 24/7 service to HCPs with self-detailing and chatbot technology
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A new channel
Digital marketing in pharma is continually evolving, with new opportunities unlocked all the time. This pace of innovation empowers pharma and MedTech marketers with a growing digital toolbox to more precisely build their required healthcare professional (HCP) engagements. Consequently, multichannel marketing is switching to an omnichannel model, which places the customer at the centre of a digital ecosystem. As a result, customer experience quality is rapidly improving. And the pace is not slowing. One of the latest innovations developed by Anthill Agency — self-service eDetailing — not only expands your digital toolbox but does so in a way that is both cost-effective and easy to implement.
Self-service systems provide an on-demand eDetailing experience
Increase eDetailing ROI
Producing a quality eDetailer is a significant investment — appropriately for what is often the primary channel in digital pharmaceutical marketing. Consequently, the content is usually the best that a company offers in terms of storytelling, visualisation, and messaging. Yet an eDetailer may only be shown to HCPs for a few minutes at each visit. And, given that field teams likely see a healthcare professional (HCP) every three or four months, there is a long period without focused attention on your brand story — and therefore engagement with your highest value content.
This ’gap’ is now being filled by other channels. For example, approved email empowers reps to engage more regularly with HCPs. And remote detailing sessions also increase contact frequency thanks to the flexibility that it provides. Both channels are important developments and play a crucial role in omnichannel engagements. But companies are still missing a big opportunity. Given how much is invested, ROI on eDetailing content should be further increased — extending its use.
Self-service model
To better leverage eDetailing content investments, Anthill has developed a ‘self-service’ model that enables HCPs to access your materials 24/7 — but in a way that still retains the rep-guided experience for HCPs. This is achieved by placing your eDetailing content securely online and using ‘chatbot’ technology to drive a digital brand assistant. This assistant guides HCPs through the content. In effect, you ‘embed’ the rep into an online eDetailer.
The brand assistant is important because it makes the experience more engaging and personal for HCPs. The objective is to replicate as much of an eDetailing session as possible while increasing reach. The result should not be just another website but a valuable engagement that feels natural and personalised to each HCP’s needs.
Self-detailing provides HCPs with a personalised and guided experience
Full compliance
For brand assistant dialogue (what the chatbot says to an HCP), there are two options: open and closed. An open dialogue means HCPs can write anything in the chat form field. That offers data capture opportunities but poses a potential compliance issue if an HCP decides to use it to report a possible contraindication or side effect.
This issue is why we generally recommend the second option — the closed dialogue — which means that you continually present HCPs with pre-defined options. HCPs can still choose their own adventure through your content, but they can't type in questions or make statements. This safeguards against pharmacovigilance event reporting because HCPs have no way to do it.
Another benefit of the closed dialogue is that all content is prepared in advance and reviewed and approved by MLR. Additionally, because self-service systems are built using existing eDetailing content, most of the regulatory review will already have been done. Colleagues in MLR can be confident that content is simply being moved from one channel to another. Consequently, our experience at Anthill Agency is that self-service systems receive some of the fastest-ever regulatory approvals.
Use cases
Extend HCP engagement: Self-service detailing is an excellent way to fill the ‘gap’ between in-person detailing sessions. Reps and MSLs can provide access to the self-detailer via email or messaging to HCPs, who can review the material in their own time. Then, with the correct analytics setup, you can provide customer teams with call-planning data informed by HCP interactions with the self-detailer. The next in-person meeting or remote session can discuss what HCPs have learned or move further into your product story by exploring more of the eDetailing content.
Customer responsiveness: Large eDetailing presentations can also be broken down into multiple self-service detailers, each covering a specific topic. This practice makes content more manageable to review and adds variety to the engagement because HCPs continually receive something new. This approach is also useful when responding to HCP questions. Topic-specific self-detailers provide a better experience because they closely match the query topic and therefore require less navigation to find the answers.
Omnichannel: Self-detailing systems also fit perfectly in omnichannel customer journeys — joining other channels such as brand websites, webinars, approved email and eDetailing sessions in a digital ecosystem. Self-detailing is particularly useful in these customer journeys because it provides an 'eDetailing-like' experience at scale. In-person meetings remain supreme, but self-service detailing offers the opportunity for more focused engagement than is possible with a simple website. Used strategically, self-service is a compelling option when designing omnichannel marketing engagements.
Self-service systems play a useful role in omnichannel customer journeys
Now made easier
Anthill’s latest innovation in this space is Amplify. This is a self-detailing builder that features a visual canvas, enabling you you to easily create on-demand experiences. Amplify can be quickly learned by anyone — individuals, teams, and agencies — empowering people to launch self-detailers within days using Amplify's no-code publishing. Simple to use but with the features you need, Amplify makes it easy to create high-quality on-demand brand experiences for HCPs.
Are you looking to use self-service technologies to increase your marketing reach and better engage HCPs between detailing sessions? Or to improve eDetailing ROI by leveraging your existing content investments? Perhaps you want to implement omnichannel marketing to support your pharma brands — blending on-demand digital channels like self-detailing with in-person and remote sessions?
Anthill self-detailing solutions: get a self-service system, with an embedded brand assistant, and enable HCPs to engage 24/7. Learn more Self-detailing guide: read our in-depth guide and discover the benefits, use cases and implementation process.Read now Self-service eBook: download our eBook on self-service detailing and embedded chatbot brand assistant technologies. Download now
Learn what kind of content builds HCP relationships and increases access. This Insight explains the overall content strategy to increase HCP engagement and details the practical steps you can take.
In contrast to multichannel, an omnichannel strategy begins with your customers' needs, not by creating channels. Omnichannel is an experience designed to match a specific HCP profile — or series of profiles — with content that is delivered in successive engagements
At Anthill, we keep a keen eye on digital marketing and sales innovation. Over just the last couple of years, things have continued to change at dizzying speed. There are new centres of innovation established around the world.
