Introducing PROVEN: The New Framework Elevating Healthcare E-Detailing
TI
In pharmaceutical marketing, clear and impactful communication is essential for ensuring healthcare professionals (HCPs) have the right information to make decisions about patient care.
Sales aids and e-detailers play a crucial role in this process, guiding pharmaceutical representatives through critical data points in an engaging, easy-to-understand, and persuasive manner.
While several general communication frameworks exist to enhance overall communications, we identified a significant gap specific to sales aids and e-detailers. Ongoing conversations with our clients revealed that there was no guide designed to enhance these sales aids and e-detailers—tools that are at the heart of pharmaceutical sales efforts.
As more pharmaceutical companies adopt behavioural science techniques, there is a growing demand for a Be-Sci framework that optimises sales aids and e-detailers.
That’s why we created the P.R.O.V.E.N framework.
This framework is specifically tailored to optimise the writing, structure, and presentation of sales aids and e-detailers, ensuring that representatives can effectively navigate key data points, and HCPs can quickly and easily comprehend the often complex data being presented to them.
We developed the P.R.O.V.E.N framework because our clients consistently sought ways to improve their existing sales materials. By addressing this gap, we’ve provided a structured approach that aligns with the unique demands of pharmaceutical sales communication—making it easier to deliver complex medical information clearly and engagingly.
This framework captures and describes six powerful and proven techniques using a simple mnemonic:
- Prioritisation
- Resonance
- Objective
- Visualisation
- Ease
- Narrative
Prioritisation
Is the most important information on the page the easiest to see?
There are two key stages to prioritisation.
Firstly, you need to determine what the most important information is in the detail aid overall, as well as on each page.
Secondly, ensure that the most critical information stands out and is saliant so it’s immediately noticeable and easily understood.
In sales aids and e-detailers, this is crucial for allowing healthcare professionals (HCPs) to quickly grasp the most important points without expending excessive cognitive effort.
Prioritisation techniques involve using visual cues such as bold text, strategic placement of information, and the use of colour or arrows to draw attention to vital data or chart elements. By making the most critical information salient, you help streamline the decision-making process and ensure the key message is effectively communicated.
Further reading on the importance of salience and prioritisation here.
Dolan P, Hallsworth M, Halpern D, King D, Metcalfe R, Vlaev I. Infuencing behaviour: the mindspace way. J Econ Psychol. 2012;33(1):264–77.
Resonance
Does the information you’re presenting resonate with your target audience?
The second element of the P.R.O.V.E.N framework, Resonance, focuses on ensuring that the information provided genuinely connects with healthcare professionals (HCPs). For the content to resonate effectively, it must:
- Present information that HCPs find most relevant and interesting.
- Be delivered in a manner they’re familiar with, minimising the time taken to interpret new formats.
- Use industry-specific language, common abbreviations, and visuals that HCPs regularly encounter.
- Enhance emotional relevance and familiarity, making the message more memorable and persuasive, ultimately creating a stronger impact on the HCP audience.
Considering each of these elements will help improve the resonance of your sales aid or detail aid.
Objective
What is the ultimate objective of the sales aid?
Define the specific behavioural goal of the sales aid or e-detailer and align the content accordingly.
Understanding the objective allows you to tailor the communication to drive desired outcomes. For instance, if the goal is to increase prescription rates, it’s crucial to identify the driving and restraining factors behind prescribing behaviours.
Once you’ve identified these, you can:
- Lower restraining forces: Address concerns or barriers HCPs might have about the treatment by highlighting relevant supporting data or case studies.
- Leverage driving forces: Emphasise benefits or positive outcomes that align with what motivates HCPs to prescribe, such as efficacy for certain symptoms or avoiding specific side effects.
- Organise information strategically: Arrange key points in a way that strengthens the objective, such as placing compelling data upfront or using visual cues to emphasise priority information.
This structured approach ensures the sales aid communicates the right message while driving the intended behaviour.
Visualisation
Is the way you present information eye-catching and engaging?
Present data in an engaging and easily interpretable way. Effective visualisation can help healthcare professionals (HCPs) quickly grasp complex information, reducing cognitive load and enhancing understanding. By incorporating techniques such as:
- Charts and diagrams: Provide a clear, structured view of the data, helping HCPs perceive trends and results at a glance.
- Colour theory and balance: Use colours strategically and consistently to highlight key information or guide the viewer’s eye through the content.
- Consistency in visuals: Maintain uniformity in the style of visual elements to prevent confusion and support a cohesive message.
- Pictures: Leverage the picture superiority effect, where images are more likely to be noticed and remembered than words.
Ease
Is it easy to navigate all the information in the sales aid or on each page?
It’s important to simplify the design and content on each page to create cognitive ease. Overcrowded pages make it harder to identify key information, causing healthcare professionals (HCPs) to feel overwhelmed, which can lead to disengagement or scepticism. To maximise cognitive ease, the focus should be on reducing complexity and enhancing readability. This can be achieved through:
- Chunking: Group related information into smaller, digestible sections.
- Removing unnecessary text: Eliminate superfluous content to keep the message clear.
- Concise wording: Use brief, direct sentences that are easy to follow.
Spreading information over multiple pages: Avoid information overload by dedicating separate pages for key topics, such as study design. - Interactive elements: Incorporate buttons or other interactive features to guide users through the material more intuitively.
- Maximising the use of page headers: Use headers to summarise the key point of the page rather than simply informing readers about the contents.
By making the information easier to process, you enhance engagement, clarity, and ultimately trust in the data presented.
Narrative
Does the data and information you present tell a clear story?
Ensure that the sales aid tells a coherent story, both within the aid as a whole and on each individual page. Instead of presenting a random assortment of facts, the detail aid should guide HCPs through a clear narrative that enhances understanding and engagement. A strong narrative can be created through:
- Primacy and recency effect: Place the most important information at the beginning and end of the sales aid to maximize retention.
Visual and narrative flow: Ensure the design logically leads HCPs through the information, with a clear visual and verbal progression. - Flexibility: Adapt the content so representatives can emphasise or hide information based on the HCP’s needs and preferences.
Identifiable victim effect: Use patient case studies to illustrate the real-world impact of the treatment, making it more relatable and emotionally compelling. - Storytelling: Craft patient success stories or case studies that demonstrate the treatment's effectiveness, helping to contextualise the data and enhance emotional resonance.
Hungry for more? Or looking for someone to take the detail-aid optimisation off your plate? Send us your question(s) or comms optimisation needs to [email protected]