P360 Launches ZING to Help Pharma Sales Team to Improve HCP Engagement

by Kimberly Gregorio | Last Updated: May 4, 2022 | 1 min read

Have you been searching for a more effective way to engage with healthcare professionals (HCPs)? You’re not alone. Thanks to tightening policies around pharma-to-physician interactions and the digital transformation of all things healthcare related, the in-person office visits that once served pharma so well are now becoming a thing of the past. In a recent survey, only 25% of HCPs¹ believed that in-person interactions would go back to pre-pandemic levels, indicating that pharma companies dependent on in-person interactions will need to seek new ways to create meaningful connections.

But with change comes opportunity. And adopting a digital-first approach to HCP engagement is the cost-effective change your brand needs.

Digital-first is a must for HCP engagement

Even as far back as 2014, 90% of physicians² were already using smartphones to access pharma-related information. And today, prescribers and their staff are using their devices to do even more, including communicating with pharma reps. As a matter of fact, 82% of the physicians we surveyed said they valued texting with reps over all other modes of communication! And that’s a big reason why we first introduced the ZING Communication Module, to help reps communicate with HCPs in a frictionless and compliant manner.

As we worked with some of the pharma industry’s leading brands to pilot and test ZING, we quickly learned that we were onto something big. We discovered that a holistic, digital-first solution was the answer to many of the industry’s HCP engagement woes. But that meant we had to push ZING beyond just SMS text messaging. And today we are excited to announce a whole new product suite designed to help pharma brands easily execute their omnichannel HCP engagement strategies.

Introducing the ZING Engagement Suite

Today marks the official launch of the ZING Engagement Suite. This innovative suite of technologies is a comprehensive and compliant solution that enhances existing communication channels with features including text messaging, two-way voice and video calling, onscreen collaboration and form sharing, inbound communications with QR code scan, artificial intelligence (AI) assistance, signature capture, easy access integrations and more.

“The ZING Engagement Suite is the only platform available that equips pharmaceutical sales and marketing teams with everything they need to engage in compliant, one-to-one communication with healthcare professionals in a streamlined, digital-first manner; which is quickly becoming the norm,” stated P360 CEO and Founder Anupam Nandwana. “ZING integrates with leading CRMs and is full of powerful features that enhance any sales enablement strategy or workflow. But for HCPs, ZING offers a seamless, hassle-free experience that is seen as nothing different from their normal mobile communication method. There are no apps to download or logins and subscriptions for end-users to deal with.”

The expanded ZING Engagement Suite is the next generation of P360’s previously announced ZING Communication Module. Strengthened with several enterprise-grade features, the ZING Engagement Suite is a robust unified communications as a service (UCaaS) platform that enables pharmaceutical sales teams to engage with healthcare professionals via multiple modalities without barriers. This is something physicians have been asking for.

How the ZING Engagement Suite improves HCP engagement

The ZING Engagement Suite addresses all the pain points associated with traditional HCP engagement methods by enabling pharma sales and marketing teams to do all of the following and more.

1. Exchange SMS messages with HCPs: ZING’s two-way text messaging capabilities enable pharma reps to exchange messages with HCPs in support of logical and promotional messages, including digital media and attachments. Compliance approved templates and messages can be preloaded into the system, so that prescribers don’t receive content they shouldn’t. HCPs receive messages with ease and that are native to their mobile devices via SMS or WhatsApp.

SMS messaging improves HCP engagement by:

Enabling reps to overcome access issues associated with in-person visits
Removing dependence on emails, which often go to spam
Eliminating the need for cumbersome app downloads or HCP portal logins (too many apps and portals to log into and too many passwords to remember)
Helping reps navigate compliance challenges
Enabling reps to send digital assets instantly

2. Engage in two-way voice calling: ZING supports 1:1 voice communication between reps and HCPs from the same platform as SMS messaging. Reps are equipped with personalized phone numbers with local area codes for each territory. No special apps are required; users talk on their standard mobile phones and can separate work calls from personal.

Built-in two-way voice calling improves HCP engagement by:

Eliminating the need for multiple systems and devices
Giving HCPs more control over their communications
Enabling reps to communicate while driving
Making multimodal mobile communication easy
Enabling reps to make business or personal calls on the same device

3. Initiate instant video calling: With ZING, no installations are required for the invitee or host. And invitations can be sent via text message. The solution includes full video conferencing capabilities that are compatible with any device or browser. The user interface (UI) can even be custom branded.

Two-way video calling/instant video calling improves HCP engagement by:

Enabling instant video calls with HCPs, which is now a must
Eliminating the need for prescriber to use a laptop or desktop for video
Making video calls easy, without the need for app logins
Removing compatibility issues with video software and codecs
Eliminating issues with Zoom-like scheduling and link sharing

4. Embed video anywhere: ZING enables instant video calling from any digital channel. Call buttons can be embedded in presentations, IVAs, branded materials, websites, within CRM systems, etc. And the best part is, software installation isn’t required for the HCP.

