Today’s world is undoubtedly dominated by ever-shifting tendencies. Social media dictates what is “in” and what is not and influencers are having a major impact on the way consumers, and service providers behave. One very significant group of influencers are Key Opinion Leaders, also known as KOLs. They are considered thought leaders that play a key role in the healthcare field. This group is mainly composed of trusted and well-respected physicians, hospital or health system directors, and researchers whose experience and expertise in the healthcare field greatly influence pharmaceutical medical companies and patients alike with their textbooks, articles, trials and presentations.
Medical Research
Some physicians and researchers may become very prominent key opinion leaders when they find new treatments for rare diseases and are able to publish their work in peer-reviewed medical journals. Hence, key opinion leaders usually carry significant influence within their communities because of the awareness they are able to create on new drugs, therapies or medical tools. On the other hand, they can help in boosting sales and exposure for medical suppliers and pharmaceutical companies and access their target audience.
Key opinion leaders are known to have a powerful influence on the therapeutic choices of healthcare professionals, whilst providing credibility to pharmaceutical companies and the scientific community. They play a pivotal role in offering insight into specific diseases, treatments, as well as research. They deliver trustworthy information crucial for clinical trial designs and product improvement.
Scientific and Academic background
KOLs come from a diverse range of roles, backgrounds and geographical locations. Some are speakers at national and international conferences and most often publish their work in the most reputable medical journals. Others are board members of renowned organizations or participate in clinical trials and treat many patients within a specific area of expertise. These KOLs have a close relationship with renowned academic medical centres and institutions to which they are affiliated and constantly collaborating. They establish links with the best researchers within a therapeutic area and have strong ties with authors and publishers of scientific journals within their speciality area. Due to all these factors, KOLs can offer crucial insight and opinions that are critical to the development of a safe and effective pharmaceutical product.
This is the reason why within the model of communication of pharmaceutical companies there is a special place for KOLs. They rely on KOLs to act as consultants to the companies and to influence doctors’ medical practice and their prescribing behaviour. KOLs and companies deeply depend on each other in a symbiotic relationship. The companies give the KOLs status and exposure, which in turn motivates researchers, scientists, and academics to work for them. At the same time, KOLs support these companies in the development and marketing of their products, acting as major influencers.
Feedback to Pharma companies
KOLs will usually convey commercially relevant content with an academic background. The value and credibility of the content is elevated, acting as an effective strategy for reaching researchers, physicians and other customers and is often complemented by other marketing strategies. KOLs provide feedback for pharmaceutical companies, ultimately helping to create marketing strategies for that company’s products and a high level of impact on the wider industry. The boost given by social media to opinion-based influence has become very relevant in today’s consumer world. This new reality has brought wider inclusion and broadened participation and debate within the healthcare knowledge landscape offering new and diverse perspectives on healthcare topics.
Industry Voices
The importance of key opinion leaders lies in their ability to influence the market and the consumers’ trends. Since they are trusted and respected in the field, they have built a certain authority and trustworthiness, and have the influence to pass on their information, findings and opinions. They help give insight about topics related to therapies, treatments, drug trial designs, medical tools, diagnoses, and information related to diseases. This ultimately has an impact on the use of a medical or pharmaceutical product or service and will not only guide the marketing strategies and objectives of pharmaceutical and healthcare companies, but it will also potentially affect the trends within the industry.
