How to Gain Valuable Insights About Your Customers

We all have data, but are we really gaining the insights we need to succeed? In 1910 a writer said “He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lampposts—for support rather than illumination.” Sometimes I think that is true in our industry also. People have what they believe is the right way to go and use the data to support their approach rather than using it strategically to guide where to go. Here is a process for gaining real insights.

A Process for Gaining Real Insights

1. Asking Questions

Insights begin with questions:
    •    “Why aren’t we growing?”
    •    “Why are we losing share to competitor X?“
    •    “How can we gain share against competitor Y?”
    •    “What is the maximum revenue we can achieve for brand X with brand Y budget?”
    •    “How do we allocate the budget to achieve that?”
    •    “What is that maximum market share we can achieve?”
    •    “What mix of messages will provide the maximum market share?”

These questions are typical of those used in linear approaches, including basic regression, return-on-investment (ROI), marginal ROI, promotional response curves, and all forms of linear mathematics and multivariate statistics.

They worked well enough in the past, but they didn’t lead to the kind of results marketers needed and they rarely translated into dramatically increased market share or revenues. Today’s fast-moving, technologically advanced, multichannel environment with numerous stakeholders requires a more advanced, non-linear approach if Pharmaceutical companies want to deliver real-world value.

If you move to non-linear approaches like the AI Eularis are delivering now you can not only answer those questions above far more accurately, but in addition it also allows you to answer questions such as:
    •    Which reps are most/least effective?
    •    What is the optimal portfolio offering (by customer)?
    •    Based on the above, what is the optimal resource allocation across the marketing mix (digital and non-digital)?
    •    How can we facilitate that decision?
    •    What content should a sales rep deliver to an individual customer at what time?
    •    Which customers are more/less likely to respond to a sales rep?
    •    Which customer is looking likely to move from a competitor brand to us in the next 2 months?
    •    Which tactics are the most valuable (i.e. drive incremental growth)?
    •    What content is best for what customer at what time?
    •    What is the optimal content (by customer) and time point?
    •    Which customers have the highest potential for growth?
    •    What is the true customer journey by customer?
    •    What are the true customer segments?
    •    What is the true customer journey by segment?
    •    How frequently are customers lost on the journey prior to brand adoption and which of these should we follow up?
    •    How should we structure and size the sales force?
    •    What is the optimal messaging (by customer)?
    •    What is the optimal sequence of tactics (by customer segment and individual customer)?
    •    Which customers are most influential (influence purchasing of other customers)?
    •    Which customer is looking likely to switch away from our brand in the next 2 months?
    •    Which potential customers are least likely to deliver sales/growth?
    •    How can we stop the switch?
    •    Which customers are most vulnerable to switch to/from our brands?
    •    What are the critical success factors associated with rapid brand adoption?
    •    Which are the optimal elements/pages of the e-detail or detail aid (by customer) and time point?
    •    What is the optimal allocation of resources across markets in terms of revenue/profit growth?

2. Getting the Right Data Sets to Answer the Questions Posed

Answering questions requires data. Not just any data but data that has the right components in it to answer the questions posed. Most datasets Pharma have access to currently do not contain the richness required to answer the core questions they need answered, which explains why many marketing teams get frustrated with their analytics teams not giving them the answers and turn to us. However, they are not giving them the right data to work with so, of course, they won’t get the insights. We can examine both the outcomes required and the data available and see what data is missing to answer the core questions and get that data in place ready for the next step. Eularis have been able to find data in pharma to answer all the questions above in even data poor markets so if you don’t have the data, come to us and we can guide you where to get it.

3. Applying the Appropriate Combination of Artificial Intelligence Algorithms for Datasets

Once you have the combination of the right questions, and the right data to answer the questions, and apply the appropriate types of Artificial Intelligence algorithms for the combination of datasets available, then the world opens up and the information offered up becomes fascinating.
4. Ensuring the Strategic Team Working with the Analytics Teams Can Convert the Insights into a Story and Plan of Action that Ensures the Brand Maximizes Results From the Insights Gained
Once the data scientists do their thing, you still need something else to achieve results – strategic insights from industry experts. The strategic insights team need to examine all the data analyses and consider the strategic and tactical questions being posed, and then weave these together. Data scientists without a strategic team will have a difficult time knowing where to look. The strategic team, without the data scientists working through the data, will be guessing. The teams weave together to create a dream team with the intention of uncovering and conquering all challenges.

5. Acting on the Insights to Gain a Competitive Advantage and Real-World Results

The timing is critical. Once the insights are uncovered and translated into a strategy or tactical plan, the team must act and execute the plan. Knowledge without action gets you nowhere. Act, and act fast, before you lose the competitive advantage. By procrastinating and waiting, many opportunities are lost. Your brand can fall so far behind that it will be very difficult to regain lost ground.
If you would like to understand more about how this process is now being used to answer the fuller spectrum of questions and more, please contact the author at https://www.eularis.com.