Measure what matters

An often-quoted business mantra says: “What gets measured gets managed – even when it’s pointless to measure and manage it, and even if it harms the purpose of the organisation to do so.”

In our specialist world of stakeholder research (or KOL mapping as it is commonly called) we encounter this viewpoint all the time.

Here is a poster boy of this folly.

Share of the Scientific Voice (SoSV). It is apparently such a good metric that IQVIA, through its company Pharmaspectra have trademarked the acronym. The only problem in our view with this metric, is that it completely ignores how new product launches are accepted, trialled, and adopted into everyday use.

What’s the point in being the loudest voice in the village square if it does not translate into product use?

In the 1960s Everett Rodgers proposed the Diffusion of Innovation theory as an explanation to describe how people react to a new idea. In the intervening years, volumes of research papers have confirmed the theory in a wide range of industries.

Let’s walk through how physicians, clinicians and healthcare payors respond to a brand-new treatment:

Firstly, when launched, the chances are that only 16% of the target audience are remotely interested in the new treatment.

They are the people who are comfortable with risk and uncertainty. They are the innovators and early adopters who seek out change – who read the papers and have the risk profile and capabilities that give them the confidence to evaluate new things.

The most important thing to note is that over 80% of any target audience does not seek out scientific publications on a regular basis.

The fact that company A has a higher percentage of the scientific papers published on their treatment, or that their product has more than 50% of the airtime at the next major medical congress, matters very little. If Company A and Company B both have new treatments in the area, the innovators and early adopters will be interested in them both!

Once the early adopters have trialled the new treatment, they share their experiences with their peers, typically at Grand Rounds or CME events. The SoSV counts for nothing in these rooms. What really matters is the experience of the trusted voices (KOLs) to their peers.

It’s a brutal truth, but in today’s furiously active digital world few people are prepared to accept a manufacturer’s word for their product at face value. They look to peers they trust for objective and evidence-based opinion. So, again, measuring the SoSV has very little effect on what happens behind closed doors.

Our experience is that the time it takes to reach the ‘tipping point’ – that moment where momentum behind using a new product whirrs away without you - is the key metric to focus on.

How do you get there more quickly and efficiently?‍

By knowing who the early adopters are in every region and country where you plan to launch a new product. Get them aware, support them as they trial it, give them the information they need to evaluate it thoroughly, and then let them “brew” and share their experiences with others.