Have you spoken to your customer today? Transforming the focus of customer service in life science from compliance to commercial value

Article by Johanne Rønnow Olsen and Pernille Dyrby Thomassen, experts in Customer Service Operating Model at PA Consulting.

Customer and user needs in the life science industry are shifting these years. Patients are becoming more empowered to choose their own treatment and lifestyle, and their expectations are not bound by a medical condition, but stem from their wider interactions with e.g. consumer goods, digital products, and interaction with own data – and from the desire to not be viewed as a patient, but as a person.

Customer Service as a competitive differentiator in Life Sciences

This poses new opportunities to life science companies, and as we are entering Customer Service Week, it is relevant to highlight this specific customer touch point and the potential it has, to become a key market differentiator.

In any competitive market Customer Service is a key differentiator and unique part of the customer journey. We have all tried to contact a company with either a question about a product, a complaint, or a problem we needed help solving. The experience we have with the Customer Service department will have an enormous effect on our loyalty to that company and how we talk to others about it. This is becoming increasingly important in the life science industry as well with changing market dynamics.

Leveraging Customer Service Data for actionable insights and product innovation

Data has become the foundation on which businesses thrive and grow, and Customer Service data can serve as a unique view into the customer voice and thoughts. Customer Service data can give insights into important product improvements, where the customer needs more information, what is important for the customer. Additionally, Customer Service data is an important channel during product launches or changes in product portfolio to understand how the product is received. With the right analytic and feedback processes customer service data can quickly be turned into actionable insights for improving the customer experience

The expanding role of Customer Service in a digitally integrated healthcare ecosystem

Customer service functions in life science builds on a foundational need of staying compliant, but on top of this, many organisations are now realizing that it can be an abundant source of insights and innovation across patients, HCPs, pharmacies, distributors and others. And it is an important channel, e.g. during COVID, where it became apparent that customer service could play a vital role in reassuring and supporting customers in a highly uncertain environment. Similarly, with an increasing number of drug launches bundled with digital offerings and partnerships, customer service plays an important role in supporting customers adapt to the new opportunities as well as gather input for continuous innovation and improvement.

Building a strong foundation: The importance of strategic alignment and technology

To drive a strong and consistent customer experience in a global pharma company and leverage technological opportunities such as data insights and AI, it is essential to build a strong foundation. It can be tempting to jump straight to looking into implementing AI and wanting insights from the Customer Service data, however it is crucial that there is a solid foundation of the right technology and processes to enable acceleration towards a value-driving and efficient Customer Service. In our experience, a strong foundation will only be prioritised if alignment has been established across the business on the strategic importance of customer service and what to achieve from investing in it.

Key enablers for driving value in Life Science customer service

Where should you start? In our experience there are three key enablers of moving customer service further and building business value, while still ensuring compliance:

1. Ensure senior sponsorship and an aligned direction across the organization,.

2. Anchor customer service, where you want to drive the value from, likely with a commercial and therapy-agnostic angle and finally.

3. Establish clear responsibilities and oversight mechanisms to drive progress.

Find out more: Life sciences | PA Consulting

Happy customer service week!