The complex digital landscape compels life science leaders to implement Omnichannel engagement focused on patient needs. Senior Vice President Angeliki Cooney offers insights into the challenges of implementing omnichannel strategies and guiding principles on how to approach omnichannel engagement investments. With over two decades of experience in the industry, Cooney’s distinguished career includes prominent executive roles at leading Life Sciences companies where she spearheaded new strategies for engaging with customers and patients combining both physical and digital channels for maximum impact.
Background and Experience
Angeliki Cooney has spent decades pioneering go-to-market models and analytical methodologies for the Life Sciences industry. Her vision and leadership played a pivotal role in building new products and services while guiding global teams toward impactful outcomes. Throughout her career, Cooney offered guidance and tested leadership, navigating the changing tides of the industry, from traditional call frequency commercial models to digital and omnichannel approaches. With a hands-on understanding of the evolving challenges the industry is facing, she straddles the space between commercial strategy and analytical insight development, building offerings that can stand up to the realities of commercial leaders on the ground.
Understanding Omnichannel Engagement
Understanding Omnichannel Engagement necessitates leveraging diverse technologies to improve consumer experiences through insights-driven tactics. Firms can seamlessly customize interactions across multiple platforms by tapping into insights and recognizing what matters to individuals. This focused approach allows organizations to achieve a deeper understanding of unique preferences, behaviors, and needs. By integrating innovative technologies like artificial intelligence and predictive modeling, businesses can anticipate physician and patient needs, offering tailored suggestions and personalized options. Having insights into a customer’s experience across engagement points allows companies to build loyalty and establish lasting relationships through a brand experience that remains true to its core values.
The Importance of Putting Patients First
Putting patients at the forefront is pivotal in Life Sciences to ensure customized care to address each person’s specific needs. Focusing on patients is critical as it plays a crucial role in boosting adherence, building deeper relationships with physicians, and promoting value-driven care. Focusing on the patient allows caregivers to gain a deeper understanding of what matters to their loved ones and how to support their treatment. When patients are included in decision-making, they have the power to actively engage in managing their health and wellness. Engagement strategies that make patients a top priority not only boost therapy effectiveness, but also stakeholder satisfaction and quality of services beyond the treatment regimen especially as the industry is working tirelessly to address complex chronic diseases.
Challenges in Implementing Omnichannel Engagement
The implementation of omnichannel engagement in Life Sciences presents immense challenges related to data integration and system compatibility. Data reporting time lags prevent the achievement of timely customer understanding and engagement. Traditional data models need to be rethought to effectively integrate data from an ever increasing stream of data assets. Outdated and homegrown systems become overly complicated and expensive to integrate as well as replace. Meanwhile, Life Sciences companies make large investments in new shiny tools that too often do not deliver or become obsolete too quickly.
Angeliki Cooney’s Principles for Success
Angeliki Cooney’s formula for success is being human-centered first and foremost. Technology should serve humans and not the other way around. Every other decision flows from this basic principle. We always like to say that Life Sciences is a very unique industry with unique needs but we could do better at remembering that when developing and implementing new products and services. The overwhelmingly low adoption of many commercial tools is a testament to this reality.
Foundations of an Omnichannel Strategy
Life Sciences companies have seen their tech budgets increase significantly over the years, but the returns haven’t always met expectations. Marketers struggle to demonstrate the digital marketing and analytics investments, while sales leaders remain doubtful about the effectiveness of various sales tools. Prioritizing company structure and incentives is crucial to becoming truly human-centered. Practicing omnichannel strategies internally can help us better serve our customers. However, this requires more than just acquiring new tools; it involves significant effort in understanding the customer journey and potentially restructuring to prioritize customer-centricity.
Angeliki Cooney’s Vision for the Life Sciences Industry
We inherently understand that Healthcare is a local human-centered affair. Patients select their physicians because they feel comfortable with them and receive ancillary services from local providers. Physicians expect quick customer service and pertinent information at their fingertips. Whether this is achieved in person or through other channels matters in terms of individual physician preferences but their requirement is always speed, accuracy and relevance.
The future of Life Sciences rests with our ability to move from global and national approaches to regional and local ones. The need to manage costs in the process should not guide our vision on how to go forward. We need to at least think, organize and invest regionally. An honest assessment of what skills and resources are required throughout the organization to get there is long overdue.
Importantly, a deeply personal touch in catering to customer needs will always win the day. Technology’s role is to provide a multiplier effect to human interactions whether in person or remotely, whether real time or asynchronous. Once that is in place, the tech use cases for your specific Life Sciences company will become clearer
Published By: Aize Perez
