OL strategy and management examples
example 1 - mature product in need of OL review and focus
A global client with a specialist product several years post launch tasked central to help them review their opinion leader (OL) strategy and management. They had two main concerns:
- "Have we still got the right opinion leaders?"
- "We work with so many opinion leaders, we can't manage them all effectively"
Following a programme of OL profiling using centileTM, the project team identified two OL segments:
- segment (a) OLs who, despite having profiles and interests that no longer matched the needs of the brand, were engaged in many company sponsored activities
- segment (b) OLs with the skills and interest that the product needed, but were under-utilised or not engaged
Working closely with the client, central designed an OL plan that gradually and sensitively shifted focus from segment (a) to segment (b). The result was a win for the client in terms of a more powerful use of resource, but also for many of the OLs who felt that their time and expertise was being better utilised.
These plans were cut both by OL and internal staff member facilitating more streamlined and coordinated OL management. We then used our strategic knowledge of this area to help the client implement a number of key educational and meeting activities.
example 2 - a new area with unknown opinion leaders
A global client with a new product in a primary care setting needed to quickly understand which global opinion leaders they should build relationships with.
Using centileTM, in particular centile extrinsicTM which identified important OLs that the team was not aware of, central found and profiled a squad of OLs for the client to work with. Where necessary central met with the OLs to initiate contact and validate the profiling using centile directTM.