Learning Launch Approach in Severe Asthma Promotional Space

Challenge:

One of our marketing team came to my analytics team with the following request.  The marketing  team had just launched an interactive Facebook Asthma Assessment via Messenger Chatbot to help  patients determine their level of asthma and link them to the relevant product information  dependent on their severity levels.  The team now wanted our analytics team to put our stamp of  approval on this costly new promotion.

BACKGROUND: Our company markets a severe asthma biologic and wants to increase awareness.   Our market research shows that many severe asthmatics don’t identify as having severe asthma.   Almost 80% of eligible patients are not currently treated.   This is about 265K patients in the US (see  chart below).

Facebook was chosen because of its market leadership in user healthcare research and because it  would be a new partnership for our company.  “Facebook is the undisputed leader of the pack with  close to 700-million registered users, including nearly half of the American population. But more  important than size alone, Facebook is fast becoming a primary resource for users looking for health  information.”  SOURCE: https://www.healthcaresuccess.com/blog/medical-marketing-advertising/facebook- fundamentals.html

Selection:

Since the marketing team had already done most of the storytelling aspects of this promotion  (example below) and the promotion was already live, my team decided to bring in the learning  launch approach to ensure we get the most out of the live promotional experience.  This also  allowed us to redefine the promotion as an experiment.

The learning launch approach has you define a customer and a specific need that's causing the pain  and explain how your idea meets that need better than other options.  Then the focus is on a specific  hypothesis you are testing and determine measurable facts that can either confirm or disconfirm the  hypothesis.  In other words, we were going to structure this promotion for fast learning and  modification and be very clear about success/failure metrics.

Application:

We had two 1/2 day sessions using the learning launch approach to determine our hypothesis and  measurement of this promotion.  The framework allowed for a very frank discussion and alignment  on what good truly looks like.  We also agreed to only run the promotion for 6 weeks for an ability to  quickly refine or make a GO/NO GO decision.

Below is some of the output from our session.  The first session focused on the customer need and  the value proposition we are trying to address with this pilot (i.e. our hypothesis).  The second  session focused on measuring the hypothesis.

Defined the Customer and their Need:  Women above the age of 45 who had untreated severe  asthma and do not realize that their asthma is considered severe.  These are customers that are very  interactive and build relationships on Facebook.

Hypothesis / Value Proposition:  Our Facebook Chatbot Interactive Asthma Assessment would allow  asthmatics to interactively evaluate their type of asthma utilizing a familiar/comfortable platform

and determine if they may need a conversation with their provider about medications beyond just an  inhaler.

•  PRO: More interactive promotional approach  o  Feasibility of chat bots in a regulated environment  o  Facebook Messenger as a vehicle to drive qualified traffic  o  Automation as a customer engagement vehicle    •  CON:  Is a chatbot promotion truly full-filling this patient need?  We have no way to link to  patient intent and satisfaction after interaction.  This needs to be addressed in future pilots,  if we decided to go forward after the initial 6 weeks.

Measurable Facts:

•  Facebook targeting is sophisticated and will serve up chatbot to appropriate Asthmatic  customers who are in engaging.    o  Set Goal CTR  o  Set Goal for % Severe Asthmatics determined by the Assessment  •  What is the high value actions we expect patients to take to show high engagement at the  end of assessment?  o  Customer Relationship registrations on brand website    We have baseline weekly registrations on website from other promotions  o  Time Spent on Website  •  Cost of Patient Leads as compared to other digital patient engagements.  We set a  benchmark for cost per lead.

Insight:

The learning launch approach allowed us to refocus the Facebook promotion as a learning  experiment with less judgement and less time and money spent.  We were able to align on the  promotion purpose and measurement, which made the subsequent conversations on performance  much easier.  Any low metrics were not seen as a failure but as a key learning that will improve  future experiments.

We also ended up coming up with a variety of alternative promotions for us to try in the future to  better meet the customer need.  If we had done the learning launch approach before the pilot went  live, we probably would have moved forward with a different experimental design.

Approach:

The learning launch tool was the right tool for this situation.  It allowed us to ensure we get the most  learning out of the new promotion in the least amount of time.  In the future the marketing teams  have committed to having these learning launch sessions before a new marketing approach is rolled  out.  That way we can better assess the various hyphothesis/options as a team and make an  informed decision rather than coming in after the fact.


