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How you can optimise the working relationship with KOLs in a way that benefits all parties

10 Essential Questions for Successful KOL Management

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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?

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?

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.

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.

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?

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.

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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?

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.

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.

Have you considered potential scenarios five

or even ten years from now and which other

KOLs may become relevant in that time?

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.

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 ‘anchor-

points’.

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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?

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.

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?

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.

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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?

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.

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?

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.

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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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?

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.

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?

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.

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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