Are there any reasons to be excited about eDetailing? We think so. After years getting the platforms in place, companies are now speeding up their innovation to make the most of every opportunity for direct contact with healthcare professionals. To give you a flavour of what’s now possible, we asked some of our strategists, designers and technology experts to each point out an exciting development.
There are now new content formats, increased flexibility in eDetailing presentation delivery and closer integration with other channels — which combine to make the most of eDetailing’s unique characteristics and ensure a special place in today’s omnichannel customer journeys.
Part of an ecosystem: The new standard for eDetailing is that it forms part of a connected channel ecosystem. Customer service teams now have many more options to reach out to healthcare professionals (HCPs), including approved email and remote engagement. While eDetailing was previously disconnected from these other channels, today it works in concert. Best practice is to schedule eDetailing to occur at moments in an omnichannel customer journey when in-person meetings provide the most value. And, with the right analytics set up, reps better understand what to discuss with a doctor and can apply this knowledge to leverage the eDetailing content.
Remote engagement: A major development is the ease with which customer teams can now engage HCPs online. Remote detailing enables HCPs to see and interact with eDetailing presentations from anywhere — providing a great experience but with more flexibility and reduced cost. As a result, remote sessions are driving pharma market segmentation strategy because you can reach more HCPs than is possible with in-person meetings alone. Remote meetings also show excellent results. When engaging HCPs through a blend of in-person and virtual channels, such as Veeva CRM Engage, data show three times the promotional response compared to in-person meetings alone.1
Self-service solutions: One rapidly growing form of eDetailing is ‘self-detailing’. This approach takes your eDetailing presentation and puts it online in a way that HCPs can access 24/7. This practice is a great way to maximise your eDetailing investment. Because self-service solutions are built using your existing eDetailing content, it is very cost-effective and straightforward for MLR to approve — providing an easy way to maintain engagement between in-person meetings. A rep or MSL can connect HCPs to the 'self-detailer' and follow up with more in-depth discussions later.
Embedded intelligence: The intelligent part of the self-service model is that it maintains the guided eDetailing experience using AI and chatbot technology to communicate personally with HCPs. The embedded 'digital brand assistant' enables independent exploration and adapts according to how HCPs engage — directing the conversation in response to their actions. This combination of empowering and guiding delivers a great experience and helps you better understand what HCPs find most engaging — driving those insights back to your CRM and field force.
Next-generation content: There may be a tendency to underplay how good eDetailing content is these days. A state-of-the-art eDetailer is nothing like a PowerPoint presentation on a mobile device. Those days are long gone. Now it's a truly interactive experience. It often responds to how doctors use it. It remembers where each doctor is in your product story, so they are constantly moving forwards. It employs the latest digital content formats and can present information differently to meet individual learning preferences. eDetailing really is a sensational channel when done right.
Engaging the senses: eDetailing is a visual medium — the sound that you want to hear is a conversation between a rep and an HCP. But there are moments when sound can tell the story better than words or any image. One use that Anthill developed is in diagnosis training. It works by having an eDetailer play a sound that HCPs should listen for when examining a patient. Another intriguing use is to generate an emotional response. For example, the sound of a crying baby can be played to help HCPs appreciate the distress and impact on families caused by a baby with colic. Used intelligently, sound can deepen the eDetailing experience and ensure your sessions get remembered.
Living patient profiles: Video is generally not recommended in eDetailing because you want HCPs and reps talking, not watching a video. But there are moments when it can be effective — if used sparingly. One good use is in patient profiles. While these are usually created with static photographs, you can use a very short video or 3-second animated ‘live photo’. Done in this subtle way, it doesn’t distract from your message but elicits an emotional response, drawing attention to the person behind the profile. These little things do count. An eDetailing session is supposed to be special — providing more than an HCP can experience elsewhere. Some creative magic, subtly sprinkled on every slide, demonstrates value and maintains access.
Patient information ordering: One area where HCPs often ask for help is patient education materials. The latest eDetailing solutions developed by Anthill make it possible for HCPs to order these materials during in-person meetings or remote sessions. HCPs simply select the required materials, e.g. versions matching different patient profiles. The order is then automatically sent to your logistics system, and the material is dispatched or added to the next print run. This approach keeps HCPs in control and adds additional value to eDetailing meetings — with the inherent message that your field teams make it easier to treat patients effectively.
In-built digital tools: You can also use eDetailing to provide HCPs with digital tools. For example, it's possible to integrate an interactive calendar to explain how a drug fits into an existing dosing regimen. The HCP selects the start date and the medications a patient may be prescribed, and the system automatically populates the calendar. If this is useful for an HCP, they can access it on a website to create custom dosing schedules — adding in other unrelated drugs that a patient is taking and share a PDF or printed copy.
Modular content: This is a new approach to asset creation that is quietly revolutionising eDetailing and other channels. Modular content functions like building blocks. Each ’block’ — or module — provides a complete and fully-referenced mini-story, which can be combined with other modules as required. For eDetailing, this has three big advantages. Firstly, you can create eDetailing presentations faster by mixing modules. Secondly, updates happen quicker because you can focus on improving particular modules rather than updating a whole presentation. The result is that companies using modular content can respond to market data at speed and keep their eDetailing content fresh for HCPs.
New strategies, technologies, and content formats continually expand eDetailing’s potential
Upgrade your eDetailing experience
There are many ways to improve your eDetailing — whether you’re primarily focused on face-to-face or remote HCP engagements. And the standard continues to be raised with improvements happening all the time. Talk to us about what’s now possible and the kind of results you can get with the latest innovations.
eDetailing solutions: learn how Anthill enables pharma and MedTech to deliver eDetailing experiences that get noticed. Learn more Remote detailing: explore our remote engagement services and how we help companies unlock its potential. Learn more Self-service systems: discover how Anthill enables companies to increase ROI on their eDetailing content investments. Learn more
More on eDetailing
eDetailing guide: read our in-depth guide for the strategies, content and technologies that the best-performing companies are now using. Read now Remote detailing guide: get the full explanation of remote HCP engagement with best practices for implementation across markets. Read now
Learn how combining medical content with digital communication techniques builds relationships with HCPs, opens doors, and increases content engagement.
Learn how the best performing pharma marketers are responding to changing HCP engagement preferences by remixing channels — and turning up the volume on digital content.