Learning Launch Approach in Severe Asthma Promotional Space Challenge : One of our marketing team came to my analytics team with the following request . The marketing team had just launched an interactive Facebook Asthma Assessment via Messenger Chatbot to help patients determine their level of asthma and link them to the relevant product information dependent on their severity levels . The team now wanted our analytics team to put our stamp of approval on this costly new promotion . BACKGROUND : Our company markets a severe asthma biologic and wants to increase awareness . Our market research shows that many severe asthmatics do n’t identify as having severe asthma . Almost 80 % of eligible patients are not currently treated . This is about 265 K patients in the US ( see chart below ) . Facebook was chosen because of its market leadership in user healthcare research and because it would be a new partnership for our company . “ Facebook is the undisputed leader of the pack with close to 700 - million registered users , including nearly half of the American population . But more important than size alone , Facebook is fast becoming a primary resource for users looking for health information . ” SOURCE : https://www.healthcaresuccess.com/blog/medical-marketing-advertising/facebook- fundamentals.html Selection : Since the marketing team had already done most of the storytelling aspects of this promotion ( example below ) and the promotion was already live , my team decided to bring in the learning launch approach to ensure we get the most out of the live promotional experience . This also allowed us to redefine the promotion as an experiment . The learning launch approach has you define a customer and a specific need that 's causing the pain and explain how your idea meets that need better than other options . Then the focus is on a specific hypothesis you are testing and determine measurable facts that can either confirm or disconfirm the hypothesis . In other words , we were going to structure this promotion for fast learning and modification and be very clear about success / failure metrics . Application : We had two 1/2 day sessions using the learning launch approach to determine our hypothesis and measurement of this promotion . The framework allowed for a very frank discussion and alignment on what good truly looks like . We also agreed to only run the promotion for 6 weeks for an ability to quickly refine or make a GO / NO GO decision . Below is some of the output from our session . The first session focused on the customer need and the value proposition we are trying to address with this pilot ( i.e. our hypothesis ) . The second session focused on measuring the hypothesis . Defined the Customer and their Need : Women above the age of 45 who had untreated severe asthma and do not realize that their asthma is considered severe . These are customers that are very interactive and build relationships on Facebook . Hypothesis / Value Proposition : Our Facebook Chatbot Interactive Asthma Assessment would allow asthmatics to interactively evaluate their type of asthma utilizing a familiar / comfortable platform and determine if they may need a conversation with their provider about medications beyond just an inhaler . • PRO : More interactive promotional approach o Feasibility of chat bots in a regulated environment o Facebook Messenger as a vehicle to drive qualified traffic o Automation as a customer engagement vehicle • CON : Is a chatbot promotion truly full - filling this patient need ? We have no way to link to patient intent and satisfaction after interaction . This needs to be addressed in future pilots , if we decided to go forward after the initial 6 weeks . Measurable Facts : • Facebook targeting is sophisticated and will serve up chatbot to appropriate Asthmatic customers who are in engaging . o Set Goal CTR o Set Goal for % Severe Asthmatics determined by the Assessment • What is the high value actions we expect patients to take to show high engagement at the end of assessment ? o Customer Relationship registrations on brand website  We have baseline weekly registrations on website from other promotions o Time Spent on Website • Cost of Patient Leads as compared to other digital patient engagements . We set a benchmark for cost per lead . Insight : The learning launch approach allowed us to refocus the Facebook promotion as a learning experiment with less judgement and less time and money spent . We were able to align on the promotion purpose and measurement , which made the subsequent conversations on performance much easier . Any low metrics were not seen as a failure but as a key learning that will improve future experiments . We also ended up coming up with a variety of alternative promotions for us to try in the future to better meet the customer need . If we had done the learning launch approach before the pilot went live , we probably would have moved forward with a different experimental design . Approach : The learning launch tool was the right tool for this situation . It allowed us to ensure we get the most learning out of the new promotion in the least amount of time . In the future the marketing teams have committed to having these learning launch sessions before a new marketing approach is rolled out . That way we can better assess the various hyphothesis / options as a team and make an informed decision rather than coming in after the fact .