The COVID-19 Catalyzer Effect

In a few short months, the pandemic has affected global economies and virtually all industries. Since the outbreaks have occurred at such a rapid pace, life sciences organizations must now look forward to medium- and long-term repercussions and prepare accordingly, hence the importance of adopting a CXM strategy sooner rather than later.¹⁹

According to Gartner, CIOs and CDOs “should keep a running tab on COVID-19-related issues that will impact their businesses" and should link early warning signals to potential business impacts. Some of these early disruptions include:

• Massive and prolonged reduction in face-to-face physician engagement opportunities, which might impact prescriber and institutional engagement. It could also lead to an accelerated shift to digital and virtual interaction approaches¹⁹
• Fewer in-person meetings and face-to-face collaborations within the organization. This can lead to less unified messaging as most organizations lack the capability for real-time internal collaboration. This would lead to confusion among all stakeholders including customers, suppliers, and employees¹⁹
• Public sentiment and brand image can be positively or negatively affected depending on the nature and extent of communications, while the reaction time for course corrections is decreased¹⁹

Considering such significant, fundamental shifts, CIOs, and CDOs ought not to assess only the internal organizational needs and "inside-out" transformations. They must also look at the picture from the "outside-in" and possibly use this moment of rapid changes to reinvent the CX technology stack as well as cultural stack for their organizations in more fundamental ways. Asking these critical questions and getting the teams to find the answers that can best manage business and customer priorities during the pandemic as the next normal takes shape may be the key to driving experiential relationships as a competitive edge compared to organizations that remain stuck in the transactional plane.¹⁹

References

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13. Gartner Inc. Customer experience management. Gartner Glossary. Accessed May 5, 2020.

14. Lopez M. From hand sanitizers to tacos: Microsoft shows us how companies are using technology to thrive during a pandemic. Forbes. May 14, 2020. Accessed May 5, 2020.

15. Gandhi A. 4 foundational best practices for success in life science omnichannel marketing. Gartner Inc. February 19, 2020. Accessed March 30, 2020.

16. Diamond M. The secrets to CRM success. Digital Pulse. June 20, 2018. Accessed May 7, 2020.

17. Thompson E. The eight building blocks of CRM: overview. Gartner. May 16, 2019. Accessed May 7, 2020.

18. Schaeffer C. The top reasons CRM fails. CustomerThink. February 13, 2017. Accessed May 4, 2020.

19. Shanler M, Meyer S, Stevens A, Gandhi A, Smith J. Life science CIO action plan for COVID-19. Gartner. April 8, 2020. Accessed May 7, 2020.

Source: Omnipresence