On November 12, 2020, The Pharma CX Tech Summit held their third annual conference. The topics focused on the emerging technologies that pharma is implementing to enhance customer experiences for patients, payers, and HCPs. These technologies include AI/ML, voice & chat, connected devices, AR/VR, automation, personalization, and telehealth.
During the summit, speakers shared their thoughts and opinions on new technologies, how to prioritize customer experiences during COVID-19, and their digital strategies.
Here are 3 key sessions from the event:
- Emerging Technologies are Impacting Customer Experiences
Emerging technologies that impact customer experiences include AI/ML, AR/VR, connected devices, voice & chat, telehealth, and blockchain. These technologies can be leveraged by pharma marketers and provide value to consumers and opportunities for improved customer experiences. The question is, how are pharma marketers actually utilizing these technologies and what needs improvement?
Speakers shared that it is important to harmonize the technologies that we already have and continue connecting them with our audiences. Technology, such as chatbots, and other auto messaging services, need more improvement.
Chatbots and other auto messaging programs should strive to be more personalized and sound less robotic. Not only is lack of personalization an issue, but chatbots have poor communication skills. Right now, chatbots are helpful when a customer needs assistance from a real human, but they are not as helpful when it comes to answering specific questions. With better communication skills and more personalized touches, chatbots have the potential to assist customers quickly and successfully and provide a better experience overall.
“The reason people hate chatbots is the same reason why my wife screams at Siri. Responses from chatbots are not always accurate and that’s the frustration we have with these services. With technology like this, we are not completely there yet, but we are getting there.” – Michael DePalma
- Prioritize Customer Experience in the COVID-Era
COVID-19 has changed the way pharma marketers are communicating to their audiences and how they prioritize customer experiences. These changes include the importance of customer insights, new technology investments, and how organizations are focusing on digital.
Speakers from this session shared how their organizations’ focus has changed digitally since the onset of COVID-19. With in-person meetings and conferences going remote, Joyce Ercolino expressed how her organization’s main focus has been the shift in their execution. Their materials and content that were originally prepared for in-person meetings, needed to be transferred online where they could be easily accessed by their customers.
With organizations having their materials accessible online, customer data can become very complex. Therefore, it is important to pay attention and keep track of the data through analytics in order to maintain their clients’ needs and improve customer experiences. In this type of environment, personalizing the customer journey and hyper targeting seem to be the best strategies that are working.
- Put the Customer at the Center of Your Marketing Strategy Using Digital/Media
Media is a great tool because it integrates all of the channels together while collecting data and information from target audiences. Data that media can easily provide for pharma marketers, allows for quick understanding of the demographics of their HCP audiences, including behaviors, what interests them, what websites they visit, and their engagements.
By collecting new data and understanding their audience, pharma marketers are able to put together a solid digital strategy that will capture interests with content and channels that increase engagement.
“All of this data is available at our fingertips, allowing us to do our jobs better and it allows us to communicate with our audience the way that they want to be communicated with. With all of this data available, it’s been a game changer in the pharma space and I’m excited to see where things go as new technologies evolve.” – Kirti Mahajan
One way that marketers can easily collect data is through programmatic. This tool is used to help marketers understand their target audiences and help them deliver their personalized messages in the right place at the right time. According to the presenters, programmatic can be a great tool, but only if it’s used the right way. People can easily take advantage of programmatic and actually push their audiences away due to oversaturated content. Even though it can be an efficient measurement tool in your marketing strategy, it can easily become very overused.
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Sessions from the 3rd Annual Pharma CX Tech Summit highlighted how emerging technologies are enhancing customer experiences for all stakeholders. With the onset of COVID-19 and a swift shift to digital, many technologies are evolving by adapting to the needs of customers. The constant flow of target data presents pharma marketers with the opportunity to learn how to best leverage technologies and provide optimal value for consumers.
Brought to you by PanAgora Pharma
