Why Life Sciences must reinvent Customer Engagement

Life sciences companies have been investing enormous sums in marketing and sales for years. Budgets of 25 to 35 percent of turnover are not uncommon. But despite these large expenditures, many are unable to reach medical staff, nurses and patients in a truly effective manner. The ratio of effort to results is unbalanced.

The reasons for this are complex: digital platforms are often fragmented, processes are still analogue or only minimally integrated, and employees do not have the digital skills required to work with AI and generative AI. While customers expect information to be available, personalised and relevant at all times, many companies still rely on push-oriented models.

The future looks different:

• From push to pull
• From channel silos to customer engagement ecosystems
• From isolated tools to integrated experiences

Today's customers want pull instead of push – they seek out information themselves

Customer behaviour has changed fundamentally. Medical staff, nurses and patients actively and independently search for information – they want content on demand and not imposed on them. Social media, digital communities and search engines now have a greater influence on the customer journey than field visits or generic newsletters.

A Deloitte study shows that 71 per cent of customers expect personalised interactions. Those who fail to deliver are simply ignored.

At the same time, the pace of technological development is rapidly increasing. According to EY, almost 80 per cent of CIOs in the life sciences sector plan to invest between five and 25 per cent of their IT budget in generative AI over the next two years. The goal is clear: to accelerate innovation cycles and increase productivity.

The message is clear: companies must massively increase their digital maturity, or they risk falling behind.

Where the industry stands – and where the problems lie

Although pharmaceutical and medtech companies are continuously increasing their budgets, progress is modest. A look at the distribution:

• Pharmaceuticals: Six to 14 per cent marketing (up to 20 per cent for large companies), ten to 15 per cent sales, three to seven per cent services.
• Medtech: Five to ten percent marketing (up to 20 percent for start-ups), 15 to 25 percent sales, five to ten percent services.

But money alone is not enough. The biggest obstacles:

• Pull instead of push: Towards lateral, networked thinking and target group-specific content delivery.
• Lack of digital maturity: Platforms are fragmented, integrations are inadequate.
• Inconsistent customer journeys: Marketing, sales and service work alongside each other instead of with each other.
• New channels remain unused: Social media or communities peter out in pilot projects (‘death through piloting’).
• Skill gap: Employees are not prepared for new technologies.

The result: high investment, but little impact.

The customer engagement ecosystem

A customer engagement ecosystem goes far beyond traditional CRM systems. It describes an integrated and networked architecture that synchronises all touchpoints and enables consistent and personalised experiences.

Four pillars are crucial:

• 1. People and culture: Digital skills, collaborative working and a customer-oriented mindset.
• 2. Processes: Coordinated, digitised processes across marketing, sales and service.
• 3. Technology: Integrated, flexible IT infrastructure (e.g. CRM, marketing automation, patient portals, omnichannel systems).
• 4. Data and analytics: 360-degree view of the customer for informed decisions and personalised interactions.

Such an ecosystem creates the basis for meeting customer expectations in real time – from personalised journeys to dynamic service offerings.

Practical examples: How push becomes pull

Example 1: Sales

• Traditional (push): Field service visit, followed by a standard email. Communication remains one-sided and generic.
• Ecosystem (pull): Medical staff receive personalised content tailored to their profile. A blog article refers to further studies and a virtual event. The CRM records clicks and interactions, and the sales representative receives insights for the next conversation.

The result: A data-driven, personalised approach.

Example 2: Service & patient support

• Traditional (push): Patients call a hotline. There is no history, so every contact starts from scratch.
• Ecosystem (pull): Patients ask their questions via the website. An AI-powered chatbot responds immediately with validated information. The service employee sees the entire history, adds specific details and continues the conversation.

The result: seamless service, higher satisfaction.

Maturity analysis: clarity instead of tool chaos

Many companies invest in CRM, marketing automation or service systems – but they use them in isolation. The result: isolated solutions instead of added value.

This is where the adesso maturity analysis comes in. It not only evaluates which systems are available, but also how they are actually used and how well they harmonise with each other.

We distinguish between four levels of digital maturity:

• 1. Beginners: Rudimentary tools, generic communication, manual processes. ‘One size fits all’.
• 2. Developers: Initial digital initiatives, fragmented tool landscape, no cross-channel coordination or holistic strategy.
• 3. Trailblazers: Provision of an integrated architecture, active use of data for personalisation, cross-channel customer communication
• 4. Innovators: Real-time personalisation, use of AI & GenAI as a strategic enabler, culture of continuous innovation. 1:1 communication

The seven dimensions of maturity analysis

The maturity analysis shows where your customer engagement stands today, where there are gaps, and which steps have the greatest leverage. Seven dimensions are evaluated, classified into four maturity levels from beginners to innovators.

• 1. Digital platform landscape: The path leads from isolated solutions to API-first and composable architectures. Are the existing IT systems (e.g. Veeva, Salesforce, CRM and omnichannel systems) modern and integrated?
• 2. Content strategy: From static PDFs to modular, AI-personalised content. How does the content generation process work? How are customer sentiments incorporated into content generation? Standard versus personalised, static versus dynamic/AI-based.
• 3. Customer centricity: From push channels to real-time journeys with next-best-action. How are needs and expectations captured, understood and met? Push vs. pull, channels, patient/HCP experience.
• 4. Process digitisation: From manual handovers to signal-driven closed loop. How efficient are internal processes in marketing, sales and service? Are there automated workflows – such as marketing automation, sales enablement or service journeys?
• 5. Data and analytics: From channel reports to a 360-degree view and real-time insights. How is data collected, analysed and used to gain insights about customers and enable personalised interactions? Data silos versus integrated Customer 360°.6. Skill sets & organisation: From heroism to cross-functional product teams. Do employees have the necessary digital skills and an agile way of working? Are they trained accordingly? Keywords: digital competence or change readiness.
• 7. AI & GenAI adoption: From PoCs to productive and validated use cases with business impact.

Using new technologies to increase productivity. Pilot projects versus strategic use.

The result: A heat map, a radar chart and a prioritised roadmap.

The value of maturity analysis in a nutshell:

• Identify gaps: The analysis shows where processes, technologies and skills are not harmonised.
• Develop strategy: The analysis provides a clear, step-by-step plan for digital transformation.
• Optimise investments: The analysis ensures that the budget is used in a targeted and efficient manner.
• Improve customer experience: The analysis enables a seamless and consistent experience across all channels.
• Promote internal alignment: The analysis brings marketing, sales and service onto a common footing.
• Make success measurable: The analysis creates an objective basis for evaluating progress and impact.

Conclusion: The turning point is now

Life sciences companies are at a crossroads. Customers have long since taken control. Those who continue to cling to old patterns will become invisible in a few years.

Only those who consistently modernise their customer engagement ecosystem will remain relevant.