\nFor Kevin Rose, executive director of content excellence at Boehringer Ingelheim, omnichannel engagement and modular content go hand-in-hand and can bring great efficiencies. \u201cBut the industry is seeing that\u2019s not the real value proposition.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\nBoth strategies are proving to be resource-savers and speed-to-market initiatives, but he encourages approaching them as a way to develop long-term, deeply personal relationships with healthcare professionals (HCPs). \u201cThe goal of every message is meaningful customer engagement. When you refocus the spotlight on the customer, you\u2019ll get tremendous insights \u2014 perhaps the kind that could change brand strategy.\u201d However, you must plan and create every piece of content with that accuracy in mind.\n<\/p>\n
\nAre you all-in on modular content<\/a> for omnichannel engagement or assessing teams\u2019 readiness for change<\/a>? Learn from Rose\u2019s experiences, shared during a discussion with Pooja Lal, Veeva\u2019s vice president of commercial content strategy. Here are the highlights.\n<\/p>\n \nPooja Lal: Is modular content an enabler or a disruptor?<\/strong> \nMany companies have products in multiple therapeutic areas and want to meet the needs of HCPs and patients. The way to do that is through exceptional, impactful customer experiences. For me, modular is an enabler to do so through an orchestrated omnichannel approach.\n<\/p>\n \nPL: Where should companies start with modular content?<\/strong> \nPL: What are the ingredients for success?<\/strong> \nSecond, you must do concept reviews, simulations, or a playbook about your goal and why. Build your content matrix to show which content goes to what segment in what wave of interaction. It\u2019s not easy, so you have to plan: What\u2019s your content strategy? What are your personas or segments? What\u2019s the customer journey? What messaging will you serve up in waves one and two?\n<\/p>\n \nPL: What\u2019s the most significant change for most in adopting a modular approach?<\/strong> \nPL: Where does change management come in?<\/strong> \nIt\u2019s best to tailor training to each stakeholder. For example, reviewers want to know what controls you have in place. How are you going to avoid an unintended consequence? It\u2019s important to take them on that journey. You may want to do your initial bank of claims live to field their questions. Remember, you\u2019ll always have reviewer churn, so invest in training that new member. Once the first team is onboarded and trained, they can be your advocates and help in a \u2018train the trainers\u2019 program across the teams.\n<\/p>\n \nPL: What modular content KPIs did you start with?<\/strong> \nMany KPIs across the industry are either business-specific (speed to market, cycle time) or operational. The business metrics are easily measured; you can see results a week after deployment. Did customers open the email and click through to the content, and how long did it take them to click through? It\u2019s much the same as driving traffic to a website.\n<\/p>\n \nSubsequently, if you want to align that data with prescriptions for ROI, that\u2019s great. But it\u2019s hard to do. With prescription data, you could have a one- to two-month lag time, and you can\u2019t make decisions based on one month of data.\n<\/p>\n \nTo me, improved engagement is an improved experience that builds a long-term relationship with a customer.\n<\/p>\n \nPL: With the benefit of experience, what would you do differently?<\/strong> \nIf you haven’t done it before, I would not recommend launching a time-bound modular content campaign, such as one tied to a conference or webcast. Ensure you have a backup plan to tap additional resources experienced in modular content in an emergency.\n<\/p>\n \nFinally, when you’re starting, don\u2019t overdo your combinations of content modules. Some teams will want to try 40 different headlines, for example, but that\u2019s a lot to ask of reviewers. If the purpose is A\/B testing, start with five or 10 headlines.\n<\/p>\n
\nKevin Rose:<\/strong> The industry’s vision is to create \u2018n = 1\u2019 personalization that will enhance any interaction with the customer over time. It\u2019s not about disruption or a single point in time but occurs over the long haul.\n<\/p>\n
\nKR:<\/strong> Don\u2019t expect success overnight. Almost immediately, though, modular content will enable scalability: You could potentially review and approve a dozen content modules and create hundreds of email variants to leverage across multiple segments in your HCP world. That\u2019s the value, and again, it goes back to personalization \u2014 making sure you have the customer insights to serve the best content in the channel customers prefer.\n<\/p>\n
\nKR:<\/strong> To succeed, you need a couple of things in place. First, you need a highly motivated brand and marketing team that recognizes and believes that delivering a personalized experience to a specific segment will yield improved engagement. Once you have that commitment and passion, almost everything else takes care of itself.\n<\/p>\n
\nKR:<\/strong> For decades, we\u2019ve been in a world where people have seen composite assets. Especially in review and approval, stakeholders want to see content in its final form. You\u2019re putting that notion aside and telling teams: \u2018First, we\u2019ll show you a lot of claims, and then we want you to approve the text \u2014 but don\u2019t worry about its prominence and placement. Next, we\u2019ll embed images in a content module that\u2019s channel agnostic. Don\u2019t be nervous, just approve things as they are.\u2019 It\u2019s a big change!\n<\/p>\n
\nKR:<\/strong> To change hearts and minds around modular content, carve out time for hands-on training. We didn\u2019t do eight-hour immersion training but presented it more like Ted Talks with bite-size information teams could consume and come back for. Initially, we covered principles of modular content and terminology, such as content loading, templating, claims, components, etc.\n<\/p>\n
\nKR:<\/strong> With the maturity of Boehringer\u2019s platforms, email worked as a place to start. Home office email is an excellent place to experiment because you get quick engagement metrics: clicks, opens, or not.\n<\/p>\n
\nKR:<\/strong> In reflecting on my experience and talking with colleagues, you must consider the initial investment in time. Crawl, walk, then run. You will get faster. Professional persistence and patience are necessary.\n<\/p>\n