Much progress has been made in measuring the impact of biopharma marketing efforts. Currently, marketing outcomes tend to consist of quantifiable campaign metrics such as measuring app downloads and activity on websites and social media. HEOR studies and analysis have become an integral part of the overall commercial plan—and should be—but they primarily focus on providing data to support payer negotiations. Marketing and HEOR efforts need to be more closely aligned to deliver a more meaningful customer experience.

Marketing’s goal is to ensure that each target audience understands and appreciates the product’s value. To do this effectively means to not only understand the nuanced needs of each target audience, but to ensure that the communications are delivered synergistically, by considering the connectivity of the various audiences. This means connecting the dots from the patient, to the caregivers, to the various physician specialists, primary care physicians, nurses and other healthcare providers involved in that patient’s care, so that they all have a full understanding of the product’s value.

To achieve this, marketers need to ask themselves key questions at that seek to integrate their marketing insights with learnings from HEOR in a cohesive manner. In addition to the cost-benefit analysis payers need to see from HEOR studies, marketers need to explore questions that relate the product value directly to the users, such as:

Where will your brand take your patients through the course of their treatment journey?
What happens if the treatment outcome is positive? What if it is not?
How long should it take to see results?
What are the side effects and when will they emerge? How long should it take for the side effects to resolve? Can the side effects be mitigated?
What is the value the brand delivers vs other available treatment options?
What does the future competitive environment look like and how will this impact the value of your product to your customers?

Answers to these questions will provide a critical perspective on the communications and education needs of those receiving and delivering the therapy as well as those involved with other aspects of patient care.

New questions will arise as new and real-world data emerge and the market is re-shaped by competitive entries and/or new insights and discoveries. A robust HEOR/PRO plan combined with real-world data (made even more robust by the growth of wearables, apps, and other patient devices) will provide the insight to answer these types of questions, as well as provide other critical insights about customers.