Company Report: Multiplica

COMPANY REPORT

David Boronat

President | Multiplica

Maintaining Relevance in Digital Marketing

Q: How have Multiplica’s services transformed the operations of your clients in the healthcare industry?

A: We have three major services in the healthcare sector. First, we help people understand how the information and decision circuits work in the healthcare ecosystem. Second, we help our clients define their digital roadmap so that they can get the most out of it according to their objectives and priorities. We help them connect with their audiences by opening new communication channels. Some clients have even invited us to go further and help them rethink their business model to generate value propositions for specific segments.

Finally, we create new interfaces that are born from the product. At Multiplica, we have been exploring immersive experiences such as augmented reality (AR) for some time now. We believe that the connection between smart packaging and AR can generate interesting opportunities. Some applications may facilitate product understanding or invite patients to their first digital engagement.

Q: What was your approach to breaking through digital saturation and achieving engagement, particularly with doctors?

A: In these cases, we usually recommend permission marketing, which means not being aggressive but building a valuable relationship with the user’s consent. In some cases, we can say more by saying less and this can also help retain interest. We incorporate layers of personalization and automation so we can identify the most accurate times and ways to approach clients to stay relevant.

Q: How would you assess the digital transformation of the pharmaceutical industry?

A: We have been in Mexico for seven years and we have seen an industry that is eager to close gaps with more mature markets, such as that of the US. The good thing about Mexico is that its critical mass is large enough for companies to make serious bets and have good results. One challenge that we have found in Mexico is that the organizational culture does not work in concert, which ends up generating friction. For digital marketing, we need to create convergence between multiple areas that might be compartmentalized and not harmonized.

The pharmaceutical industry has shown significant interest in joining the digital transformation and we are already collaborating with several companies. When it comes to planning projects, we must be clear on the KPIs we want to impact. From a quantitative perspective, our projects generally revolve around conversion issues, pushing life and value and reducing customer acquisition costs. From a qualitative point of view, we have created a methodology called Relevant Experience Index, which evaluates our clients’ digital experience.

Previously, Multiplica was focused in specific countries but in the last year we decided to globalize the company. We want to create relevant relationships for users, the key being “relevance.” We want to become “The Relevant Company,” and to achieve this goal we need a specific set of skills. Although we have most of them, they were spread across different countries. Hence our decision to integrate the multiple branches into one company and to integrate our multiple talents into global teams.

Gamification Enhances Treatment Effectiveness

The effectiveness of some treatments can sometimes be defined only after sustained use, calling innovators to develop support mechanisms to ensure patients adhere to their treatments. Multiplica aims to use gaming principles to spearhead innovation in adherence to treatment. By helping clients connect with their audience, pharmaceutical companies are able to create value propositions for specific segments, achieving a true impact for their treatments. “We help clients define their digital roadmap so that they can get the most out of their solutions according to their objectives and priorities,” said David Boronat, President of Multiplica.

Technology has been an ally for providers throughout this journey, as several companies support their treatments with apps to remind patients to take their medicines on time. However, poorly designed strategies are unlikely to have benefit patients. “A few months ago, a large pharmaceutical launched a platform for patients of a very specific condition. It spent around MX$4 million (US$200,000) and by the fourth month of use, 100 percent of the users had dropped out of the platform,” explains Alejandro Ruiz. Health Industry Global Head of Multiplica. “Many companies, especially in the health sector, launch digital projects without knowing and understanding the users, their context nor if the solution will solve their problem.”

To truly understand patients, companies need to empower patients and help them understand how to take care of their own health. According to WHO, by empowering patients, they are more likely to undertake actions that benefit them. The search for effective strategies to empower patients has led the industry to try innovative approaches, such as gamifying healthcare through interactive videos and virtual and augmented reality, among other tools. Thanks to the use of digital analytics for monitoring, doctors and laboratories can better understand the habits of these patients and predict their behavior. In addition, the incorporation of AI allows users to create alerts and intelligent notifications relevant to them, which helps them advance in their process.

Through gamification, Multiplica is helping clients in pharmaceutical laboratories to increase adherence to treatments. The company has created numerous relevant experiences for the pharmaceutical industry, with clients such as Grifols, Almirall, Novartis, Lilly and Amgen. Multiplica harnesses knowledge obtained through data, analysis and AI to drive new ways of connecting and interacting pharmaceutical companies with their stakeholders.

“The pharmaceutical industry has shown significant interest in joining the digital transformation through our solutions,” explains Boronat, “but that is because when it comes to planning projects, we must be clear on the KPIs we want to impact.” From a quantitative perspective, Multiplica projects generally revolve around conversion issues, pushing life and value and reducing customer acquisition costs. “From a qualitative point of view, we have created a methodology called Relevant Experience Index, which evaluates our clients’ digital experience,” said Boronat.

Health Industry Global Head | Multiplica

Data Analytics: Present and Future of the Health Sector

Q: Multiplica has worked with clients ranging from pharmaceuticals to hospitals. Why is the company the best ally for these companies?

A: We fully understand the needs, the pains and we know which tools and the process are needed to achieve a successful implementation. Likewise, we have the know-how regarding the industry, doctors and patients. We have experience and presence in the pharma sector and in different markets. Getting to know the doctor is super important and we are one of the few companies with a full understanding of the digital perspective.

A few months ago, a big pharma launched a platform for patients of a very specific condition. It spent around MX$4 million (US$200,000) and by the fourth month of use, 100 percent of the users had dropped out of the platform. Many companies, especially in the health sector, launch digital projects without knowing the users, their context nor if the solution will solve their problem, which is really important. If a company has digital platforms that are not performing well, Multiplica has a multidisciplinary agile team with the ability to transform itself as the project progresses. We first understand and evaluate what the problem is, and then design an ideal solution to it.

Q: What is the potential of the healthcare industry to keep growing in Mexico and how are you collaborating on this goal?

A: Many pharma labs have been looking at us to speed up their sales. Due to the pandemic, sales have slowed down for all companies. We developed a platform called Sales Acceleration that seeks to bring together all sources of information, which are displayed in dashboards boost with machine learning algorithms for the sales force so they can decide which channel to use to get in touch with the doctor and the information they should send to them according to our recommendations pushed by our AI. This optimizes marketing strategies and makes it easier for the sales force to gain the physicians’ adoption.

Multichannel strategies for pharma are one of the industry’s priorities and everything is focused on mailing and Salesforce. Another factor to consider is marketing budgets. In the past, companies invested 80 percent of their budget in traditional media and 20 percent in digital. Today, it is completely the opposite.

Q: What should the health industry focus on in terms of training its sales force and how do you help?

A: With labs, we believe the role of sales representatives will continue to be crucial. In a study we carried out to find the variables that most influence sales, we found that the most important is the relationship of the sales representatives with the doctor. Although we are all migrating to a digital world, these relationships remain vital. Human connections are an essential part of the sales process.

Older generations in the sales force are striving to adopt technological tools. However, many of the top salespeople are those who have better personal relationships, although they have not fully adopted technology. We help companies change their mindset and help them to learn about new technology tools and how to use them, to make the entire digital transformation model work.