A Social Pill for Pharma

Transcription

1 A Social Pill for Pharma August 2013 Abstract Social media is changing business paradigms by providing companies with a previously untapped method of research gathering unfiltered information directly from customers to better understand what they think about their products and their organization. The pharmaceutical industry stands to benefit greatly from this new shift if it is embraced. However, despite recognizing this opportunity, many pharmaceutical companies have been slow to fully engage in social media for various reasons most notably, unclear guidelines from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Dell has experienced the value of building strong customer and stakeholder relationships using social media for several years and has a solid track record of helping pharmaceutical pioneers create their own social media presence. By making content easier to share and engaging caregivers and their patients online through innovative approaches, Dell has helped these companies build a strong presence on various social channels where they can listen to conversations and gain valuable insights. This whitepaper highlights the tremendous opportunities available to the pharmaceutical industry through social engagement with empowered consumers.

2 Table of contents Written by: Logan Lawler Social Media Practice Development Consultant Dell Reena Milton Project Management Advisor Dell BPO Services Abstract Linking, following, linking and tagging What is it like in the social world for healthcare? Adapting to change Why pharmaceutical companies should care about social media Understanding the FDA s role The challenges of getting results Dell solutions for pharmaceutical companies supported by big data to engage consumers.6 Advisory Services Listening and Insights Services (LIS) Listening Command Center Build-Outs About the authors

3 Discover why and how the pharmaceutical industry should use social analytics Social media creates altogether new opportunities for organizations to respond to their customers needs, engage with them, and build stronger brands. The time is NOW to create effective strategies to create marketplace differentiation by developing lasting relationship with the new age consumers. Ashutosh Vaidya, Vice President, Global Head - Applications and BPO Liking, following, linking and tagging A growing number of healthcare professionals and consumers are exploring social channels like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn and blogs. They re looking to find jobs, network with peers and connect with patients. Many are also looking to access education and share research. How social media is changing our world 1B Users on Facebook 30 secs before they felt it, New Yorkers got Tweets about an east coast earthquake 97% of Pinterest fans are women 20% of daily Google searches have never been searched before 53% of people on Twitter recommend products in their tweets 2.25M pages would be the length if Wikipedia was made into a book The 2nd Largest search engine in the world 72 hours of video are uploaded every minute of the day Source: Erik Qualman, Social Media Revolutions Video - Every second two new members join LinkedIn Over 50% of the world s population is under 30 years old 93% of marketers use social media for business 97% of consumers trust peer recommendations At the same time, the impact of social media on consumer choices and business reputations even for a traditionally non-retail segment like the pharmaceutical industry continues to increase and cannot be overstated. 72% of internet users say they looked online for health information within the past year. - Pew Internet: Health by Susannah Fox, Jul 1, 2013 Making choices Choosing a doctor Choosing hospitals, labs or medical facilities Comparing and selecting medical plans Addressing concerns Finding specialists for second opinions Understanding the effects of certain drugs Dealing with stress common in those with chronic illness Gathering information Finding alternative therapies and medicines Researching diagnoses and treatments for themselves, children or family members Improving wellness Participating in forums with likeminded individuals Learning more about diets and exercise routines Joining local support communities or groups What is it like in the social world for healthcare? Over one third of U.S. consumers manage their own health and are using social media to help them make important healthcare decisions. Social media platforms provide a new avenue for information and dialogue. In addition, the virtual environment enhances communications by creating a comfortable way to exchange information. 3

4 Consumers compare providers or get second opinions. They also engage in prevention and selfmanagement activities, such as scheduling flu shots and office visits, and researching foods and supplements with potential health benefits. Social media also helps consumers locate support groups or join forums for those with similar existing medical conditions, as well as find activities and resources for prevention. They use it to help improve their overall health and wellness, and gather information about diagnoses or medications for themselves, their children and other family members. Consumers have become much more savvy at purchasing healthcare services and products because of social media. Since information is readily available, they are inclined to demand the latest drugs and medical innovations. They also use social apps to broadcast their opinions on physicians, drugs, devices and treatments to the public. Through likes, follows, links or tags, social media is changing the nature of health-related interactions. With so many channels for online conversations, it s important that pharmaceutical companies not only understand what motivates consumer behavior, but also how to respond appropriately using social tools. Adapting to change For the next few years, most pharmaceutical and life sciences companies are expected to face financial pressures due to expiring patents (Figure 2) and competition from generic drugs. A number of other factors are expected to impact their rules of operation, including: Changing consumer expectations and awareness Heightened government regulatory and monitoring activities due to new compliance regulations and patient protection laws Increasing trend of alliances, acquisitions and innovation Furthermore, the market for pharmaceutical products and services is shifting to emerging economies where healthcare systems are still evolving. Brazil, Russia, India and China are transforming into both manufacturing and consumption hubs for the pharmaceutical industry. These countries have large young populations that are quick to adapt to new ways of doing business. Social media adoption in these countries is high and increasing exponentially. Pharmaceutical companies need to respond dynamically to the shifting landscape and the increasing influence of social media by implementing new business models and looking at new markets. To position themselves for long-term success, next-generation business models must: Address slowing sales growth and declining profitability Deal with cross-border data transfer regulations and other privacy laws Engage in meaningful dialogue with consumers and stakeholders Why pharmaceutical companies should care about social media With consumer and stakeholder adoption of social media growing, it is imperative that pharmaceutical and life sciences companies get a clear picture of the changing ecosystem and understand the patterns that affect product sales and brand. Social media opens up new opportunities to connect with consumers, communicate the value proposition throughout the product lifecycle and improve healthcare delivery and outcomes. It sets the foundation to mine information and apply behavioral principles to understand how and why consumers are changing the way they make health choices and buying decisions. Like their counterparts in other healthcare sectors, it s also important that pharmaceutical and life sciences companies find new ways to integrate social data into their business and connect social media efforts to a sustainable return on investment (ROI). Listening to social conversations can provide insights about the competitive landscape, pricing and consumer satisfaction. Social media, if used effectively, can also provide low-cost brand building and demand generation options. Of course, this should be done with a strong understanding of the regulatory environment. While some global pharmaceutical giants have embraced this platform and started to listen to social media conversations, only a few have derived business value from them. Some are capturing sentiment and standard volume metrics on various sites, not realizing that they need to go beyond capturing likes and followers and collect qualitative engagement metrics. And a good many still remain cautious about their engagement in social media. 4

