Key Questions To Boost Your KOL Management– Part 1/8: KOL Identification
KOL Management is a broad term that, in our minds, refers to the complete life cycle of identifying, mapping, segmenting, planning, engaging, and interacting with KOLs. From beginning to end. In this series of articles, we address the key questions to ask at every step of the cycle to ensure that your KOL Management is focussed, compliant, mutually beneficial, and of true scientific value.
Why Is KOL Identification Important?
Ensuring you are working with the most appropriate KOLs in line with your strategic and tactical needs is the first step of effective KOL Management. After all, the people you work with today can impact your success well beyond tomorrow.
Your strategic KOL needs should reflect the unique, clinical characteristics of your brand and the people you need to communicate that story to. Your tactical KOL needs should reflect the Experts you need to engage with to help lead and implement the unique tactics you have developed.
To help you get there, ask yourself these questions:
- Have you identified the right KOLs to support all the different parts of your product strategy?
- Do you have a broad enough base of KOLs to engage with many different stakeholders, and to ensure you’re not just working with the same people repeatedly?
- Have you got the right mix of Experts to give you the best possible base on which to build from and support your medicines?
- Have you gone beyond clinicians to also consider digital Experts, nurses, patient advocates, etc., as KOLs?
- Have you ensured that the KOLs you need to engage with for effective KOL Management include anyone with the power to impact your success?
- Have you implemented an active pipeline policy to find the emerging Experts/Rising Stars of tomorrow, i.e. people that you should be engaging with today?
By addressing the questions above, you can make KOL Management decisions that rely less on faith and luck, and more on instinct and facts.
Costantino Ciotti
Services & Innovations
+44 (0)20 8191 9823
