An interview with Simon Rosenberg, Research Director at Scout
Key Opinion Leader (KOL) engagement is one of the most crucial factors for every stage of your product lifecycle. A KOL management system (KMS) will ease the pain. But with so many KOL management software systems out there, how do you know when you’ve found the perfect blend?
The first thing you can do is to check the KMS meets these five essential objectives. Pull up a chair and pour yourself a cup of coffee.
Does the KMS address the practicalities of transparent planning for cross-functional teams in different geographies?
Any system worth a bean should ensure that key local stakeholders are in the loop from the outset, enabling everyone in the wider team to see which KOL is engaged for which activity. No surprises, no calendar clashes. Each local affiliate will have complete sight of how their KOLs are being engaged across the company. You should all be drinking coffee together.
Your KOLs are talking about you over their own coffee machine.
In our experience, KOLs do notice which companies are the best organised, who gives reliable bookings, and who provides detailed feedback; a company that plans and communicates well has a distinct advantage. Want to keep your KOLs and stakeholders happy and ready to engage? Our software engenders a discipline of long-term planning and gives you all the tools you need to make sure that your KOLs stay concentrated on their Americanos.
Does the KMS meet the strategic target of effective KOL engagement to work with exactly the right KOL on the right activity?
The perfect KMS provides rich KOL profiles with details of scientific activities, carefully compartmentalised into KOL categories based on interests, skills, and overall areas of expertise (all of which comes from a good precision KOL mapping project).
Filter, filter, filter. And we don’t mean just the coffee.
But how do you find the right profiles? It’s not enough to be able to do a text search: the filters in any KOL management system need to match what is uniquely important to you. At Scout, we spend many hours working out highly specific filters that fit our clients’ needs in the therapy area, whether it’s a particular research area interest, the definition of a global or national profile, the overall area of expertise (like diagnosis or biomarkers or education), or a particular skill (speaking, publishing, and more).
Excellent KOL management software should allow you to find and secure your preferences with a few clicks. Ease of use is vitally important. Believe us: this should be as painless selecting your favourite pod for the coffee machine. If it’s not, your software isn’t fit for purpose.
Does the KMS allow you to plan for the long term and to work with a wider range of KOLs?
Engagement planning 12-18 months out helps prioritize the VIP KOLs for your most important activities. Looking across a whole year involves the wider KOL universe, as well as the usual suspects.
To make the perfect coffee, the beans, the blend, and the skills of the barista are all important. And don’t forget the cake.
We work closely with our clients to maximise planned versus unplanned engagements. Our intelligent KOL management software encourages best practices. It’s not always possible to foresee the unforeseen. But we’re here to help you monitor what was unplanned (or what should have been planned).
Does the KMS help you be more compliant?
The right system should prevent over or underpayment and have Fair Market Value built in. Approving each KOL activity should be a piece of cake for the local affiliate, ensuring that you’re always in line with local regulations.
Does the KMS talk to your CRM?
Nobody likes having two systems or doing double entry. The ideal KMS will have bridges that allow it to port data over to your CRM system.
Our KMS and your CRM system: time for a coffee date.
You might be thinking, ‘Actually, do I really need KOL management software on top of the CRM?’ You do. Sadly, CRMs aren’t generally designed to be transnational, so it’s very difficult to adapt them to your exact needs, SOPs and reporting requirements. And because they are focused on one-to-one customer interactions, they rarely contain the rich profiles of KOLs that are vital to driving your engagements.
‘OK! Since we’re having coffee. What makes Scout so ridiculously attractive?’
Our KMS is well-tried and robust. It’s generated millions of page views over its 15-year history, while staying up to date with the latest compliance regulations. And it’s sublimely simple to use. Imagine being able to set up a bespoke individual engagement plan that will enable you to identify, communicate with and engage KOLs, while keeping your local affiliates in on the conversation.
If you like your coffee extra hot, double shot, skinny soya … you got it!
But most importantly, we’re proud to say that Scout’s KMS is entirely made by us. So it is totally customisable. We recognize that every company is going to have a different workflow and individual requirements and needs; our baristas are ready and waiting to customise to fit your individual journey. You don’t have to adapt yourself to our system: we’ll adapt our system to your requirements, leaving you free to focus on your path. And once you’ve signed up with us, you have us on tap.
We like coffee dates, but we really like to get more serious.
At Scout we’re in it for the long haul. We believe in partnership and commitment. We’re here to help you realise your ambitions, whatever they may be. And we make a terrific macchiato. Interested? Contact us. Let’s get engaged.
simon.rosenberg@scoutdata.co.uk