5 Early adopters in the pharmaceutical sector will continually fine-tune their social media strategy to align with evolving regulations. Pharmaceutical companies have started to listen to social media conversations as they recognize that this is pivotal to understand consumer behavior, medication adherence and general purchase decisions. Dr. Andrew Litt, Executive strategist, Global Sales and Growth, Dell Services Early adopters in the pharmaceutical sector will continually finetune their social media strategy to align with evolving regulations. Understanding the FDA s role One of the major issues facing pharmaceutical companies has been the FDA s views on social media. Current FDA regulations and guidelines especially on the reporting of adverse events and industry standards for pharmaceutical marketing fail to adequately address the realities of social engagements online or provide consistent enforcement of existing rules online. As a result, several experts have different opinions on the do s and don ts of social engagements, leaving many pharmaceutical companies hesitant to fully participate. The FDA is now promising new guidelines by July Adverse drug experiences can be difficult matters to handle because if they are brought to the attention of a pharmaceutical company, the company is required to conduct an investigation and file a report with the FDA. This could result in potential liabilities. Many pharmaceutical companies justifiably fear that being involved in social conversations will increase the number of adverse drug experience reports and force them to conduct countless investigations which could reduce funding for research. Concerns over liability exposures due to adverse experience reporting will continue to exist. Much of it will depend on the additional clarifications anticipated from the FDA as they issue new guidelines around enforcement and pharmaceutical companies obligations to report adverse drug experiences identified through social channels. In the meantime, pharmaceutical companies will likely adopt one of the two following approaches: a) Watch but remain on standby until they receive guidance from the FDA b) Become a perceived leader in the space by successfully engaging with patients online The challenges of getting results While a few pharmaceutical giants have begun taking steps to explore social media and its potential, they still have difficulties getting valuable insight from their social media activities. This is What other concerns stop the pharma sector from adopting a social platform? Should I have a dedicated social media team? Which social media channels would be most relevant for my business? How do I manage the inflow of information? I can t determine the ROI. I don t know how to scale a social media solution. Skilled resources Too much information The areas of challenge Customer feedback Tools and processes I don t know where to start. Who are my influencers? What do customers say about us? How do I build a training program? What tools do I use? Are there any standard processes that I can follow? 5

6 most likely due to the limited number of relevant conversations on specific topics. Companies either do not know where to find these conversations, or when they do find them, they are unable to sift through the noise to find pertinent information. This is often caused by intentional spamming from online drug stores or from search engine optimization (SEO) activities. Dell solutions for pharmaceutical companies supported by big data to engage consumers Through social likes, follows, links and tags, consumers have challenged the current business landscape for the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries. Companies must now navigate new and unfamiliar terrain by opening up to the dynamics of engagement with empowered consumers. However, even as companies await further clarity from the FDA, they can still get plugged into the social world by sharing the content of their websites and drug-/brand-specific portals. Dell provides a complete suite of consulting, listening and reporting services for enhancing consumer experience through social media, including: Advisory Services: Receive a rigorous assessment of your current social media activities, along with recommendations to improve your current efforts, build a future state roadmap and obtain insights from integrated social media activities for your business. Working closely with senior leaders of your organization, we conduct hands-on strategy planning sessions to develop a disciplined framework and approach for planning social media investments and establish goals focused on ROI. Now is the time to establish and strengthen your social strategies and create mature processes. Listening and Insights Services (LIS): Monitor conversations about your brand, products, industry or interests to gain business/market intelligence and better understand consumer wants and needs. Dell s expertise across a multitude of platforms helps select the right tools to build customized profiles that provide an accurate view of social data. We also provide analytics reports and actionable insights to help you make more informed business decisions. Whether your organization is brand new to social media monitoring, or is having difficulty cutting through the conversation noise, our two LIS services will get you on the right track: Forward Listening: Real-time conversations are actively monitored and captured to provide a pulse on consumers and competitors with your defined objectives. During these sessions, we pay careful and thoughtful attention to your company s values as well as your policy requirements to assist you in identifying and capturing important conversations. The quickest way to get plugged into social media is by sharing content from websites and drug/brandspecific portals to encourage participation. The founding principles of listening and monitoring are to ensure accuracy of information pertaining to: > A specific drug > Competitors drugs > A broad disease level > Specific chemical properties > Key industry influencers Backwards Listening: While many service providers offer monitoring of current conversations only, you can also benefit from reviewing historical conversations dating back one year to baseline the social media activity on your drugs and brand. This can be particularly helpful during research and development for the launch of a new drug or when a drug is on trial. You can review conversations pertaining to similar drugs and/or competitors portfolios and develop launch plans accordingly. This type of LIS can be utilized as a one-time, per-drug engagement with relevant competitors, and can help you understand the social footprint used to measure future actions. With a year s worth of data analytics, your organization can get an aggregated view on pricing, consumer experience, demographic segmentation and sentiment of messages compared to your competitors. Our customers have obtained valuable insights to make the right investments in brand websites, social enablement of these websites, pricing of a drug, positioning of the brand for the right audience and demographic dissection of the posts. We have also helped identify the proponents/ key influencers for their drugs. 6

