Determining the value of any business investment is inherently subjective and dependent on the goals and needs of the individual company. However, according to some pharmaceutical professionals, developing a mindset that can put your business in the best position to capitalize on the risks that are taken is something that can be more uniformly developed through general best practices.

Some core concepts related to commercialization, sales, and data analytics can hold significant impact on customer engagement and overall patient access to product. Measuring overall success could take time, depending on one’s perspective, and represents a significant commitment in and of itself, but will result in deeper and more intelligent insights.

Here are some strategies our IQVIA experts and other healthcare industry experts use to make the process of setting goals and measuring success a bit easier.

Metrics and Marketplace

Today’s analytically dependent approach to business has married data with the evaluation of success in an interesting way. There is an almost infinite way in which a business can track and evaluate metrics and key performance indicators. As such, maintaining a sense of flexibility about how success can be defined and measured is critical.

Sometimes, this requires a focus on driving revenues versus fixating on profit, at least in the short term. Positive revenue generation can be a reflection and demonstration of growth and an indicator of future success making it a worthwhile commitment. That’s not to say that profits should be lost in the analytical shuffle; nobody enters into business wanting to lose money, but profits typically need time to be realized. Charting a course of ideal investments based on metrics and indicators that foretell reasonable expectations should be your first step when creating and making key business decisions.

At the same time, the adage of “go win in your market” still applies. Measuring market share, including market growth and perceived potential for future growth, as well as how much share you might be taking from others, are indicators of success and signs that revenue and profits may follow.

Still, measuring the market does not only mean measuring money specifically; it’s also important to evaluate the metrics of any formed partnerships or any other third-party resources available that might be sharing incentives. These “activity metrics” are certain to evolve in the new virtual hybrid world that business has transformed into, largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Success can also be conveyed through investments that lead to relationships with key opinion leaders (KOLs) throughout the industry and the valuable feedback they provide. Quantifying a return on investment based on the number of engaged KOLs is feasible today because data can be collected and analyzed about whether or not a given KOL has provided insights that positively affected strategy and/or operations that led to meeting specific metrics.

The Inside-Out Sales Perspective

With the sophistication of today’s healthcare practice and products, it’s almost as if there’s a prerequisite for salespeople to hold a clinical degree. That, of course, is not practical, if for no other reason than the world needs its clinicians working in a patient care capacity by and large rather than on the ground selling product.

However, that doesn’t mean healthcare providers (HCPs) cannot be a meaningful part of the sales team.

More companies today are bringing clinical expertise into the office. Roles including nurse educators and medical science liaisons can supplement inside sales representatives as well as those out in the marketplace with their “boots on the ground.” These professionals can therefore have a direct impact on the customer experience, even to the point that they are impacting clinical care or treatment outcomes.

Also, from an outside sales perspective, considering the employment of surge teams, or sending reps into certain geographies when opportunities present themselves, can prove to be a beneficial risk/reward by sending extra staff into the field.

Meeting Patients “In the Middle”

Your net sales, your operating income — these are other metrics that will surely be part of evaluating your business performance. But don’t forget about the number of patients your initiatives have reached. This often tells the real story. In some ways, it may seem like the patients reside in the middle of the success equation, but the impact on patients should be evaluated daily. Putting sales numbers up on a board does not always equate to how many patients have been reached or how many patients have access to the products. From the business side, attempting to ensure that there are minimal hurdles from a distribution and a payer standpoint is often the difference between patients receiving the product and not.

As we already know, today’s patients are a rapidly evolving and informed population. We also find ourselves in an extremely social-conscience society that places a lot of emphasis on organizations that take non-traditional approaches to any type of service. Politics should never get in the way of where your organization is within the healthcare ecosystem. The one consistent goal should be that patients receive the care that they need and that care is what their HCPs believe is the best for them. Companies should know where their patients are from a “patient journey” standpoint: What are their successes? What are their pain points?

Contact us to hear from an expert or to learn more about how we can help you plan for and track success in your own organization.