PSSG working with Aptilon to deliver virtual sales reps
October 19, 2009 – 10:50 am by Steven Niles
As part of its vRepresentative and Publicis vClinicalConsultant offering, Publicis Strategic Solutions Group is executing a number of live video detail projects for clients in alliance with Aptilon Corp. as a technology partner. Aptilon helps to enable pharmaceutical marketers to reach and interact with physicians via the Internet through its AxcelRx Live video detailing, virtual programs, peer selling, and other sales and marketing programs. Both Publicis Strategic Solutions Group and Aptilon will be featured in the upcoming November issue of Med Ad News as part of our sales-force technology round up.
Publicis Strategic Solutions Group provides a range of multi-channel message delivery solutions – from field teams to virtual representatives, and from speaker bureau management to sample compliance. The company is technology agnostic for live video detailing and can work with a third party supplier such as Aptilon or directly for a pharma company (or its agency) with its internal or third party technology provider. Publicis Strategic Solutions Group’s expertise is in the recruiting, hiring, and training of the actual vRepresentatives and vClinicalConsultants.
“In addition to traditional message delivery channels, such as field sales representatives, we are seeing a trend in use of more on demand channels, such as live video detailing, that accommodate physicians’ self-directed information-seeking behavior,” says Rick Keefer, president and CEO, Publicis Strategic Solutions Group. “We have been working with a number of top biopharma companies on live video detailing projects, and we’re also now beginning to see interest from mid-tier and smaller or emerging life sciences companies. We believe that one of the keys to success this new biopharma marketplace will be employing a multichannel approach that incorporates a variety of innovative, integrated message delivery channels, such as live video detailing, into the message delivery mix.”
The goal of PSSG in developing the Publicis vRepresentative and vClinicalConsultant offering was to find an elegant way to interact with physicians at the exact moment when they are actively seeking information about a product or indication. To achieve that goal, the company began studying the daily information-seeking behavior of physicians.
PSSG found that physicians engage in two primary types of daily information-seeking behavior: fact finding and research.
Fact finding situations last about 20 seconds and happen mostly in the exam room with a patient, when the doctor needs a simple answer to a straightforward question on dosing, drug interactions, etc. This is the domain of the PDA, which is gaining widespread use, especially with generalists who cannot keep up with the hundreds of clinical topics they face in a given year.
Research, meanwhile, is the deeper, self-directed learning that benefits the physician’s entire professional skill base. Research typically happens pre- and post-office hours and lunchtime and typically lasts 6 to 10 minutes or longer, occurs on the physician’s personal computer, and often includes Internet use.
“It is important to note that drug-specific Websites are physicians’ Websites-of-choice when searching for health information, because they are provided by every major manufacturer, they are considered trustworthy sources of information, they are specific to the immediate needs of physicians, and they are the most highly advertised online resources,” Mr. Keefer told Med Ad News. “We also know that physicians (like all humans) are social beings that appreciate and learn from direct interaction with others.”
The average Publicis vRepresentative and Publicis vClinicalConsultant inbound live video detail lasts 10 minutes.
“We believe this engagement in live video detail is due to two factors: 1) doctors initiate these discussions, and they do so at times when they have an immediate interest and available time; and 2) our live video detail Publicis vRepresentatives and vClinicalConsultants are expertly qualified and trained to interact with physicians in this on-demand mode,” Mr. Keefer says. “It is also important to note that live video detailing content must be interactive (not a brochure on the Web) and updated frequently so healthcare professionals find value in returning to the site over time for additional information.”
According to Mr. Keefer, service of this type requires top-quality video and audio technology, which PSSG’s technology partners like Aptilon can provide. But at its heart, live video detailing requires motivated, committed, and well-trained biopharma sales and clinical professionals who answer specific questions and deliver key product messages to healthcare professionals. This is where PSSG comes in.
“Working closely with each client before and during deployment, our Publicis vRepresentatives and vClinicalConsultants become full partners of the sales team,” Mr. Keefer says. “Additionally, since our group offers a comprehensive array of multichannel message delivery offerings, we are able to provide clients with integrated reporting that offers a single view of their customer based on multiple channels and touchpoints.”
Tags: Aptilon, e-detailing, Publicis Strategic Solutions Group, Sales force effectiveness, virtual reps