7 Listening Command Center Build-Outs: Get the expertise you need to create your own listening command center. The offer includes consultation on design and space considerations, implementation of key processes to run the center and recommendations for effective operations. Transform foundational listening processes into an engagement forum by training and empowering your employees to respond quickly while protecting your brand. Command Center can be used by your regulatory team to help support your compliance. Best Practice Seminars: During these interactive sessions which can be customized for the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries we share social media best practices and provide exercises for application within your corporate culture. Topics include: Gaining executive advocacy Understanding the roles of social media listening and use of its data Building communities Developing a social media training roadmap or social media training course Even though social media formats and platforms are likely to evolve over time, online engagement is here to stay. Dell s social media services can help you remain accessible to your consumers and empower you to improve brand awareness, business results and loyalty. Listening and insights services from Dell Daily, weekly or monthly reports Dell can help you: Monitor conversations relevant to your brands, industry and competition Determine sentiment around each conversation posted within social media Monitor product/service launches and provide detailed reports on these campaigns Provide business/market intelligence reports Improve current social media outreach by identifying key influencers and channels to broadcast your products and services Improve customer support to increase customer satisfaction levels and improve brand loyalty Actionable insights Insights from social conversations lead to actionable decisions. Understand customer Use direct, unbiased feedback to improve products and services. Market intelligence Keep a pulse on brand versus competitor conversations. Leverage intellectual capital and capabilities Amplify your message Identify key influencers and channels with whom to engage. Gauge sentiment Identify actions to improve customer perceptions and your Net Promoter Score. Protect your brand Enable viral warning, risk mitigation and crisis management for the social sphere. Built on years of experience and deep understanding of the prevailing business environment, Dell social and life sciences subject matter experts can help you develop real-time consumer insights, engage audiences and better understand your market. Reasons others look to Dell for social media help Dell was recognized for Best use of LinkedIn by BtoB magazine's 2013 social media marketing awards. In late 2012, Dell was awarded an ITSMA Marketing Excellence Award for Generating Nurturing Leads and Marketing with Social and Interactive Media. Dell received a 2013 Silver Award from The Learning Awards for Social Media for Learning- Program of the Year. In 2013, Dell was awarded a Computerworld Honors Laureate (World-Good) for work done with the Red Cross. 7

8 About the authors Logan Lawler is a social media practice development consultant at Dell where he develops social media listening services for clients. Logan was the first member of Dell s Social Media Command Center team which embedded listening processes and practices in the fabric of Dell. Prior to joining Dell, Logan graduated from University of Missouri with his BSBA in Marketing in Reena Milton is a project management advisor at Dell where she is responsible for developing the messaging and supporting marketing initiations of new business process outsourcing practice areas and solutions for customers. For more information on Dell BPO services or how you can benefit from social media, please visit Dell.com/bpo or contact bpo@dell.com. Scan or click this code to learn how Dell Services can help your organization. 1 Trends/2011%20Top-Line%20Market%20Data/Global_Pharma_Market_by_Spending_ pdf This white paper is for information purposes only, and may contain typographical errors and technical inaccuracies. The content is provided as is, without express or implied warranties of any kind. Product and service availability varies by country. To learn more, customers and Dell Channel Partners should contact their sales representative for more information. Specifications are correct at date of publication but are subject to availability or change without notice at any time. Dell and its affiliates cannot be responsible for errors or omissions in typography or photography. Dell s Terms and Conditions of Sales and Service apply and are available on request. Dell and the Dell logo are trademarks of Dell Inc. Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this document to refer to either the entities claiming the marks and names or their products. Dell disclaims proprietary interest in the marks and names of others Dell Inc. All rights reserved. August 2013 D261 - A Social Pill for Pharma_WP.indd Rev. 1.0