From Start to Scale: Your Omnichannel Impact Questions Answered
Answering viewer-submitted questions from our recent webinar
Following our recent webinar with Reuters Events, “From Start to Scale: Measure Omnichannel Impact & Unlock the Full Potential of Personalization,” we received a wave of insightful questions from registrants. This outpouring highlights just how much appetite exists across life sciences for meaningful omnichannel transformation, smarter personalization, and scalable innovation.
If you haven’t watched the webinar yet, you can access it here. Expect an insightful discussion that dives deep into the evolving world of omnichannel strategies in life sciences. This thoughtful exchange of ideas sheds light on how omnichannel personalization, underpinned by AI integration and robust data frameworks, is transforming Healthcare Professional (HCP) and patient engagement across medical and commercial sectors.
Key takeaways from the webinar include:
1. Omnichannel as a Crucial Mindset: Panelists emphasized the necessity of aligning teams, orchestrating cross-channel engagements, and leveraging advanced tools, like Customer Data Platforms (CDPs), to achieve a seamless HCP/patient experience.
2. Balancing Personalization and Practicality: Experts advised a strategic approach to personalization rather than exhaustive segmentation. They underscored the importance of anchoring efforts to actionable behaviors and clear, measurable business outcomes.
3. The Role of AI in Driving Omnichannel Innovation: From predictive analytics to content lifecycle optimization and next best action recommendations, AI is at the forefront of omnichannel innovation. Panelists predicted a significant scaling of AI in personalizing channels and automating processes, propelling life sciences companies toward operational excellence.
4. Addressing Challenges in Change Management: The panel dove into key barriers like misaligned cross-functional collaboration, data silos, regulatory hurdles, and integration of scalable tools. Practical change management strategies such as cross-department workshops, pilot campaigns, and executive buy-in took center stage.
5. Actionable Metrics and Moving Beyond Vanity KPIs: Expert discussions highlighted the need for transitioning from vanity metrics such as clicks and impressions to actionable metrics like HCP engagement rates, prescription lift, and patient adherence as true indicators of success.
This webinar was packed with actionable insights, real-world examples, and foresight from leaders across the field, including Aletta Brandle (Boehringer Ingelheim), Ben Clark (Jazz Pharmaceuticals), Scott Fasser (Point B), and Tyler Redelico (AstraZeneca). If you're part of the life sciences industry, this is a must-watch to start thinking differently about omnichannel strategies going forward.
Personalization & AI in Omnichannel: From Buzz to Business Value
Q: How is AI transforming omnichannel strategies beyond analytics?
AI is moving from promise to practice—helping life sciences companies predict behavior, orchestrate content, and refine campaigns at scale. At Point B, we advise clients to start with use cases like intelligent content tagging, NLP-based HCP sentiment analysis, and AI-assisted segmentation. Re-imagining the Content Supply Chain is another key use case that our clients are operationalizing. AI also plays a pivotal role in supporting ethical personalization by helping surface bias, highlight accessibility gaps, and automate content approvals.
Q: How are you using AI to enable personalization?
We’ve helped clients implement AI-enabled recommendation engines like Next Best Actions for HCPs that tailor messaging by segment, role, and channel preference—resulting in improved HCP engagement and lower content fatigue. We’ve also helped clients stand-up native AI functionality in Customer Engagement Platforms like Braze to take advantage of optimized channel, content, and message timing.
Q: How can AI foster collaboration across functions?
AI can break silos by serving as a common layer of intelligence. Unified data platforms enable field teams, medical affairs, marketing, and market access to act on shared insights—aligning on what’s working and what’s not. Now is the time to seize the opportunity to re-think old processes in light of the dramatically new capabilities with GenAI.
Q: Where’s the line between helpful personalization and over-targeting?
Over-personalization risks creating noise and distrust. We recommend anchoring personalization to clear value exchanges, use cases and real-time behavior—not static personas—so content always feels relevant, not redundant. We also recommend building a test-and-learn infrastructure to pilot new personalization capabilities. This allows organizations to not just look at the key metrics of an experiment, but integrate qualitative interviews to better understand how the changes are perceived.
Medical vs. Commercial Omnichannel
Q: How do you differentiate medical vs. commercial omnichannel—especially pre/post-launch?
Medical omnichannel focuses on unbranded scientific engagement, often pre-launch, with content geared toward education and clinical credibility. Post-launch, commercial teams use omnichannel to reinforce brand value and drive adoption. Both should be coordinated but distinct in messaging tone, compliance boundaries, and KPIs. As always in Life Sciences, strict adherence to regulated communications is essential.
Q: Can you give examples of how Medical and Commercial partner effectively?
We’ve seen success with shared data hubs, cross-functional journey mapping workshops, and coordinated content calendars. For example, medical affairs may trigger commercial follow-ups when scientific interest signals readiness for branded discussions, creating a seamless HCP experience. We also recommend a shared communication strategy across marketing, field sales, and medical to establish standard coordination in communications to HCPs, maximizing the value delivered at each touchpoint.
Q: How do you avoid overwhelming HCPs with both teams engaging?
