Today, many companies, including those in the healthcare industry, believe that the customer, not the competition, drives success. An increased focus on the customer leads manufacturers and healthcare providers to the notion of value, which is especially important to consumers (like healthcare payers) in times of inflation and uncertainty. This, in turn, increases the importance of value communication for successful market access.

What is value communication in pharmaceuticals?

Value Communication is how a company communicates with its customers to tell them about the attributes of its product, the usefulness of its services and what kind of patient burden it addresses.

The main task of value communication is to create and demonstrate a value proposition for potential customers and to expand the customer base. As a rule, the value for the customer is formed from the unique characteristics of the product and its price appeal. That all is reflected in demonstration of unmet need, clinical, cost-effectiveness and affordability profile.

 

 

As with all companies in the pharmaceutical industry, enterprise management and market access specialists are responsible for shaping the value proposition by developing promotional strategies and marketing planning. The most popular channels for value communication are traditional advertising platforms, social networks, telephone and e-mail. and eDetailing Also, the values of the company and its products are transmitted in personal communication with healthcare professionals – during consultations, seminars and meetings with company representatives.

What the value communication of products and services consists of?

The process of creating product value for the customer includes several steps:

  1. Identifying the benefits of the new product to consumers and shaping them into a thesis statement. Work on identifying the needs of the target audience, assessment of how the product satisfies them, and comparison with goods (services) that are already on the market should be carried out at the stage of novelty development.
  2. Formation of the evidence base of product quality and effectiveness. This includes clinical trials and results of use after market launch, as feedback from patients and specialists. Visual demonstrations in the form of promotional booklets, videos, or presentations help demonstrate proof of quality.
  3. Demonstration of economic value to the customer. Economic value is closely tied to product pricing and a company’s pricing strategy. Interactive health economic modelling allows you to calculate the value of the product so that it allows the consumer to save money compared to the cost of similar products on the market without compromising the profitability of the company.

When communicating the value of a product, make sure potential customers understand what you are talking about. In healthcare, accessibility is especially important because most consumers are not medically trained and have difficulty understanding specific terminology independently. Also, the product value message should be memorable, visual, trustworthy and properly referenced.

Creating value for the customer?

The value proposition for customers is formed from different elements, the main ones being:

  1. The characteristics of the pharma product or service – that is, their clinical profile description.
  2. The uniqueness of the product and competitive profile. The task of marketing in creating value for the customer is to explain how the new product differs from the products (services) already present in the market. The uniqueness lies in the fact that the new product can solve those customer needs that were not previously addressed by other products or needed to be addressed better.
  3. Availability and convenience of purchase. The easier and faster a customer can place an order and receive their purchase, the more likely they will do so.
  4. Advantages of the product compared to those on the market. Benefits can be related to the use of the product (e.g., more convenient packaging, less chance of side effects from using the product, etc.). Or the benefits of the results (e.g., greater effectiveness of the product reduces overall treatment time, which impacts overall costs).
  5. Why the product is important to the customer (how it meets their needs). Customers don’t buy something just for the sake of the buying process. The product must meet certain needs, and it is important to emphasize in the value communication process what needs the new product covers.

Digital value tools and how they help to communicate with customers

Pharma companies today understand the value of customers and communication with them. To establish their brand in the market, they use digital tools that help develop and justify a value proposition for the customer. Such tools also help visualize research results and communicate them effectively to customers and healthcare decision-makers. The also facilitate evidence lifecycle management. With the release of new versions of content at global level, local versions needs to be adapted with new value messages and updates of clinical evidence. This often requires redoing and retranslating of content at local level. With digital tools it is possible to make structured updates of content, thus avoiding duplication of work at local level. Structured updates allow to differentiate new content and update only parts of document and value tools that require updating whilst leaving old parts unchanged.

What is included in the list of digital tools for creating and demonstrating value:

There are also tools that help healthcare providers better communicate with each other. These improve healthcare communication and make great strides in a value-based system.