Pharmaceutical lifetime customer value analysis

Pharmaceutical companies are using new tools, processes and techniques to improve lifetime customer value and to reduce the 125,000 annual deaths attributed to medical non-compliance, according to a new report from pharmaceutical intelligence firm, Cutting Edge Information.

According to the study, Lifetime Customer Value in the Pharmaceutical Industry, drug companies are increasingly concerned with improving both lifetime customer value and patient medical compliance. It details more than fifty metrics and business practices from top pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer, Merck, Aventis, GlaxoSmithKline, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Novartis and Eli Lilly.

Top strategies
The report examines short-term and long-term strategies and tactics to develop company wide, customer-focused operations that lead to increased patient compliance and better overall lifetime customer value.

For example, one company launched a diabetes website that includes disease information, and has tools to track personal medical data and blood sugar trends, and manage the complete diabetes treatment plan. Since launching the website, the company has seen a significant increase in patient compliance, which positions the company to maintain ongoing relationships with long-term customers.

The report covers metrics and best practices in the following areas:
·  Effective disease management tools
·  Physicians' online habits
·  Underserved customer populations
·  Technology, CRM and lifetime customer value programmes
·  Cultural shifts at pharmaceutical and other companies

Key findings
The report covers the five most critical factors that must be considered to maximise the benefits of a lifetime customer value strategy:

1. Build customer relationships through disease management programmes. By delivering integrated sets of health care services to specific patient populations, pharmaceutical companies empower users to manage their conditions over time, improve clinical outcomes, and lower costs.
2. Cultivate relationships with non-patient customers via health management and educational resources. Lifestyle management tools encourage consumers to treat pharmaceutical companies as ongoing healthcare resources.
3. Provide medical resources to develop non-sales relationships with physicians. Doctors are increasingly using the internet as a source of information, and are more likely than consumers to show loyalty to two or three trustworthy websites, as they seek quality content without promotional interference.
4. Launch and measure lifetime customer value capabilities. After a company and its employees embrace a customer-centred approach, enterprise-wide data collection, dissemination and action must follow. A lack of formal objectives and expectations undermines lifetime customer value initiatives.
5. Build a customer-focused corporate culture. A major challenge in realising lifetime customer value is cultivating a corporate culture that appreciates benefits derived from stronger customer relationships.

A more detailed summary of the report is available on Cutting Edge's web site - Click here.