Frequency management tools, unified CRM systems, and HCP preference data are critical. Point B helps clients implement governance models that orchestrate touchpoints based on what matters most to the HCP—not just internal priorities.
The biggest obstacle today? The disconnect between strategy and execution.
Measurement, ROI & High-Value Activities
Q: How do you define and measure high-value activities (HVA)?
We define them as interactions proven to drive meaningful change—such as therapy adoption, increased access, or elevated scientific literacy. We also consider any direct engagement with HCP’s/Patients such as conversations, active engagement with content (downloads, responding to emails, etc.) and messaging. Just sending an email does not equate to an HVA, but a meeting at a conference or a call with the finance team does. These HVAs are identified through multivariate analysis linking activity to downstream outcomes (script lift, time-to-treatment, etc.).
Q: How do you measure omnichannel impact and ROI—especially without Rx data?
We find it very helpful to apply each key persona and situation into a lifecycle map where the entry and exit criteria, the key metrics, and systems for each stage are all specified in order to properly measure impact. In data-scarce markets like India, proxy metrics (HCP behavior change, referral growth, digital engagement lift) are key. We also advocate for triangulating multiple data points—CRM, survey, field intel—to create a composite impact model.
Q: What KPIs are most meaningful?
Impact-focused KPIs like HCP action rates (HVAs), channel responsiveness, journey progression, script-lift (first time and subsequent), and time-to-decision are often the most meaningful. Vanity metrics (impressions, opens, clicks, land rates) should feed into higher-order insights but not serve as the endpoint.
Q: Who should own omnichannel measurement—BI&A or Digital?
Ideally, a cross-functional team. Measurement must be objective (BI&A), actionable (Digital), and business-aligned (Commercial). Point B supports clients in creating a center of excellence model with shared ownership.
Global vs. Regional Omnichannel Strategy
Q: Is omnichannel global or regional? What’s the role of global vs. local?
Both. Global defines the framework—data standards, governance, tech stack—while regional teams localize execution based on market dynamics. We recommend global teams act as enablers, not enforcers, providing tools, content, and measurement models that local markets can adapt.
Q: Should we connect omnichannel globally or leave it regionalized?
A hybrid model works best. Centralized infrastructure with localized delivery ensures scale without sacrificing relevance.
Q: How do regional behaviors impact strategy (e.g., Turkey's face-to-face preference)?
It’s always a fine balance between the efficiency of a centralized system versus the flexibility of a localized approach which is why we find a hybrid model works best. In face-to-face-heavy markets, omnichannel starts with digitizing the field force (eDetailing, AI-enabled pre-call planning). We help clients tailor adoption strategies that meet HCPs where they are—not where we want them to be.
Change Management & Organizational Alignment
Q: What are the top enablers for scaling personalization from POC to enterprise?
- Unified data foundation (e.g., CDPs)
- Strong content operations (tagging, modularity, MLR-ready assets)
- Cross-functional governance (joint KPIs, agile pods, clear roles)
- A rapid experimentation, learning, and implementation mindset—short cycles build momentum.
Q: What change management strategies have worked?
Executive sponsorship, change champions in each function, regular success storytelling, and KPI alignment. We also co-create success blueprints with clients to showcase early wins.
Q: How do you shift from vanity metrics to business-driving measures?
Both are important as they tell a more complete story. By aligning marketing and sales on shared outcomes that count, you have a better chance of alignment and success. For example, instead of “email open rates,” focus on “email-to-detail conversion” or “rep-triggered content viewed.”
Getting Started & Scaling Smartly
Q: For mid-size teams, where should we start?
Start with a focused segment or brand, pilot 2–3 channels, and build a simple data feedback loop. Use low-risk experiments (e.g., segmented emails, website personalization) to prove value before scaling.
Q: What platforms and vendors actually deliver value?
Value lies not in the tech but in how it's used. We help clients evaluate platforms based on integration ease, content agility, and decision-making power—not just features. We find that unified customer engagement platforms like Braze and Adobe, when implemented correctly, can provide significant value as they consolidate data, workflow processes, and measurement in a scalable way.
Q: Build versus buy?
Most organizations benefit from a hybrid: Build core capabilities (e.g., core data architecture, CRM integrations) and buy specialized tools (VVPM, AI tagging, orchestration engines, CEPs) as needed. Unless you have a very robust and sophisticated engineering organization, it will be difficult to match the rate of change happening in the communications tech sector, meaning it is often best to partner with these vendors that closely align with your use cases, internal systems, and culture.
Q: What’s the biggest obstacle today?
The disconnect between strategy and execution. Many organizations talk omnichannel but still operate in silos; it’s one thing to have a strategy, quite another to implement it. At Point B, we bridge this gap through pragmatic roadmaps, pilot activation, and embedded change management.
Final Word: Omnichannel is a Mindset
As highlighted during the webinar, omnichannel isn’t just a strategy—it’s a mindset. It’s about aligning teams internally in order to orchestrate human and digital interactions intelligently, consistently, and with measurable impact.
At Point B, we’re proud to partner with life sciences organizations to help unlock this potential—turning ideas into action and complexity into clarity.
Let’s continue the conversation. Reach out to learn how Point B can help your team move from start to scale.
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