Making the Move From Software as a Barrier
As an industry, life sciences has reached the tipping point for digital customer engagement. Research shows that healthcare professionals (HCPs) demand easy access to content online: two thirds prefer digital access to pharmaceutical information. 1
Companies that evolve their digital strategies to adopt new channels and tailor engagement to HCP preferences will realize competitive advantage. The challenge is that technology limitations and regulatory requirements have made the move to digital slow in life sciences. Software as a barrier, or SaaB, as I call it, can be common in the enterprise – it’s when enabling systems and technologies don’t work well, and straightforward processes are bogged down by bad technology. It’s pronounced sob, of course. You know, because it’s sad.
A new application from Veeva today promises to open up digital channels in the life sciences industry and solve SaaB. For the first time, through Veeva CRM Engage Meeting, companies can leverage a single, integrated solution that makes web and videoconferencing with HCPs simple and compliant. The solution is built to work seamlessly with Veeva CLM to ensure easy reuse of approved content.
With Engage Meeting, our goal was to turn software as a barrier into true software as a service. The term SaaS, typically used to describe the cloud-computing model, speaks to the beautiful advantages gained when software just works. The experience is direct, immediate, and easy – an enabler of the things we need to do every day. And it stands in direct contrast to SaaB.
SaaB holds us back, complicates business problems, and compromises agility. With the consumerization of technology, we rarely experience the failures of SaaB in our everyday lives. There can be a startling disconnect between what we’re capable of as consumers, and what we’re able to achieve in business.
Take, for example, email. Industry research shows that personal email is one of the most effective ways to reach physicians with HCPs being 35% more likely to open an email from a familiar rep versus a mass communication from the company.2 For years, however, sending personalized email from reps to HCPs was a challenge in life sciences. Due to compliance concerns, pharma was barred from leveraging generic email marketing software, effectively closing the email channel. To remove the limitations of SaaB for our customers, we introduced Veeva CRM Approved Email, to enable compliant email communication between reps and HCPs. And as part of multichannel Veeva CRM, insights into customer behavior are joined with data gleaned across all interactions – including face-to-face, call center, web, and now online meetings.
We’re bringing the same approach to online meetings and removing SaaB for life sciences and HCPs to fully engage in digital channels. Back in June at our Commercial Summit, I provided a sneak peek of Veeva CRM Engage Meeting and provided some perspective on the future of customer engagement in life sciences. Watch the video below to learn how Veeva is removing the barriers to your success, and be sure to read our press release for more on Veeva CRM Engage Meeting.
1 “The Digital Dynamic: Changing the Pharma-Physician Interaction,” Capgemini Consulting, 2013, https://www.capgemini-consulting.com/blog/accelerating-life-sciences-transformation/2013/11/the-digital-dynamic-changing-the-pharma
2 ZS Associates, “Access Monitor 2013 Executive Summary – Pharma Rep Physician Access: Do Falling Numbers Point to New Sales Models,” by Pratap Khedkar. July 2013. http://www.zsassociates.com/publications/videos/~/media/Files/Publications/Public/ZS-Exec-Summary-Access-Monitor-2013-Final.ashx