Missing the behavioral science that cracks the launch code?

(6-minute read)
Launches are the lifeblood of the life science industry. The ongoing stream of hard-won innovation alone should be enough to ensure growth. Yet, over the last two decades, more than half of launches failed to meet consensus forecasts-many underperforming by 20% or more1. Experts attribute this failure to launch to a variety of factors2,3, including market access barriers, poor perceived differentiation, incomplete understanding of market needs, and inappropriate resource allocation. In some cases, unfavorable clinical findings or unexpected events happened, but too often the main reason for launch failure was largely in the control of the company.

While life science organizations tout “patient first,” in practice they think about the end customers too late in the development process. It’s understandable, because these later customers compete with the needs of more immediate customers, like: investors or C-suite leaders who are focused on derisking milestones, “potential business development partners who are looking for portfolio fit,” and key opinion leaders (KOLs) who are focused on their own scientific interests and are typically far removed from those who will be selecting and using the asset day to day. Feedback from these early customers shape development and launch decisions which, unfortunately, may be less helpful when it comes to planning for the everyday customer or end user. Even more, the company is consumed with meeting the needs of these near-term customers to keep development on track. That means any prelaunch tactics are being implemented without a distinct, long-term launch strategy in mind.

The missing launch ingredient: A behavioral case

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At Lime, we see clients across all company sizes missing the behavioral case for the asset or technology. For sure, safety, efficacy, and the clinical case establish the core evidence. And cost-effectiveness versus the current standard and impact on total cost outlay make the economic case for those paying for it. However, no matter the differentiated value, any new asset or technology often requires a corresponding change in beliefs and/or behaviors within the customer ecosystem in order for the launch to succeed. For example:

  • A new injectable with superior efficacy to existing pills will still have difficulty achieving first-line use among doctors and squeamish patients. That’s because as a habit, injectables are reserved for later if other options fail…and no one likes getting shots. So, what’s the behavioral case for this new injectable?
  • A new hardware solution which results in a lower net cost seems like a no-brainer. But it requires the office to make an investment upfront, only to (hopefully) get paid back later. This new workflow competes with a long-standing business model that must be unraveled before a customer will be convinced. So, what’s the behavioral case for this new hardware solution?

The Behavioral Case Begins Today

Whether you’re in a big company with a comprehensive launch planning process, a start-up where things are less defined, or somewhere in between, the behavioral case must be the cornerstone ingredient of any launch. Hence, it must be crafted early on in the development process to ensure evidence, influencers, and the product itself solve the problems of these everyday customers. And in parallel, it must ensure it’s not introducing new pain points or requiring massive market development “education” investments that drain launch resources. Lime recommends these four actions for success:
Make it an Early Deliverable When it comes to a successful launch, all roads lead back to the customer. Cracking the launch code starts with cracking the customer code. The usual customer-centricity battle cry, “Don’t sell what you can make; make what you can sell,” isn’t how scientific discovery always happens in the life sciences. New medicines, therapies, and technologies tend to be developed along the lines of “what can we make?” rather than “what can we sell?”. This reality means that companies must take extra steps early on in the development process to identify the potential implications for the everyday customers and end users which might be a decade or more away. The behavioral case should accompany the target product profile or other formal milestone deliverables, so it doesn’t get lost along the way.
Designate a Champion Creating a behavioral case cannot be left to the commercial launch team who are getting ready to go to market in, say, the next 12 months. It requires a skilled, internal customer champion today, who’s looking at varying priority customers across the development cycle, integrating and sharing the evolving customer learning across different functions. She or he also has to have a credible, influential seat at the table to help the company navigate immediate needs in light of a longer-term, go-to-market strategy. The customer champion is helping the organization create strategic optionality with the asset. S/he also is corralling the organization around a common strategic foundation and ensuring short-term tactics are done in a way that amplifies the ultimate behavioral case. If you already have a New Product Planning or similar commercial-like role on the team, great…but be sure they are armed with both the skills and the clout to ensure the customer remains in the front of company decision making across the development process.

Follow the 4 Ps The sage wisdom found in the 4Ps of Marketing—Product, Place, Price, Promotion—can help teams think through customer implications coming out of the new asset or technology. After all, “launch” is simply marketing on steroids.

  • What new customer habit or paradigm will the PRODUCT require to be accepted and embedded?
  • What PLACE in the customer journey are the Moments that Matter and how will this asset create new tensions or pain points in the journey?
  • How will existing business models support or dissuade the new PRICE and what new costs (money, people, time) will be introduced to customers?
  • What will be the overall positioning and customer value propositions for the asset and how will you reach customers with effective PROMOTION in light of likely company resources?
Embrace Behavioral ScienceIt’s ironic. While we work in one of the most scientifically driven industries, we rarely leverage human behavioral science to inform why and how customer beliefs and behaviors are influenced and changed. It’s not that we in the industry are impassionate or money hungry, just the opposite—we care genuinely about doing good and many of the therapy areas we work in are deeply personal for us. It’s just that we get excited about our new asset and technology from our own inside-the-company view and aren’t able to separate that enthusiasm to consider how others outside the company might perceive it, let alone be interested in it. We’re far removed from the everyday lives of our everyday customers, making it hard to “walk in their shoes.” As the behavioral case is being developed, it’s important to remember that human brains are selfish, focused on their own context and needs. They aren’t paying attention to you, they aren’t rational, and they can’t tell you how to solve their problems.
To change people’s minds and actions, you have to meet people where they are, recognizing their own reliance on shortcuts and habits, selective memory, and cognitive bias. If the behavioral case relies heavily on customer education, that’s a red flag that you’re not meeting them where they are. How can the behavioral case lean into customers’ current state, rather than confront and oppose it? Crack the launch code by creating a behavioral case that matters.

Example of a Lime Treatment Pathway to
Crack the Launch Code

1

Marketing Way & Toolkit

Develop a streamlined strategic planning handbook with best practice tools to unify teams around the essential launch ingredients
2

Life Science Marketing Masterclasses

Deploy flexible, on-demand resources to ensure those involved know key concepts and have the critical skills to understand and create value for customers
3

Mastery-in-Action Workshops

Help cross-functional teams create a strategic roadmap to develop the behavioral case that addresses the needs of the priority customers at launch

Do you have the proven ingredients to crack the launch code?

Get started with Lime Marketing Strategy Definitions to help align your team around the essential components needed when building a launch plan.
If you’d like to brainstorm or learn how we’ve helped other leaders prepare more effectively for launch, reach out to schedule a free Let’s Grow! session.
Download the Definitions
Book a Let’s Grow! Session

Life Science Marketing Radio: Customer Obsession

Listen

Is Your SWOT Leaving Money on the Table?

Read

Embedding Launch Excellence

Read

1 Rosenorn, P., Jaquet, P., & Bilodeau, TG. (2020, December 18). Biopharma launch trends: Lessons learned from L.E.K.’s launch monitor. Retrieved October 2, 2023 from https://www.lek.com/insights/ei/biopharma-launch-trends-lessons-learned-leks-launch-monitor

2 Deloitte. (2022). Drug launches reflect overall company performance. Retrieved October 2, 2023, from https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/ industry/health-care/key-factors-for-successful-drug-launch.html
3 Fierce Pharma. (2021). Failure to launch. Retrieved October 2, 2023, from https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/half-drugs-launched-last-15-years-failed-to-meet-wall-street-s-expectations-report
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