Healthy Skepticism Library item: 14674

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

 

Publication type: news

Manhattan Research Releases Report on the Future of Physician Customer Service Portals
PharmaLive 2008 Nov 17
http://pharmalive.com/news/index.cfm?articleID=586355

Abstract:

Report Reveals Market Data and Best Practices for Biopharma Companies

Full text:

Over the past year, physician visitation to customer service portals decreased while interest in using them actually increased. To help biopharma companies bridge the gap between the current portal landscape and unmet physician demand, Manhattan Research just released its latest physician module report, “The Case for Customer Care: Service Portals and a Successfully Integrated CRM System” as part of its ePharma Physician v8.0 market research and strategic advisory service. The report discusses future implications for physician customer service portals and reveals market data and best practices for biopharma companies looking to reach target audiences through this channel.

“Physicians rely on a diverse channel mix to gather biopharma and healthcare information and fewer of them are willing to take face-to-face sales rep meetings – challenging companies to re-invent the traditional service model,” said the author of the report, Meredith Abreu Ressi, VP of research for Manhattan Research. “Many have begun building full-service portals for physicians where they can access journal reprints, order samples, download patient education information, and even videoconference online with a rep.”

“Physicians are not saying that they want to do away with the sales force entirely,” continues Ressi. “Most physicians still want to be able to talk to a rep when they have a question, or when there’s a new product launch – but if it’s a routine question or transaction, they’d prefer to conduct those activities online, when it’s convenient for them. This is really about providing physicians with a variety of channels to access information so they can choose the method that is most convenient and useful to them.”

Report Outline

I. Physician Portals: Where Are We Now?

a. Trending and Current Adoption

b. Top Portals

c. Physician Demand for Portals (by company)

d. Who Uses Portals Today?

II. Developing a Physician Portal: Features and Physician Expectations

a. What Are They Using? What do They Want to Use?

b. Differences by Specialty

c. Features to Consider

i. Email Customer Service ii. Live Video Rep or Call Center iii. Integrating Medical Affairs

III. If You Build It, They Won’t Just Come: Marketing Your Portal

a. Marketing the Portal Online

b. Top Portals

c. Selling the Site: Public vs. Password-Protected Content

d. Sales Force Buy-in

e. Closed Loop CRM

Accessing the Physician Customer Service Portal Report

Full access of the “The Case for Customer Care: Service Portals and a Successfully Integrated CRM System” report is available to clients of Manhattan Research’s ePharma Physician® v8.0 market research and strategic advisory service. To learn more about this service, please contact sales@manhattanresearch.com or call 1-888-680-0800, ext 2.

More information about the report’s contents can be found here:

http://www.manhattanresearch.com/products/Research_Modules/Physician/physician-customer-service-portals.aspx