Season 1 Episode 2: The Problem of Plenty in Commercial Life Sciences

This video provides an in-depth exploration of the evolving landscape of commercial excellence in the life sciences industry, particularly focusing on the challenges and opportunities presented by the "problem of plenty" in data and technology. Hosted by Florian Schnappauf, the episode features Rakesh Vashishta, Global Head of Customer Facing Execution Excellence at Boehringer Ingelheim, who shares his three decades of experience in commercial pharmaceutical roles. The discussion centers on the dramatic shifts in customer engagement, the growing expectations placed on field teams, and the critical role of technology, data, and compliance in shaping the future of interactions with healthcare professionals (HCPs) and patients.

Rakesh emphasizes that commercial excellence has transformed dramatically over the last 15 years, moving from primarily face-to-face, paper-based detailing to an omnichannel approach driven by technology like Veeva CRM and iPads. This shift necessitates a change in mindset from being internally focused on customer-facing teams to externally focused on creating exceptional customer and patient experiences. He outlines three fundamental building blocks for commercial excellence: understanding your customers, respecting their preferences through customer-centric engagement planning, and achieving execution excellence. A significant challenge highlighted is the difficulty in achieving a true 360-degree view of the customer due to fragmented platforms and issues with data accuracy and completeness, despite the abundance of available data.

The conversation further delves into the nuances of understanding customer preferences, distinguishing between "stated" preferences (what customers say) and "observed" preferences (what they do). Rakesh argues that observed behavior, such as engagement with digital channels or non-face-to-face interactions, is a more reliable indicator of true preference. He notes a significant increase in digital engagements post-pandemic, though face-to-face interactions remain foundational. This evolution redefines the role of the sales representative from a mere channel to a "strategic asset" and "orchestrator of the omnichannel experience," requiring new competencies, tools, and continuous learning. The discussion also touches upon the growing importance of inbound communication channels like chat, acknowledging the challenge of ensuring compliance while offering flexibility and speed.

Looking ahead, Rakesh envisions "next-gen commercial" as being synonymous with simplicity, driven by intelligent CRM systems powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI). He believes AI will simplify cross-functional customer engagement planning, provide live, prospective recommendations, and offer actionable insights to enhance effectiveness, moving beyond rule-based or retrospective approaches. He stresses the importance of a "one-team mindset" across medical, commercial, IT, finance, and compliance departments to achieve these transformations, especially as portfolios shift towards specialty care and require closer collaboration between commercial and clinical functions. Finally, he advocates for stopping the creation of unused content and starting to prioritize user experience by actively involving users in the development and evaluation of tools and technologies.

Key Takeaways:

• Evolution of Commercial Excellence: The pharmaceutical industry has undergone a seismic shift from traditional face-to-face engagements to a complex omnichannel approach, driven by technology and changing customer expectations. This demands a mindset change from internal team focus to external customer and patient experience focus.
• Three Pillars of Commercial Excellence: The core principles involve deeply understanding customers, designing engagements that respect customer preferences (customer-centricity), and achieving excellence in execution.
• The "Problem of Plenty" in Data: While there's an abundance of data and platforms, achieving a 360-degree customer view remains challenging due to poor integration, data incompleteness, and accuracy issues. The industry needs "lesser but highly valuable, highly accurate actionable insights" rather than overwhelming data.
• Observed vs. Stated Customer Preferences: True customer preferences are best understood by observing their actual behavior (e.g., channel engagement, digital interactions) rather than solely relying on what they state they prefer. There's often a significant gap between the two.
• Rise of Digital Engagement: Post-pandemic, non-face-to-face interactions have dramatically increased, indicating a shift in HCP preferences towards digital channels, though face-to-face remains a critical component of engagement.
• Reps as Strategic Orchestrators: The role of the customer-facing team has evolved from a simple channel to a "strategic asset" and "orchestrator of the omnichannel experience," requiring new competencies, agility, and continuous growth.
• Importance of Inbound Channels: Inbound communication, facilitated by instant messaging platforms, is growing in importance as HCPs seek quick, convenient answers. The challenge lies in making these channels compliant while maintaining user-friendliness.
• Non-Negotiable Compliance: Compliance is paramount and non-negotiable in the pharmaceutical industry. New technologies and engagement models must be built with 100% compliance in mind, even if it initially impacts user experience.
• AI for Simplicity and Effectiveness: Artificial Intelligence is expected to simplify future commercial operations by enabling intelligent CRM systems to provide live, prospective recommendations and actionable insights for effective cross-functional customer engagement planning.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Achieving commercial transformation requires a "one-team mindset" and strong collaboration across medical, commercial, IT, finance, and compliance departments, recognizing that all functions are equally vital.
• Prioritizing User Experience: A critical area for improvement is actively involving users (e.g., sales reps, first-line managers) in the design and evaluation of tools and technologies to ensure they are user-friendly and truly enhance their work.
• Eliminate Content Waste: The industry should stop creating content that is never used, focusing instead on producing valuable, utilized content to reduce waste of money, time, and effort.

Tools/Resources Mentioned:

• Veeva CRM system: A leading customer relationship management platform in the life sciences industry.
• Veeva Engage: A platform for remote engagement with HCPs.
• Veeva Engage Connect: A platform for compliant instant messaging and engagement.
• Veeva Pulse data: Data and insights provided by Veeva Systems.
• iPad: A tablet computer used for digital detailing and other field activities.
• WhatsApp, Viber, KakaoTalk: Instant messaging platforms.
• Concur, Outlook: General enterprise tools mentioned in the context of user experience.
• iPhone 15: Mentioned as a recent example of a product with initial imperfections but strong user loyalty.

Key Concepts:

• Commercial Excellence: The strategic and operational initiatives aimed at optimizing commercial operations, sales performance, and customer engagement within a pharmaceutical company.
• Omnichannel Experience: A seamless and integrated customer experience across all available channels (face-to-face, digital, phone, email, etc.), orchestrated to meet customer preferences.
• Closed-Loop Marketing: A marketing approach where customer interactions and feedback are continuously captured, analyzed, and used to refine future marketing efforts and content.
• 360-Degree View of the Customer: A comprehensive understanding of a customer derived from integrating all available data points and interactions across various platforms and touchpoints.
• Customer-Centricity: Designing and executing strategies with the customer's needs, preferences, and experience at the absolute center.
• Inbound Traffic/Engagement: Customer-initiated interactions or requests, where the customer reaches out to the company (e.g., via chat, email, phone).
• Next-Gen Commercial: Refers to the future state of commercial operations in life sciences, characterized by advanced technology, AI, data-driven insights, and highly personalized customer experiences.

Examples/Case Studies:

• Boehringer Ingelheim: Rakesh Vashishta's company, where he is implementing strategies for customer-facing execution excellence and fostering a "one-team mindset" across departments.
• Tablet PC-based detailing (2008): An early example of technology adoption in the industry before iPads and Veeva, highlighting the rapid pace of technological change.
• Henry Ford's "faster horses" analogy: Used to illustrate that customers may not always know what they truly need or what innovative solutions are possible.
• Apple vs. Android: Used to discuss the balance between flexibility (Android) and stability/security/predictability (Apple) in technology, and how users might prioritize different aspects, drawing a parallel to compliant vs. flexible communication platforms.