What does customer engagement look like in today’s world? In this interview, Fierce Pharma poses this question to Jo Ann Saitta, Healthcare Business, Digital Transformation and Operations Global Chief Executive at Real Chemistry.
With over fifteen years of C-level experience in data analytics and healthcare technology—and a proven track record of developing long-term strategic plans and transforming business models—Saitta has unique insight into the challenges faced in effectively communicating sales and marketing content to today’s consumer.
Combining her expertise with her passion for the intersection of technology and healthcare, she shares her opinion on which aspect of pharma marketing is poised for the biggest disruption, the increasingly important role of medical science liaison, and the need to quickly communicate scientific developments and information out into an ever more competitive field.
Click here to view Saitta explain how customer engagement relies on creating a relationship between consumers and brands, and how that can be accomplished by harnessing the power of the “4 Cs.”
Real Chemistry is a global health innovation company with an alchemic mix of 1,600 people and hundreds of clients and partners working from bench to bedside, making the world a healthier place. Purpose-built by Jim Weiss to address modern healthcare challenges, Real Chemistry is the culmination of 20 years of intentional, fiercely independent, sustained growth. With offices across the United States and Europe, Real Chemistry believes that the way to real, transformative change is through the uncommon combination of talents, disciplines and technologies.
Rebecca Willumson:
Hi there. I'm Rebecca Willumson, and I'm the publisher of Fierce Pharma. And I'm here today with Jo Ann Saitta, global chief digital officer at Real Chemistry. Jo Ann, thanks so much for joining me.
Jo Ann Saitta:
Thank you for having me, Rebecca.
Rebecca Willumson:
So before we begin, can you tell me a little bit about yourself and your role at Real Chemistry?
Jo Ann Saitta:
Sure thing. So I am our global chief digital officer, which I tell everyone it just means that my job is about using technology and data in healthcare communications. And I've actually spent the last 15 years on the service side of pharma in healthcare communications, specifically sales and marketing. And so I'm really passionate about being a techie and a geek at heart, but I'm really passionate about the intersection of technology and healthcare and excited to be here today and learn a lot this actually past few days about what the trends are and what people are actually doing. So that's me.
Rebecca Willumson:
So in your opinion, what aspect of pharma marketing is poised for the biggest disruption?
Jo Ann Saitta:
I think it's medical affairs. So I could probably point to a lot of areas that have been accelerated in COVID from a digital perspective. But when I think about disruption, I think about medical affairs. I think about the role, the increasing important role, of a medical science liaison and the need for us to get quickly scientific developments and information out into the field, out to physicians, and ultimately out to patients.
Jo Ann Saitta:
And in my experience, medical affairs, they have an opportunity to leapfrog. Let's put it that way. They're not necessarily, in my experience, as mature as the sales and marketing organizations. And so there's an opportunity to learn from the great things that have been established by sales and marketing and kick them up a few notches and bring and lead medical affairs organizations into a stronger digital communications presence.
Jo Ann Saitta:
So I would put my money on medical affairs. I think there's a tremendous amount of data analytics, a tremendous amount of audience insights that can be shifted from the knowledge that we have gleaned in sales and marketing and leverage that when we think about applying it in medical affairs. And I love talking to a lot of the different organizations today because they see that opportunity as well. So to me, it's medical affairs.
Rebecca Willumson:
So tell me, what does customer engagement look like in today's world?
Jo Ann Saitta:
So I love this question because customer engagement is set by our most beloved brands. And so Disney, Peloton, everyone wants the Amazon effect. And when we think about that, to me, it means the four Cs. It means that communications are customized. It means that we are placing content first. It means that we're curating, and we're really bringing relevant information to our customers. And the last C is about community, and it's about creating a relationship and a community with the brand. And to me, that's what a lot of the non-healthcare brands have done.
Jo Ann Saitta:
And so what I'm living today and seeing today is the need for us to deliver on that promise. And a lot of times you might hear omnichannel as the ask. And so when I think about modern customer engagement, it is about omnichannel, but it doesn't mean that everything's all digital. It means that there's a hybrid experience, one that should be frictionless for a customer, whether it's a patient or whether it's an HCP, so that we can create a relationship, an enduring relationship between that customer and your brand. And when we do that, we're thinking about really the experience.
Jo Ann Saitta:
There's one other term that I am trying to rally myself around, and that is it's not always about return on investment, ROI. It's about what's the return on the experience. What's the return on the patient experience, the customer experience? And so it's a loaded question. When you asked about what is modern customer engagement, we have a pretty high bar, but I think we have the smarts to do it in our industry.
Rebecca Willumson:
So how do digital tools help us understand patient communities and then partner with them?
Jo Ann Saitta:
We are at a pivotal time. I think we have so many tools. We have lots of digital tools, and I see it in two ways. If I think about the communications from a pharma company to patients, I think about, again, that frictionless experience. And from clinical to commercial, how can we begin to get to know our patients? And so we're seeing the use of AI technologies on medical data, de-identified in a way that's helping us truly target our patients and engage them in that relevant communication. And that's a great way digital tools can be used to really engage and help our patients along in their journeys.
Jo Ann Saitta:
I think we have to be really careful to know that there's a human intelligence side of digital and AI, and I heard that from one of the talks yesterday. And in addition to machine learning, it's natural listening. It's natural language listening, not necessarily natural language processing. And I think we have to listen to the information we're getting from the tools, so we develop those relationships.
Jo Ann Saitta:
I think the other side of the coin is the empowerment for patients. And if we think about digital therapeutics and we think about the ways that a patient can own their own data, whether it's genetic data, fitness data, medical data, we really empower our patients to help them make decisions. So we have an exciting time in healthcare now to connect those dots, but I see those as two major opportunities for digital and getting to know our patients.
Rebecca Willumson:
I think that's great. So anything that you want to leave us with before we close out?
Jo Ann Saitta:
I want to leave us with we're really at a golden era in healthcare, an opportunity to really seize the positives that came out of COVID, the digital acceleration, and to use this new muscle memory to create a more enduring relationship with customers that will ultimately lead to better outcomes. And that's why we're all in it is to have that better outcome for that patient, save a life, make someone's life better. And so I'd say that's my ending words.
Rebecca Willumson:
I think that's a perfect way to close out. Well, thanks so much for chatting with you today. I really enjoyed our conversation.
Jo Ann Saitta:
Thanks, Rebecca.