Using Gamification to Improve Product Launch Success in Pharma and Medtech

Launching a new product is always a challenging task, particularly when it comes to healthcare products. The healthcare sector is highly regulated, and HCPs need to be trained adequately to ensure that they understand the product's benefits, side effects, and mechanism of action. Traditional training methods might not be enough to keep HCPs engaged and motivated to learn, resulting in poor knowledge retention and low participation rates. Therefore, companies need to find innovative ways to make learning fun and engaging, and that's where gamification comes into play.

How Gamification Can Improve Product Launch Success

Gamification is the process of using game design elements and mechanics in non-game contexts to engage users and solve problems. In the context of product launches, gamification can be used to create an immersive and interactive learning experience that encourages participation and knowledge retention. By using gamification, companies can:

Increase Knowledge Levels

Gamification can be used to push knowledge in a similar way to a social media feed, making it easy and convenient for busy individuals to participate and learn. Micro-activities that only take a minute to complete are perfect for those who have limited time. The use of gamification also makes learning fun, social, and engaging, which encourages participation. By providing insights into knowledge gaps, companies can use gamification to identify areas where employees need more training and focus efforts on closing those gaps.

Improve Engagement

Mobile-friendly gamification makes it easy and convenient for busy individuals to participate and learn. The use of gamification also makes learning fun, social, and engaging, which encourages participation. By creating immersive and interactive learning experiences, gamification can help increase engagement and motivation, leading to better knowledge retention and improved performance.

Provide Insights into Knowledge Gaps

Gamification can be used to track and analyze user behavior, providing valuable insights into knowledge gaps and training needs. By analyzing user performance, companies can identify areas where employees need more training and focus efforts on closing those gaps. This can lead to more effective training programs and better knowledge retention.

How to Get Started with Gamification

Getting started with gamification for product launches is easy and can be done at any stage of the launch. If the launch is planned for the future, it's a good idea to start using gamification for all training of the field force. If the launch is happening in the next few months, it's a good time to start using gamification to boost knowledge. If the launch has already happened, a retention check might be necessary to help employees remember what they've learned. Regardless of the stage of the product launch, gamification can be used to improve knowledge levels and engagement.

A Real-World Example: Abbott Brazil

One real-world example of the successful use of gamification in product launches is Abbott Brazil. Abbott Brazil used gamification to launch a new product to its field force. The launch included a five-day game that was open to 92 players and included 140 questions across seven categories. The game was a success, with 115 questions answered by each player, reducing the knowledge gap from 27.5% to 7.5% by the end of the game. This example shows how gamification can be used to increase knowledge levels and engagement, leading to better product launch success.

Conclusion

Gamification is a valuable tool that can be used to improve the success of product launches. By using mobile-friendly gamification apps such as Atrivity, companies can increase knowledge levels, provide insights into knowledge gaps, and improve engagement. Getting started with gamification is easy and can be done at any stage of the product launch. By making learning fun, social, and engaging, companies can encourage participation and make the product launch successful.

In summary, gamification is a powerful tool for pharmaceutical companies to improve the success of product launches. By making learning fun and engaging, companies can increase knowledge retention and participation rates among employees and HCPs. Furthermore, gamification allows companies to identify knowledge gaps and focus training efforts on areas where employees need more support. By following the best practices outlined in this article and leveraging gamification technology, companies can ensure a successful product launch and improve their bottom line.