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Choosing the Right Marketing KPIs for Life Sciences and Biotech

Now we can measure so much, which metrics really matter for life sciences, pharma and biotech brands? Frequently cited “challenge areas” for these brands are measurement, metrics and KPIs. As a data-driven marketing firm serving this industry specifically, we find recurring marketing shortfalls within our brand audits.

Less than 10% had SMART objectives linked to their KPIs
Less than 40% of marketing plans included KPIs with a clear timeline and target
Only 1 in 3 marketing plans included an explicit budget for market research, measurement and tracking

“Every patient experience now generates rivers of data, which, if pooled intelligently, can trace a detailed portrait of a patient’s health and, when aggregated with other data streams, can coalesce into deep reservoirs of knowledge about entire disease states and patient populations.”
– PwC, Pharma 2020

Measurement is used to monitor and track performance. The primary purpose of this is to drive improvements and help teams focus on what will make this happen. By measuring the right things, the data informs the organization. The wrong things mislead it.

How Data Informs Your Organization

• Describes where progress has been made

• Indicates where performance is heading

• Determines whether something is going wrong

• Identifies when targets have been met

So which marketing KPIs are most useful within this industry?

Sales activity; actual vs planned over specific time period
>>Are we adequately executing our marketing plan?
Paid marketing; spend compared against conversions over project life or timed duration
>>Can our marketing content be more effectively placed?

Account leads; sales and targets within key territories, patient areas or hospital accounts
Prescribing or usage rates
>>Is our audience the correct one, and are we reaching them?

Market share; actual vs target
>> Is our marketing activity leading to strategic business growth?

Remember, GOOD KPIs are aligned with business vision and strategy. Each metric can demonstrate its contribution to the overall business strategic objectives.

Metrics should be the following.

Actionable, replicable, and predictive
Consistent in what it measures, otherwise its comparison value is useless
Trackable over time and capable of comparison against external benchmarks (which can include another unit at your company, a competitor, or an industry benchmark)

There is a significant increase in the sources of healthcare measurement information and this data should be put to good use. Pressure from an increasingly complex environment of customers, digital channels, and disruptive competitors requires a strong set of strategic KPIs. If you’re ready to outpace the competition, get your free market playbook specific to life sciences, biotech and pharma brands. Then let’s talk.