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Harnessing CRM to drive innovation, and strong customer experiences in Life Sciences
By
Rajarshi October 05, 2023 -
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CRM has been delineated by Gartner as specific systems or technologies which facilitate wider engagement with customers within the overall business strategy. These usually cover four key segments, namely marketing, sales, customer support/service, and digital commerce. For the life sciences industry, which encompasses the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, diagnostics, and medical device sectors, CRM is mostly helpful for field and sales systems, since they usually depend on on-the-ground engagement models.
These are systems which enable more support for automating sales and engagement activities, account management, monitoring experts and personnel, and also deliver educational content. They are also helpful for nurturing and finalizing HCP (healthcare provider) contracts or agreements with other healthcare organizations.
CRM systems are also helpful for maintaining regulatory compliance. Hence, it is quite clear that life sciences entities are leveraging CRM (customer relationship management) software and platforms for various purposes. They are using cloud-based solutions for managing customer relationships better, along with managing their interactions with patients, physicians, and other stakeholders. Companies are steadily widening their customer base while boosting compliance and revenue streams. They are also gaining invaluable insights while foraying into newer markets and products.
How life sciences companies are benefiting from CRM
Here are some of the ways in which life sciences companies are driving further innovation and revamping customer experiences with CRM solutions.
- CRM is enabling multiple benefits for life sciences organizations, especially in spurring growth in revenues.
- Contemporary CRM platforms enable better visibility and tracking of the pipeline which ensures timely initiatives/action from sales teams.
- eSignature abilities and standardized workflows contribute towards smoother deal closures and lower risks while enabling contracts with healthcare providers and wholesalers.
- CRM platforms are also helpful for boosting customer expansion and branding of products. Companies are using them to come up with portals for stakeholders, complete with preapproved content for physician, patient, and caretaker support and communication. These platforms address all queries regarding product dosing, usage, side effects, and other aspects. They also fulfil the sample requests sent by physicians.
- CRM solutions are also useful for the coordination of more efficient launches, planning, and tracking of marketing campaigns across channels. It offers insights and analytics related to the effectiveness of the same across multiple sources of data. These sources include click-throughs, click-ins, claims for insurance, prescriptions, and more.
- Complying with regulatory guidelines and standards is a must for life sciences companies. Hence, CRM tools help them centralize all regulatory information and automate compliance systems while lowering risks of penalties, reputation damage, or non-compliance.
In the healthcare space too, CRM solutions enable better patient engagement and EHR (electronic health records) capabilities along with systems for managing claims better. At the same time, they offer more visibility into the entire journey throughout the healthcare system. Here are some more ways in which CRM can be a major boon for life sciences and healthcare companies.
- Data unification- Cloud-based CRM systems combine existing software and systems including EHR, claims management tools, and more. This enables teams to get full visibility into the healthcare journey of each customer. There is no need for multiple screens and systems to find crucial patient information anymore.
- Operational benefits- With data aggregation, operational efficiencies are greatly boosted for superior future outcomes. Every stakeholder can access vital information for smoother collaboration in real-time and improved engagement.
- Benefits for providers- Care teams can get access to the latest patient data and tasks while identifying social health determinants to coordinate treatment in a better manner. This includes transportation from and to appointments for maximum convenience.
- Agents can easily resolve their cases with automated and streamlined filtering of tasks and workflows. Engagement is fully automated, meaning that agents do not have to record information manually or wait for tasks to be completed.
- CRM tools enable drug manufacturers to integrate and consolidate views of all provider and patient interactions. They can build awareness of support programs and easily track their sales and marketing activities. Using AI and analytics, CRMs offer more insights into medication and prescription habits.
- Medical device sales teams can easily forecast customer requirements like replacement of inventory or maintenance. They can respond better in a more personalized way. Marketing teams can also communicate better at the suitable stage in the service or sales lifecycle while customer teams can also share feature and product requests with research and development.
- CRM platforms easily capture preferences for communications, including chats, phones, mobile apps, web, emails, text, online forums, and so on. Hence, consumers can be better engaged in the way they wish to be contacted and at their suitable times. Data can also be segmented for building contextual engagement including answers to queries on various channels with scalability and also providing timely information to consumers.
- AI can also be used to unlock several advantages of CRM tools. It can help anticipate potential issues based on member/patient history, guide agents with suitable responses, identify populations at risk and recommend actions for engagement and intervention. It can also track program participation of patients for medical devices and pharmaceutical companies while forecasting revenue growth, sales behaviour, and newer opportunities. Competitor information can also be gathered to gain more insights.
Why and how CRM is a game-changer for life sciences companies
CRM solutions play a vital role in streamlining and automating workflows. They can integrate multiple entities and systems while combating redundancies simultaneously. They are also helpful in enabling better customer engagement for life sciences companies, as illustrated above. CRM platforms are not just scalable but also flexible. They can evolve in sync with life sciences companies with changing customer and market needs. Cloud-based architecture also goes a long way towards enabling better integration with systems and applications, along with seamless customisation.
CRM platforms also enable better channels for communication, facilitating collaboration across multiple functions and teams alike. Building a centralized platform leads to better coordination and boosts sales teams while also adhering to compliance requirements. Gaps in communication are removed while CRM solutions also enhance customer relationships and overall satisfaction with quicker response timelines. The full visibility and control gained by life sciences entities help them achieve better outcomes while maintaining their competitive advantage and enabling higher innovation simultaneously.
