The Pharma Customer Engagement Course

Welcome & General Introduction

• Welcome and overview of the course structure, goals, and expected outcomes
• Attendee introductions
• Discussion around individual goals, challenges, and what participants want to gain from the programme 

The Truth Behind Pharma’s Engagement Crisis. HCPs Don’t Care. 

• What does impact really mean in pharma marketing?
• The growing pressure on pharma teams
• What do HCPs really want?
• Why traditional, product-first communications are failing
• Trust as the foundation of meaningful HCP engagement
• Introducing trust-first commercial and marketing models 

Delivering Impact for HCPs and Your Brand

• Introduction to key strategic ideas and frameworks that will be used throughout the course
• Setting the foundation for the practical workshops and exercises to follow
• Changing the team mindset from product-first to customer-first
• Examples of successful engagement inside and outside pharma
• What pharma can learn from high-performing engagement models
• Insight as your key differentiator
• An introduction to customer-first storytelling
• Lead generation and nurturing are the key to omnichannel excellence
• Turning campaigns into always-on, customer journeys

Q&A and Discussion Session

• Open discussion around key themes and concepts
• Clarifying questions, concerns, and objections
• Group conversation to align understanding and mindset before practical application

Group Exercise: Establishing a Customer-First Mindset

In order to establish a customer-first, trust-first mindset, the group will engage in a series of short exercises that will allow them to put themselves in their customers’ shoes. 

Group Exercise: Making Email Engaging

To practise the “customer-first, trust-first, omnichannel engagement” mindset, participants will review an email campaign from a pharma company. They will rewrite it to improve engagement. Findings will be discussed in plenary.

Practical exercises designed to:

• Put participants in the customer's shoes
• Explore what meaningful engagement actually feels like
• Understand the principles behind effective communication and value exchange

Preparing for Strategic Workshop Sessions

• Connecting engagement principles to broader omnichannel strategy
• Establishing the mindset and frameworks that will carry through into the afternoon workshops and Day 2 

The Starting Point of Omnichannel Engagement Strategy: Brand Strategy

• The 'Get / Who / To / By' framework to define your brand strategy
• How to balance business goals and customer goals
• Developing an insight-driven 'controlling idea' and brand vision
• Walkthrough of a real example of brand strategy development using a non-pharma case study to simplify and apply strategic thinking principles
• Understanding the process of creating clear strategic direction, cross-functional alignment, and a concise and actionable brand strategy 

Group Exercise: Identifying Your Brand Vision and Developing a Strategy

In small groups, participants will develop a clear and simple strategy on one page using the fictional 'Zoocel' brand. 

Key areas include:

• Understanding the difference between business problems and customer problems
• Identifying meaningful customer insights
• Developing a clear controlling idea for the brand
• Building a concise strategic narrative that cross-functional teams can align behind
• Creating a simple and compelling one-line brand positioning statement 

Elevator Pitch Development

• Creating a concise customer-centric brand narrative
• Developing an elevator pitch that clearly communicates the customer problem, strategic idea, value proposition, and desired outcome

Group Exercise: Elevator Pitch Development

In small groups, participants will develop an Elevator Pitch for the fictional 'Zoocel' brand. 

Introduction to Modular Content Thinking

• Using the elevator pitch as the foundation for omnichannel storytelling, modular content development that drives adoption, and consistent cross-channel engagement 

• Reflection on key learnings from the day
• Open discussion and feedback
• Preparing participants for Day 2: engagement strategy development 

Building Attention and Engagement Around the Brand Story

• Introduction to lead generation principles within a customer-first engagement model
• How to capture attention in a crowded environment
• Creating value exchanges that encourage engagement
• Building relevance around customer needs and motivations

Designing Engagement Entry Points

• Identifying meaningful customer problems
• Creating engaging lead-generation concepts and content
• Developing practical 'next best actions' that encourage deeper engagement 

Applying Trust-First Engagement Principles

• Build curiosity and trust before introducing product messaging
• Use engagement pathways to progressively deepen interest
• Move healthcare professionals naturally into more meaningful interactions with the brand 

Group Exercise on a Business Case: Creating an Omnichannel Content Strategy

In small groups, participants will build an omnichannel content strategy for a fictitious brand by going through the following steps:

• Building top-of-funnel content to attract HCPs by addressing key challenges and needs
• Finding the link between those needs and the brand's benefits
• Finding the differentiators by anticipating objections and countering them with evidence
• Wrapping it all in a five-minute brand story 

Designing Journeys from Awareness to Consideration

• Top-of-funnel engagement approaches
• Content sequencing and progression
• Matching messaging to customer needs and readiness
• Introducing product value propositions at the appropriate stage of the journey
• Balancing business objectives with genuine customer value 

How to Measure and Improve Impact

• Setting campaign goals and KPIs – impact metrics vs optimisation metrics
• The Metrics Pyramid: from day-to-day activities to business impact
• Overview of key KPIs for pharma's typical channels: ads, websites, emails, webinars and events, reps, and e-details
• Discussion around engagement metrics, funnel performance, customer progression, and commercial and behavioural indicators of success 

Applying Metrics to Engagement Journeys

• Workshop exercises applying KPIs and measurement frameworks to the journeys developed earlier in the day
• Measuring engagement quality
• Identifying optimisation opportunities
• Demonstrating strategic impact over time

Group Exercise: Interpreting Channel Statistics

In small groups, participants will review analytics from specific campaigns and channels, and develop insights on why we see these trends, and what we should do about it. Findings will be discussed in plenary.

• Building sustainable content approaches
• Creating consistent and valuable content at scale
• Understanding the operational realities of omnichannel engagement delivery

The Role of Data and CRM 

• How CRM data powers personalisation
• Live demonstration: CRM-driven segmentation and simpler alternatives for small organisations
• Practical tips for lead capture and data use, even without big systems
• Exploring how CRM systems support listening and responding to customer behaviour, personalisation, journey automation, and omnichannel engagement orchestration

Optimising Key Customer Touchpoints

Best practices in the most commonly used inbound and outbound channels:

• The role of email: how to engage with and learn more about your HCPs
• Websites as conversion engines, not static brochures
• Reps and MSLs as engagement multipliers
• The power of community-based marketing (webinars, live events, etc.)

Open Forum and Audience Discussion

• Interactive discussion session focused on the audience's key questions, challenges, and priorities
• What defines a high-quality customer experience
• Best practice approaches for delivering impactful healthcare marketing materials
• Understanding how channels work together within a broader engagement ecosystem

KPI Planning and Long-Term Optimisation

• Monthly, quarterly, and annual KPI frameworks
• Tracking strategic progress over time
• Keeping teams aligned, motivated, and focused on meaningful impact
• Using metrics to optimise omnichannel engagement continuously

• Open Q&A and closing discussion
• Key takeaways from both days
• Next steps for participants