10 Essential Questions for Successful KOL Management
How you can optimise the working relationship with KOLs in a way that benefits all parties 1
Introduction Here we present 10 essential questions for successful KOL management in today’s pharmaceutical environment. Successful Key Opinion Leader (KOL) management is more complex and more strategic than ever for the pharmaceutical industry. The increased complexity comes as a result of a rapidly evolving regulatory environment with new decision makers appearing alongside ‘traditional’ KOLs (e.g. top tier physicians). Meanwhile the importance of KOL management has increased due to the multifaceted nature of achieving reimbursement and gaining market access for pharmaceutical products. Here we present 10 questions to ask yourself when planning your KOL management strategy. In questions one to five, we first ask who you should reach out to and what to aim for with a KOL management programme. In the following questions we will examine how you can optimise the working relationship in a way that benefits all parties involved.
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Do you know how you want to undertake your KOL programme? 1) Have you defined what “KOL” means? For many years, the term ‘KOL’ has been restricted to physicians and researchers. These are still vital stakeholders but they can no longer be considered the only ‘KOLs’. There are a whole range of other stakeholders who now have a direct or indirect influence on prescribing decisions.
Before undertaking any kind of KOL mapping exercise, you should take time to consider what types of individuals are influencing the environment in which you want to operate. Does your definition of KOL capture clinicians only or does include other stakeholders as well?
Payers, health economists, experts in politics and economics and patient groups are just some examples of stakeholders who must now be considered alongside top tier clinicians. Payers, in particular, are now a dominant force in making crucial reimbursement decisions.
2) Have you conducted targeted KOL mapping? As there is a wider range of ‘KOLs’ in today’s healthcare environment, then you need to be even more targeted with deciding which ones to engage with. A KOL mapping exercise should be conducted very early in the product lifecycle, perhaps through a specialist company with contributions from your own sources, such as sales force, affiliates and existing KOLs. The mapping process will segment KOLS, often by factors such as region, role and experience.
Remember that there are benefits to targeting both established names and rising stars. One ‘key visionary’ on board near the beginning of a brand’s lifecycle can potentially be the ‘first champion’ of the product. Meanwhile, there is usually a much larger pool of ‘rising stars’ whose input can provide a different perspective and who may be leading the debate in the area in a few years. Have you conducted comprehensive KOL mapping which takes the future into consideration as well as the present?
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3) Have you considered the KOL network, not just the individual? While it is important to consider who the individual KOLs are, it is also essential to consider the ‘networks’ in which they operate. Understanding how people and groups are interconnected, and which channels information is shared through, can be extremely beneficial to knowing where and how you can participate in the conversation.
When conducting your KOL mapping, incorporate an evaluation of how the individuals and groups within your findings are connected, with each other and with other key stakeholders. This may also result in efficiencies in terms the number of KOLs you need to target. Does your assessment of KOLs go beyond the individual stakeholder and include the networks they move in?
4) Have you defined a long-term KOL strategy through the product lifecycle? Most pharmaceutical companies are aware of the importance of identifying the right KOLs and invest the appropriate time and resource to try and achieve this. However, not all companies do invest sufficient time and resource into devising a working plan of action with these KOLs that spans the entire lifecycle of a product.
Try to identify how your goals and requirements will change throughout the years (and what will stay the same), and how the goals and needs of your selected KOLs may alter also. Implement simple planning tools that will create a degree of alignment in interacting with KOLs cross-functionally and over time.
Although most KOL management is currently conducted at therapy level, it is also wise to consider the overall needs of the company whilst planning your strategy. Your group of KOLs may change over time, but there will be a handful of key contacts who remain ‘anchorpoints’.
Have you considered potential scenarios five or even ten years from now and which other KOLs may become relevant in that time?
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5) Are you willing to build a genuinely collaborative approach? Interestingly, what KOLs desire most from industry relationships is genuine contribution and involvement. It is likely that the pharmaceutical industry feels exactly the same way, but too often interactions with KOLs are conducted on a transactional basis – i.e. payment for delivery of a specific service. A genuine collaborative approach is aided by long-term relationships established between specific staff within the company and the KOL, but turnover of personnel can sometimes make this a challenge.
