Stakeholder Mapping for Pharmaceutical Products

What is a Stakeholder Map?

Stakeholder Mapping involves identifying professionals in the target therapeutic field who would utilize or influence the utilization of the pharmaceutical product. This should clearly portray their motives, impact, and interests. Medical Science Liaisons are hired or contracted to meet with these stakeholders prior to and during the launch and distribution period to educate and create awareness of the drug. These sessions must be guided by an overall insight into the significance of each meeting.

In this article, we will discuss stakeholder mapping techniques and outline the step-by-step methods to perfect your sales and engagement strategy when approaching industry thought leaders.

Why is Stakeholder Mapping important?

Contacting stakeholders can be key to knowing where they stand upon the release of the pharmaceutical product. Having discussions will reveal how the deliverables will be of value to them, potential improvements or unrecognized biases, the likeliness of them recommending or implementing them, their critiques, and their opposition.

It is therefore important to develop a visual hierarchy of the Key Opinion Leaders of the industry, organized according to their level of authority, influence, and relevance.

Step 1: Identify Key Stakeholders

Begin the stakeholder mapping process by making a precise list of actors who will play a part in the pharmaceutical distribution process. It would be highly useful to categorize them under these three headings:

Primary

For general-purpose antibiotic, antibacterial, or anti-inflammatory medicines which are commonly prescribed for primary healthcare, disseminating information to the above professionals is vital.

Secondary

These are those who will ultimately determine the lifecycle and success of advanced treatments, diagnostic tools, and medications. Complicated patient cases are attended by them. They are the ones who will benefit from the product, contribute to its improvement, and give feedback on its performance.

Tertiary (Key Opinion Leaders)

Those who determine not just the usage, but dictate the trends in therapeutic niches. They have extensive experience, established themselves in their industry segment, and are followed by many other industry experts.

You can use the above list as a guide to how to make a stakeholder map and what to add to it.

Step 2: Assess based on the Power/Interest Matrix

You must now position these individuals, professionals, or consumer groups based on their engagement level and ability to influence perceptions.

Important questions to ask include

• Whether they are likely to endorse the medicine
• How far is their reach and what kind of audience do they make an impression on?
• Whether their authority as a professional and a specialist is recognized
• Whether they have a good network of other highly-positioned members of the healthcare industry.
• In what ways they might contribute to or hinder the spread and popularity of the drug
• What are their motives?

Once you have determined these factors, organize them into a stakeholder mapping matrix.

You should strive to monitor the counselors/healthcare advisors, inform your HCPs, both general and specialist, satisfy Academic Lecturers and Insurance companies, and engage your Key Opinion Leaders.

Step 3: Creating an Engagement Plan

Based on the above, create central and periphery focus groups and plan out when and where you plan to have education sessions to distribute the information to the relevant parties.

Some questions to ask when deciding how to approach each section:

• In what ways do your values and objectives align with theirs?
• What kind of questions might they pose when you pitch the concept to them?
• Would they be more interested in the social, financial, or medical scope of the equipment?
• What strategies and approaches can you use to gain their favor or win their support?
• Would limiting information exchange dilute your relationship with them?

You must take strategic actions to sustain these relationships based on their positioning on the matrix. For example, you should send medical representatives to meet KOLs more often and prioritize them in your communications schedule. Attempt to raise the interest level of those in the top left quadrant by finding common goals and emphasizing the benefit of promoting your service or company. Gather insights from medical professionals, and keep them informed and updated. Offer base-level information to those with little interest and power. Monitor their interactions and opinions to keep track of the general perception of your organization.

To Wrap Up

Stakeholder mapping will allow your medical sales team to prioritize and plan ahead to efficiently create awareness and help HCPs to appreciate the need for the development of a new, supplementary treatment option. The engagement plan also allows the MSL or company representative to manage meetings and reduce inconsistencies, and reduce redundancies and excessive workload.


” Elianne Liong is a staff writer for Celeritas Digital.  She specializes in researching and publishing content related to a range of topics in the animal health and veterinary industry, including technology transformation, business processes, HR, data science, and advanced analytics. “