Positive customer experience problem in the pharmaceutical industry is old news and  old terminology. All mission statements imply this. All the pharmaceutical company executives we know want to focus more  on it. Still, the  2011 Harris survey ranked the pharmaceutical industry as one of the most customer-friendly industries, down 43% from a similar 1997 survey. The  issue begins with the  definition of “customer”. 

Patients are clearly end-users, but pharmaceutical companies often work more directly with prescribers, regulators, and payers. All three stakeholders greatly shape the patient’s experience as they influence decisions about whether and how to sell individual medicines. To make matters worse, this complex customer environment emerges as new payment structures emerge, patients demand greater involvement in treatment decisions, and pharmaceutical companies engage in more direct marketing to consumers. It is constantly evolving. 

Measurements are Relative 

Business leaders have long understood the relationship between size and profitability. In general, as relative market share increases, so  do  sales. But how do you actually build relative market share  and what role do customer representatives play? There is no doubt that pharmaceutical companies will ultimately succeed or fail based on the clinical efficacy of their drugs. But more and more, positive customer experience is also an important factor in distinguishing pharmaceutical industry leaders and followers. 

Happy customers are good for your business because they tend to promote your product or brand. Conversely, unhappy customers  tend to spread negative stories about your brand, which is bad for your business. When all customers can reach viewers around the world in seconds with a single tweet, every company must consider the growing power of consumer advocacy. 

Bain’s Net Promoter System SM contains one question to the customer (“How likely is it to recommend us to a friend?”) And a calculation of the customer’s Net Promoter Score SM. This score is used to classify customers as promoters, passives, or detractors. The one-net promoter system also collects verbatim responses that capture many elements of the positive customer experience,  from prices and product features to customer perceptions of how the company responds to customers. needs. The net promoter system is based on extensive research and years of experience across many industries and provides a simple yet rigorous way to continuously measure customer retention. 

Reproducibility Rule 

Pharmaceutical company executives often say that they spend a lot of money on customer research and only collect huge amounts of data with little insight. Part of the problem is that this investigation is usually done only once in one direction. You can achieve a lot only if you survey a random sample of customers once a year and can’t close the loop with those customers by not addressing your concerns. Ultimately, you can only raise customer interest by developing repeatable skills within your organization. 

Imagine two closed learning loops. “Internal” or individual loops and “external” or structural loops. Within the inner loop, frontline employees collect input from customers and use it to continually improve the customer experience. The outer institutional learning loop complements these individual loops, collects feedback from customer-facing employees, and uses it to create repeatable practices throughout the organization. 

At the individual level,  the  Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) from the world of providers have achieved an industry-leading customer advocacy rating by tracking patient and caregiver advocacy using a net promoter system. This is a useful example. CTCA conducts a weekly patient focus group to interview all patients as they leave the facility. CTCA has consistently achieved the highest net promoter score ever seen in healthcare, over 90. CTCA’s loyal customers have helped achieve double-digit revenue growth for the fifth consecutive year, compared to the industry’s average low-single-digit growth.

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