Chart of the Month - Which companies are omnichannel leaders?
November 2023, our CHART of the MONTH:
In workshops, we often get the question “Who is ahead in the omnichannel space?”. In earlier times, we would have said “There is no consistent pharma leader, only local pockets of excellence – in fact, the customer is ahead of pharma.” However, two years post-COVID19 and we see more and more consistency cropping up, strongly suggesting a robust companywide and systematic omnichannel strategy and execution at certain companies.
Indeed, when we ask over 4000 European specialists which companies are leading in eight key offline and online channels, the same names crop up again and again, with AstraZeneca and AbbVie each leading the way across the range of channels (the percentage figure shows the margin between the leader and the second closest company) – the picture is less homogeneous in the areas of endocrinology, hematology and neurology. Asking over 1600 US specialists gives a similar (if slightly more varied) picture, with AbbVie once again leading the pack in a number of therapeutic areas.
This is a clear signal that excellence in customer engagement is no longer a “nice to have” but demands a holistic, organization-wide approach. If your company lags behind, the time to act is now – in some cases there's a considerable gap to bridge!
However, such averages (the average of all products per therapy area and, in the European example, the average of five countries) may/will hide a lot of variability below the surface, particularly at the country and/or brand level. To get a truly actionable picture, the brand/country level should be explored, which is where Navigator365™ Cx Benchmark comes in, by offering a brand-level deeper dive into content and Cx drivers. This is where brand-specific opportunities for actionable strategic decisions can be identified – with a regular benchmark (every 4–12 months) so that progress can be tracked over time.
In conclusion, with HCPs preferring an omnichannel approach more than ever (and reducing access) while pharma digital budgets are reaching new records, there is no time to lose. The era of disjointed customer engagement and “pockets of excellence” is behind us, and companies like AbbVie and AstraZeneca are setting the standard for companywide consistency in omnichannel strategies. The time for action is now… and benchmarking can be a great tool to create a burning platform that compels companies to reassess and elevate their customer engagement strategies.
If you would like to know more about how benchmarking with Navigator365™ can help create a burning platform for change in your organization OR want to see where your company ranks at EU5 (or US) level, then please get in touch!
Chart of the Month is an ongoing series where we highlight an interesting chart or statistic from our Navigator365™ Core and Maturometer™ research, and offer a brief commentary on what this can tell us about trends in customer engagement in the life sciences. Browse through our previous Charts of the Month here!