Key Questions To Boost Your KOL Management – Part 5/8: Segmenting KOLs
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 real scientific value.
How can Segmenting enhance KOL management?
Segmenting Experts is an essential step in arriving at an effective KOL Management programme.
Accurate scientific segmentation allows us to summarise Experts into buckets based on their position, profile characteristics, collaboration preferences, mindset, etc. Using this, you can then create effective KOL Management and engagement plans for each segment, driven by your broader scientific communication objectives.
At the very least, different “segments” should engage with different strategies and tactics tailored to their particular characteristics. Use all available data (including internal knowledge and input from Experts themselves) to segment the Experts based on a variety of parameters, e.g. where they stand on specific issues, their attitude/perception with regards to certain products, treatment regimes, companies, etc.
To help you get there, ask yourself these questions:
- Have you finalised the criteria you will use to segment KOLs?
- Have you created the right mix of behavioural, activity, mindset, and influence criteria?
- Have you considered potential KOL attitudes towards key management, prescribing, and therapeutic issues when defining segmentation criteria?
- Have you categorised and mapped all your KOLs onto a scientific grid based on your scientific platform?
- Have you segmented Experts based on their sentiments towards specific competitor products or classes?
- Have you benchmarked the advocacy of your KOLs on specific issues in the management setting, and fed that into the segmentation process?
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
