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Identify the Right Speaker and Attendees for your Speaker Bureau
Life sciences companies can use a data-driven approach to optimize the speaker and attendees at each meeting
Karen Villarreal, General Manager, Speaker Bureau, IQVIA
Tom Kirkpatrick, Director, Speaker Bureau Innovation & Offering Lead, IQVIA
Jan 31, 2023

Engaging the healthcare provider community through speaker bureau events is one of the most effective ways a life sciences company can educate on a product or disease state, demonstrate scientific benefits, and make a positive impact on patient outcomes. And the best way to drive education is to pair the most influential teachers with the most receptive students.

Life sciences companies can take a novel approach to speaker bureau optimization by selecting the right speaker and attendees using a data-driven methodology that ensures the best chances of attendance and educational success. IQVIA Speaker Bureau provides the technology and technique to execute this approach.

Drive attendance and action with the most influential speaker

Well-known, respected speakers are a draw for attendees, leading to better-attended meetings with fewer declines and cancelations. These speakers' messages will resonate with the audience and drive changes in healthcare provider (HCP) behavior which can improve patient outcomes.

The right data

When sales reps are planning an event, IQVIA presents them with a prioritized list of eligible (trained and contracted) speakers, who are also influential thought leaders in the vicinity of the event. Using a data-driven method of optimizing the speaker choice saves time for sales reps, and does not rely solely on their own research or familiarity with speakers.

The right insights

To find out whom HCPs are most engaged with and receptive to, IQVIA looks at their thought leader networks. The primary data source for speaker selection is IQVIA’s proprietary HCP peer learning network analysis, further enhanced by other tactics such as publishing abstracts and conference presentations. This peer learning data is refreshed on a regular basis.

To find the most influential speakers for a given set of target attendees, the IQVIA algorithm compares their peer learning networks and identifies the best speaker options within the indication, at the zip code level (for a local event), and nationally (for a virtual event).

The right actions

While setting up the meeting, the sales rep can select from a list presented by IQVIA of prioritized speaker options, based on the speaker’s influence in the vicinity of the event location. The list shows up right in the rep’s user interface so it’s easy to use and doesn’t slow down their workflow. Sales reps can also review targeted attendee profiles to see which HCPs they are influenced by, to help in selecting a speaker who targets a given set of attendees.

Invite highly interested attendees who are most apt to take action

With increased scrutiny regarding  how many meetings an HCP attends on a given topic, it’s crucial to make the right choices about whom to invite to which meeting. A given attendee may be influenced by the speaker and driven to attend one meeting, but may not be as motivated for an alternate meeting with a different speaker.

Ensuring the right attendees are at the event is both respectful of their limited time and makes the most of the limited opportunities the organization has to engage them on the topic. IQVIA tracks how many meetings each HCP has attended and ensures life sciences companies stay compliant with their business rules.

The right data

Multiple data sources come together to optimize meeting attendees. One source is IQVIA’s HCP peer learning network analysis described above.

Another valuable data source is HCP web behavior data. This provides details on HCPs’ web browsing activities, giving sales reps a sense of the topics HCPs are interested in and researching. HCPs opt into this data tracking with DMD, an IQVIA company.

The third significant data source is longitudinal Rx and claims data. While keeping patient names anonymous, this data provides a sense of an HCP’s prescription activity, the kinds of patients they typically treat, and the treatment protocols they use.

The right insights

HCP peer learning data helps life sciences companies identify potential attendees who are influenced by the speaker and will likely be more apt to attend and take action as a result of the speaker event.

Web behavior and longitudinal data enable life sciences companies to identify targeted audiences according to relative attendee profiles (e.g., HCPs researching the efficacy of psoriasis products; HCPs who use Product X only as a second-line treatment).

The right actions

IQVIA can present prioritized lists based on insights drawn from HCP Peer Learning data, enabling the sales rep to invite those HCPs most likely to be influenced by the speaker. As with the speaker options, the list shows up right in the sales rep's user interface so it's easy to use as part of their workflow. In addition, the sales rep can use HCP web behavior and longitudinal data to further select attendees.

In our previous blog, IQVIA laid out some of the trends in HCP engagement and outlined how life sciences companies can use analytics and intelligence to get the best results from their speaker bureau engagements. In our next blog, we will discuss how life sciences companies can optimize virtual and hybrid speaker bureau events.

IQVIA Speaker Bureau Solutions

IQVIA delivers holistic speaker bureau strategy and management — from data-driven insights and engagement strategies to coordination of logistics and business rule enforcement, cost containment, honorarium payments, government reporting, and more.

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