Finding Key Opinion Leaders Using Social Network Analysis

Date published: 2009

A NEW PARADIGM IN OPINION LEADER IDENTIFICATION

Key Takeaway: Pharmaceutical companies spend on average 24% of their total marketing budgets on thought leader activities. This expense is justified because creating and sustaining a new idea takes effort since people are resistant to change. Introducing a better medical treatment means overcoming this ingrained resistance to change. Fortunately it's not necessary to convince everyone, since patients rely on “experts” to make good decisions on their behalf. However, a doctor cannot be an expert on all medical conditions, so physicians will rely on health-industry peers with more specialized knowledge for advice. Hence it's extremely important for pharmaceutical companies to find the right key opinion leaders, or KOLs. Using the correct KOLs can increases revenue by as much as 18%. But the sheer size and diversity of an ever-changing medical landscape requires better techniques for finding these experts. This white paper introduces Social Network Analysis, SNA, as a robust technique for finding key opinion leaders. It also reveals some salient strategic insights about SNA's ability to find individuals within communities who would otherwise remain hidden with traditional tools such as lists.

Who Should Read This: Medical and Biomedical executives involved in developing thought leadership, plus advocates in scientific advisory board and medical affairs KOL capacities.

Specifically:

• KOL Relationship Management
• Opinion Leader Relations
• Medical and Scientific Affairs
• Scientific Advisory Board Managers
• Senior Marketing Managers
• Medical Science Liaisons
• Medical Research Executives
• Advocacy Development
• Market Research
• Brand and Product Management

Why This is Important: Pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are affected by ongoing changes in legislation surrounding the appropriate use of industry thought leadership in development and marketing of medical products. Companies that evolve their advocacy strategies using undiscovered relationships and powerful people often find their go-to-market strategies positively impacted.

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