Video embedded anywhere improves HCP engagement by:

Making it easy for HCPs to instantly connect with pharma reps
Allowing HCPs to use any devices to coordinate a video call
Automatically routing calls to the appropriate rep
Eliminating the need for cumbersome service queues
Removing the risk of missed calls or emails

5. Deploy intelligent bots: ZING can even power pharma reps with automated responses to inbound requests (e.g., co-pay card requests). And when needed, reps can seamlessly transition back to themselves. The bots can even be personalized for each territory, rep and brand.

Intelligent bots improve HCP engagement by:

Removing compliance issues
Giving HCPs instant access to what they want, when they want it
Eliminates missed follow-ups when out of office or out of reach
Removing white space issues
Simplifying access to reps and important drug information

6. Capture signatures instantly: With ZING, pharma reps can integrate signature capture into the SMS channel. This helps them maintain compliance with auto-fill documents. And the platform makes it easy to integrate data and documents into systems of record.

Signature capture improve HCP engagement by:

Eliminating the need for paper documents
Removing the need for old, outdated fax machines
Giving HCPs a way to sign required forms digitally
Eliminating the need for additional in-person visits
Enabling the ordering of samples remotely

7. Make communication easy with QR codes: ZING makes it easy for pharma reps to provide HCPs with QR codes, which is a type of barcode that can be read by a smart phone. Like links, QR codes enable instant text, call or video communication. The QR codes can even be personalized for each brand. And they can be programmed to connect directly to appropriate rep.

QR codes improve HCP engagement by:

Removing the need for business cards, which are easily lost
Making it easy to keep contact information up to date, even with turnover, etc.
Making it easy for HCPs to remember what drug goes with which rep
Streamlining communications
Eliminating the need for emails, phone calls and in-person visits

8. Co-Browse and share forms: ZING enables pharma reps to work collaboratively with HCPs and staff. Reps can share forms and other important documents without the need for in-person visits, email or fax machines. And pharma teams can collect, validate and process information instantly with no additional software required on the HCP’s end.

Co-Browse and form share improve HCP engagement by:

Eliminating the need for paper forms
Enabling forms to be signed digitally
Reducing errors or inefficiencies like forgotten forms in the office or trunk
Allowing pharma reps and HCPs to remotely collaborate on forms for complex therapy
Enabling pharma reps to help with forms instantly and from any location

9. Easy scheduling: ZING includes a smart scheduling engine that helps reps easily book multiparty appointments. HCPs can accept or suggest available times instantly. And calendaring integrates easily with MS Office.

Easy scheduling improves HCP engagement by:

Giving prescribers more control over their schedules
Enabling the coordination of meetings across multiple calendars
Providing timely reminders about meetings
Offering prescribers instant access to a reps availability
Making it easy for HCPs to reschedule, when needed

10. AI-powered content moderation: ZING’s built-in, AI-powered content moderation tools help ensure that HCPs never get the wrong message. The system can be programmed to block certain words and phrases. And it can also be used as an added layer of protection for compliance.

AI moderation improves HCP engagement by:

Eliminating the risk of unapproved language or phrases
Protecting against the accidental sending of messages
Enabling compliance measures for off script text
Eliminating the risk of offensive or inappropriate text
Protecting against sending misinformation

With the ZING Engagement Suite, pharma teams can exchange compliant two-way unified messaging with healthcare professionals without barriers. There are no apps for end-users to download and there are no subscriptions for them to deal with. To HCPs, ZING offers a seamless, hassle-free experience that’s seen as nothing different than their normal method for receiving texts. This is something HCPs are asking for.

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“ZING is a powerful unified communications platform that’s helping pharma deliver compliant, unified one-to-one communication that’s not only targeted but that is welcome,” added Nandwana.

During a Webinar³ session with P360 CEO Anupam Nandwana, double board-certified physician Dr. Mandira Mehra confirmed that, from a doctor’s standpoint, communication with pharma reps has become inefficient. Although an integral part of a physician’s work, she noted that the process of accessing or contacting reps can be very frustrating.

“Physicians want engagement at their own pace, at their own time, and they want to initiate it,” said Dr. Mehra. “I still have a stack of business cards with the information of 20-30 different pharmaceutical and medical device reps. I cannot think of any other industry that would do that—if I order food or call a cab, everything is streamlined and really done through the phone.”

The ZING Engagement Suite enables personalized 1:1 communication using native text messaging on a HCPs iOS or Android device with pre-built integrations with major CRMs. This makes it easy for pharma IT teams in terms of data management and integrity for things like territory alignments, roster changes and other specific data integration needs. Compliance can track every communication, end-to-end. And managers can measure activity and results with ZING’s powerful dashboards.

For more information, check out this short demonstration video.

References:-

1. https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/comment/virtual-engagement-covid-pharmaceutical-companies/

2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4029126/

3. https://www.brighttalk.com/webcast/9977/476914/the-digital-transformation-of-pharma-s-physician-engagement-strategies

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