5 Considerations When Choosing a #Healthcare #Data and #Analytics Vendor
A #Biotech and #Pharmaceutical #Marketer Checklist
There is no doubt about it. Our industry is rapidly evolving with the availability of #healthcare #big #data that can inform and optimize more individualized approaches to everything from clinical trial development to marketing strategy and tactics.
For biopharma marketers, this data can be used to help in creating innovative tools that break through the clutter and address key aspects of the patient journey in order to meaningfully differentiate a product among its competition. This said, the data analytics partner you select is key to helping you gain access to the right data to draw insights and confirm or adjust your strategy in order to make the most impact.
Choosing the right vendor to help you effectively utilize the vast amounts of data now being generated from a variety of healthcare sources can be a little less daunting by asking several key questions to guide selection.
#1: Have you prepared a clearly articulated business question you need the data and analytics vendor to help you answer?
The vendor you are considering needs to fully understand the specific marketing question you require data to answer.
Identify precisely what you need to better understand, for example:
Market size and potential for your new drug
Patient journey and event triggers to switch
Alternate perspective to validate assumptions
Don’t expect one data approach to provide answers to all your questions
Pose different specific questions to the vendor if you need to answer multiple marketing questions
#2: Have you already decided on a preferred methodology?
If you have a set idea of the methodology you want to use, you may be hindering the process and limiting the approach before your vendor even gets a chance to demonstrate their real value.
Keep in mind that there is no “right” methodology
Focus on the vendors’ success and failure examples and case studies
Ask about how they process information, take in client feedback, and adjust or pivot as the project evolves
Challenge the vendor to provide examples of cases they where they did not deliver to find out what they are NOT good at
#3: Are you thinking of signing the statement of work (SOW) before you’ve seen example deliverables?
Too often, we spend months building RFPs, vendor presentations, and the final SOW, only to be disappointed in the final deliverable.
Ask the vendor to show you a slide deck or software product (not just a demo) with sample data and insights
Make sure both parties are clear on the expectations for the final deliverable
#4: Are you considering a vendor who is offering to “give away” data at no cost to win your business?
Just because data is free doesn’t mean it is the most appropriate type or source of data for the project at hand.
Ask the vendor for a sample of the data to help you understand the gaps and limitations
Understand that you will likely need to source multiple data sources for complex business questions, so “free” may not be an advantage after all
#5: Are you being overly risk averse in your selection process?
Don’t be afraid to take a risk with an unknown start-up or new player in the market. Many new entrants can engage in creative financing deals and are willing to pay for performance.
Ask if the vendor is looking for a partner to grow and learn with should you give them a chance
Offer a pilot project to truly understand new capabilities.
By using these questions to help guide your choice in selecting the right vendor partner, you will be well situated to select target physicians and patients. This will help you specifically focus your efforts and messages toward these individuals and increase efficiency and returns on your marketing efforts.
What criteria do you use in selecting a healthcare data & analytics vendor? What are your learnings? Feel free to comment.
Seema Sodhani, an executive healthcare marketer, and Elizabeth Hooker, advertising and marketing consultant, provide a checklist of questions to help ensure highly productive healthcare data and analytics vendor relationships.
