Pharmaceutical Market Europe • July/August 2024 • 14
MIKE DIXON
MIKE DIXON
START SMART
Collecting the right data in the right way for the right reasons
If we are honest, we all know and believe measurement and evaluation are important and should be included in every communications campaign. But can we equally honestly say that thorough measurement and evaluation are part of every communications programme we are involved in?
If yes, please turn to the next page and keep doing what you are doing. However, research would suggest for many communicators, the answer would more likely be sometimes or rarely. What is causing this disconnect? Philosophy, time, budget? In reality, a combination of these and a host of other reasons. But are these real reasons or false justification? I would argue that if we truly believe in effective measurement and evaluation then we have the right philosophy. Also, that time and budget are excuses, not real barriers. This is not to say that evaluation doesn’t benefit from both of these, just that if we really want to make it happen, there are ways that do not need to be time or budget limited. So how do we instil a ubiquitous culture of measurement and evaluation? Well, Start SMART for one. But before we get there, let’s just consider why this whole discussion is important in the first place.
Why are measurement and evaluation important?
Firstly, they enable us to assess and demonstrate the value of healthcare communications activities for all stakeholders. This is essential for healthcare communications to further cement and enhance its position as a critical component of the marketing mix. As professionals, and as a sector, we must also continually learn and adapt, to ensure we consistently deliver our best work. This can only be achieved with effective measurement and evaluation against our objectives, to understand what is working well and what is not, where improvements could be made or activity enhanced.
Benchmarking
It is essential to know where you’re starting from to achieve effective measurement and evaluation. We must always ask this question, and importantly establish the answer, before any activity is planned. Similarly, unless we know where we want to get to, how can we possibly plan our journey? Effective benchmarking is therefore a prerequisite to be able to measure and evaluate the impact of any communications programme.
Be SMART
Too often evaluation is something considered at the end of a project when somebody asks: “How did it do?” or “What did we achieve?” By that point it’s too late. For measurement and evaluation to be effective they need to be integrated from the start. We need to ensure we are collecting the right data in the right way for the right reasons. So how do we embed the philosophy of measurement and evaluation into our programmes from the start, every time?
Actually, there is one very simple way. Something that is taught to all marketeers and communicators very early in their careers. Something as fundamental as a SWOT. And that’s setting a SMART objective. I have made the point that it is part of the foundations of learning strategy, but how often do you see a truly SMART objective? I would suggest where most objectives fall down is in the Measurables.
Measurables
Measurable requires much more than a binary answer. Yes, it may be measurable, but what, when and how are we going to measure, and what is the outcome we believe is Achievable and Relevant in the Timescale (or at suitable time points along the way)? Building these into our objective means we are, by definition, baking in measurement and evaluation from the start. Thinking this way, if we can’t afford, or don’t have the time/resources, to measure and evaluate, then we need to reconsider what our SMART objective should be so we can. That way, if we truly Start SMART we start on a path where measurement and evaluation are fully integrated within the activity itself and are not afterthought or bolt-ons that gets lost along the way. Then, if we don’t end up delivering something that we have measured and evaluated, we have most definitely failed in our objective.
Take the pledge
For our work to be the best and add most value, effective measurement and evaluation need to be synonymous with all communication programmes. To achieve this, Start SMART needs to become the healthcare communicator’s mantra. As communicators and marketeers, we all need to take the pledge to Start SMART every time.
Mike Dixon is CEO of the Healthcare Communications Association and a communications consultant
Pharmaceutical Market Europe (PME)
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