Veeva : Manage and Measure Pharma Event Success

If you're responsible for planning and executing pharma industry events, your preparation process likely includes a way to track and measure your success. Most companies measure events based on utilization numbers, such as the number of planned, executed, and even canceled events compared to their budget. But these traditional ROI metrics don't apply when you're looking at the educational exchange and the clinical transfer of knowledge in pharma.

Events are one of the most critical omnichannel engagement strategies. They offer healthcare professionals (HCPs) and industry representatives opportunities to connect and share best practices, learn about new medicines and therapies, and obtain the latest clinical data and product information. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you think about how to plan for and measure the success of your events as part of your overall omnichannel strategy.

Determine event goals

As an event organizer, it's essential to understand your events' impact on the HCP journey, and first, you need to consider what your event is trying to accomplish. Your goal may be to educate HCPs about a new product or encourage a specific action, so HCPs will speak to a medical science liaison (MSL) or engage with your field team members down the road.

Once you have your goal in mind, consider which channels are best suited to accomplishing your objectives. Today, there is a wide range of live, virtual, and hybrid events for HCPs. If you have a new product launch, for example, you might plan a hybrid educational event to reach the largest number of HCPs and accommodate in-person and virtual attendance preferences. If you're looking to deepen relationships with existing customers, on the other hand, then perhaps a live, in-person event is more appropriate.

Measure what matters

There is no standard measurement to determine what matters for your business, as that should be directly tied to your event goals. If you are hosting a hybrid educational event, for example, a metric might be the number of promotional activities the HCP engages in, such as digital email campaigns, a video series, or a rep conversation. Alternatively, metrics could be associated with the number of rep and MSL visits after the event.

The important thing to keep in mind is that metrics should be as simple as possible; don't get bogged down by an excessive number of key performance indicators (KPIs). Stay focused on business impact.

Make the most of digital engagement data

As physicians have adapted to telehealth with patients, they've also embraced more digital engagement with reps. As reps interact with HCPs before, during, and after the event, capturing and analyzing data becomes essential for understanding their preferences, determining your overall strategy, and measuring event success.

Today, every organization needs to understand the role events play in the overall engagement HCPs have with your company. As you plan pharma events, you'll want to set clear goals, measure what matters for your business, and make the most of digital engagement supported by data. With access to integrated data, you can link the touchpoints customers have with your company and enable events teams to demonstrate clear value as part of your broader omnichannel strategy.

As the events landscape evolves, now is the time to make the most of digital events. Read the six steps to delivering an effective event strategy.