Try to incorporate KOL feedback at all phases of the product lifecycle and demonstrate to them how their feedback has been put into practice. Consider their personal drivers and skillsets when planning activities. Such a relationship is more rewarding for both parties and can provide insights and understanding beyond a singular focus on a particular drug. Are you committed to building genuine collaborative relations?
6) Do you have a team dedicated to KOL management? To forge a genuinely collaborative approach with KOLs, ideally there should be long-term relationship holders within the company. You should consider which team or individuals are best suited to manage KOL relationships. The medical affairs team is often considered the most suitable relationship holder, but it is important to keep marketing involved if considered appropriate within your local regulatory environment. With the evolving background of KOLs, such as those involved in market access, transparency across functions is crucial.
The ideal situation is a network of dedicated managers who are assigned to KOLs at both the global and national levels. The implementation of an internal management system to maintain long-term contact is also recommended and should be a fundamental element of a long-term KOL strategy. Finally, the implementation of clear and consistent processes is key to ensure a sustainable approach. Do you have dedicated relationship holders who have established excellent working relationships with KOLs?
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7) Do you use technology to optimise KOL interactions? Technology can play an important role at every stage of KOL management. During your planning process and KOL mapping you can use technology to map and visualise KOL networks. An internal customer management system will help you to assess your KOL relationships’ evolution, to track information and to coordinate the flow of information across the company. It also helps you to track and measure outcomes of the interaction.
Technology can also provide creative solutions for KOL engagement. An example is virtual advisory boards, which can constitute a one stop online shop for materials and information sharing before and after the meeting itself. Have you considered how technology can simplify and improve your KOL programmes?
8) Will you remunerate appropriately and transparently? In the US, the Sunshine Act will mandate the reporting of all payments of more than $10 between pharmaceutical companies and healthcare professionals in the US by 2013. Some companies have already voluntarily begun declaring physician payments. Similar regulation is being implemented throughout Europe. The immediate reaction from industry and KOLs alike may be to veer too heavily on the side of caution. Already companies are reporting drastically reduced response rates to offers of work.
You need to ensure any fees reflect fair market value and expenses are not unnecessary or extravagant. And even if your company is not currently bound by regulations of financial disclosure, act as if it is – it will almost certainly happen soon. Have you agreed internally what the rules are for remuneration? Do you have a system in place that makes all payments transparent?
This puts the onus on pharmaceutical companies to set appropriate levels of remuneration. It is not wrong to pay your KOLs for their time and expertise and to reimburse them appropriate expenses.
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9) Do you have a way to measure and evaluate KOL interactions? Being able to measure success is vital, particularly in a time when budgets are under more scrutiny than ever. However, much of the process of KOL management is relatively intangible – factors such as quality of relationship and impact of that relationship on your brand or company, are difficult to accurately gauge. However, there are elements you can monitor and accurately record and it is important that you decide what these will be, so that you have a benchmark to compare against.
Here are several examples of potential metrics for a KOL management programme: Number of interactions between the KOL and the company during a specific period KOL response time, which will point to the effectiveness of current projects and will be a useful indicator for planning future events Time taken to build a new KOL relationship KOL’s satisfaction with the collaboration Have you considered these and other metrics to measure the success of your KOL programmes?
10) How will you share learnings internally? While it is important to have a team or individuals who own the KOL relationships, it is vital to ensure those relationships don’t exist in silos. Cross functional working and information sharing is essential and needs to happen in a timely and consistent manner. Utilising technology can help teams to share activities and developments with KOLs as they happen, for example through reports, dashboards and alerts. This can provide a consistent way to ensure interactions with KOLs are captured comprehensively.
After each KOL interaction, the company staff can log the data into appropriate systems to ensure the information is converted into useful insights and distributed to the relevant personnel within the company. Rapid sharing of information and best practice internally will help other teams to make appropriate decisions. Are all your teams who work with KOLs sharing information in a transparent and timely way?
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Contact If you would like to discuss further or need more information, please contact:
Marc Pesse Mobile: +41 79 639 52 43 m.pesse@executiveinsight.ch
Marion Menozzi-Arnaud Mobile: +41 79 415 94 34 m.menozzi@executiveinsight.ch
Executive Insight AG Metallstrasse 9 6304 Zug Switzerland Tel. +41 41 710 71 63 info@executiveinsight.ch www.executiveinsight.ch
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