Navigating Customer Experience Innovations in Pharma and the HCP Experience

Insights on The State of Customer Experience in the Global Pharmaceutical Industry from DT Consulting

Introduction

In an increasingly competitive pharmaceutical landscape, the 2024 Customer Experience survey by DT Consulting, an Indegene company, highlights pivotal customer experience (CX) trends. This year's results underline the crucial balance between digital and personal interactions necessary to meet evolving healthcare professionals' (HCPs) expectations. Insights from the survey serve as a guide for optimising CX across diverse communication channels and geographic regions. Pharma IQ spoke to Dominic Tyer, Research Director at DT Consulting, to unpack these findings.

Understanding the Evolving Customer Experience Landscape

Pharma IQ: Could you provide an overview of the 2024 CXQ survey results, and what were the most significant findings compared to previous years?

Dominic Tyer: This year’s research was notable for the intensified competition among pharma companies to provide the best customer experiences. Despite the overall industry's CXQ scores rising, no company reached CX excellence. The survey also highlighted wide country and channel-level variations, indicating much turbulence in CXQ scores globally.

Pharma IQ: The UK has shown divergent trends in CXQ for digital and non-digital channels. What factors are driving these trends, and how can companies address them?

Dominic Tyer: The UK’s slower progress in digital channels underscores the ongoing challenge in pharma—digital CX continues to be hard to perfect, with HCP needs tougher to meet online. This calls for an improved quality of digital experiences to match the offline interactions' quality.

Strengthening Trust and Simplicity in Interactions

Pharma IQ: How can pharmaceutical companies operating in Europe and North America strengthen trust, simplicity, and relevance in their interactions with HCPs?

Dominic Tyer: HCPs value trust, simplicity, and relevance the most. Companies should approach these drivers with pinpoint accuracy, armed with data specific to the channel, content, location, and therapy area they are targeting.

Balancing Digital and Personal Interactions

Pharma IQ: With a noted resurgence for personal interactions, how should companies balance this with digital channels?

Dominic Tyer: While digital remains crucial, our findings show improvements in face-to-face channels. Companies must balance digital and non-digital channels effectively, playing to their respective strengths.

Lessons from Emerging Markets

Pharma IQ: Are there lessons from markets like Brazil's improvement in digital CXQ scores or China's decline that could enhance CX in more developed markets?

Dominic Tyer: Emerging market trends, like Brazil's improvement and China's decline, are illuminating. Local differences, like China’s reliance on WeChat over emails, underline the importance of understanding and adapting to local contexts.

The Future Role of Technology in CX

Pharma IQ: What role do emerging technologies like AI and data analytics play in addressing CX challenges?

Dominic Tyer: AI and automation are promising but require careful integration focused on meeting customer needs and enhancing business productivity.

Conclusion

As the 2024 CX Survey underscores, this is a critical time for the pharmaceutical industry. Companies must embrace both technological advancements and evolving HCP expectations through digital transformations that go beyond basic digital adoption. The strategic integration of these technologies, alongside a robust organisational change strategy, is vital for thriving in a competitive healthcare environment.

Join Us

To further explore how AI can enhance customer experience in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, join us at the AI Pharma & Healthcare Event. This event will delve into the use of AI to streamline processes and personalise patient care, offering a platform to learn from the leaders in the field.

Event Details:

• AI Pharma & Healthcare Summit

• Dates: 24-26 September 2024

• Location: Amsterdam Marriott Hotel

• Event Website: AI Pharma & Healthcare Summit

Additional Resources

For deeper insights and a comprehensive analysis, download the full 2024 Customer Experience Survey report from DT Consulting, an Indegene company.