Key
Opinion Leaders
(KOLs) are often associated with pharmaceutical and medical practices for
information and knowledge pitches. They are highly rated physicians or
academics who influence academic, pharmaceutical and medical peers groups on
current standards and latest research findings.
Studies have shown that one of the most
effective ways of determining KOL
is to have a select academic, pharmaceutical or medical peer group respond to
opinion polls regarding who is the most influential amongst them. These studies
call attention to a number of things to contemplate when rating people who
influence their fields in particular areas. This is particularly essential in
healthcare consulting. A key opinion leader was defined by the following basic
characteristics:
- Speak regularly at conferences either, regional, national or international
- Consistently sought after for advice or opinions by their colleagues
- Have a wealth of published articles in major journals especially during the past 2 years
- Help institute procedures for patient care
- Champion the use of new procedures or treatments
From the foregoing, key opinion leaders, are those people within a
professional peer group who are the most influential. They are the people who
command the respect and followership of others. KOLs are people others are
watching.
Early in the drug development process, pharmaceutical companies
generally secure the services of key opinion leaders to provide promotional
activities and vital marketing reactions.
More than for mere knowledge of facts or other attributes, KOLs
are often times chosen for their high endorsement and influential habits on
their peers. Physicians are more stimulated by true thought-leaders with
pristine academic or clinical credentials.
So, pharmaceutical companies engage KOLs to consult for them, conduct
clinical trials, give lectures, and occasionally, make product presentations on
their behalf to targeted audiences. No wonder, marketers are interested in this
idea. Mass media advertising can burn holes in the pockets of budgetary
allocations. With KOLs, they can conveniently avoid the masses and simply concentrate
on a target audience. Today the pharmaceutical industry uses the terms key opinion leader or thought leader to refer to high-status
physicians, who are oftentimes distinguished academic research fellows and are unarguably
effective communicators.
The concept of key opinion leader is an infusion of celebrity
spokes-person, societal buzz, and that of fame or popularity. KOLs do not, at
least in any obvious ways, endorse drugs directly but their expert judgments
can be relied upon to market them using words-of-mouth, and other quasi-academic
activities such as sponsored symposia, lectures and seminars, or even
ghost-written articles in medical journals. Though pharmaceutical companies
seek out persuasive high-caliber key opinion leaders with plausible and
imposing academic credentials, one should note that status is just one of the
reasons why KOLs are influential. The
mere fact that a KOL is independent, at least in theory, is a very
consequential factor.
Most marketers would like to have a convincing, influential, and
apparently independent expert who will deliver the text that they give him.
It’s all about the hype. It’s all about sales. A high velocity speaker is
directly proportional to high velocity sales, so goes the marketing thought
process. To know more visit www.lucid-group.co.uk/
