Actionable Insights Mapping – A New Approach to KOL Mapping

This Thursday, March 24, KJT’s MJ Mazur, VP of Solutions Consulting and Andrea Stoltz, VP of Research will share their learnings at the Intellus Worldwide Summit 2022 with a presentation titled: ‘Actionable Insights Mapping – A New Approach to KOL Mapping.’

At this year’s global, virtual conference, MJ and Andrea will describe a new approach they’ve developed to help KJT’s clients identify and engage a broader spectrum of influencers in a nascent therapy space.

Check in later this week for a video recording of the presentation. In the meantime, learn more about MJ and Andrea – and hear what they have to say about the evolving face of Key Opinion Leaders:

Q:           MJ, can you tell us a little about your background and how you ended up at KJT?   

MJM:    Prior to KJT, I worked at a number of research companies as both a qual moderator and a quant researcher. I have international experience, having been based in London at one point, where I managed a research team. Two years ago, I came to KJT to take a role as a research consultant.

Q:           How does being in a commercial role as a research consultant compare to a traditional research role?

MJM:    Many people who end up in a commercial role [within market research] have typically been researchers first, or have had another role in the client side of the business. It’s hard to do unless you understand the nuts and bolts of the healthcare industry, the mindset of clinicians, the underpinning of research – and how best to support healthcare clients with marketplace insights. At KJT, I primarily work with existing customers to up-level our engagements by finding new ways to add more value.

Q:           Andrea – how about yourself? What has your career journey been like?

AS:         Research is what I really love to do. I’ve been in this industry since graduating college – primarily working within the healthcare arena. Over the course of 25 years, I’ve worked at a few different agencies, holding responsibility for all phases of study design, execution and analysis to ensure actionable insights. I can’t imagine doing anything else!

Q:           When did you join the KJT team?

AS:         I came to KJT about the same time MJ did in the spring of 2020. I’m both a researcher and team leader. I really love working here. KJT has such a refreshingly different philosophy, and it’s not just words on paper. The corporate culture and the company values are very strong, guiding how our leaders run the business, how we partner with our clients and how we treat each other.

Q:           Can you give us an overview of your upcoming Intellus presentation?

MJM:    The presentation stems from a recent project we executed for a client. Andrea and I co-created the final research solution, which is how we became co-presenters on this topic. Basically, what we’re talking about is Influencer Identification and Profiling – and expanding on the traditional process of what is often referred to as ‘KOL (Key Opinion Leader) Mapping.’ What KJT has done differently is to consider and survey a much broader range of stakeholders within this exercise.  As the world continues to evolve with a heavier reliance on social media and other forms of communication, the traditional KOL role has evolved as well.

AS:         The historical approach to KOL Mapping is to interview a group of MDs considered to be thought leaders or influencers within a specific therapeutic area. They may have been involved in clinical trials or pulled from academia. That’s typically as far as KOL Mapping goes in terms of representative pools.

Q:           How did you expand KOL representation for this client?  

AS:         We included both clinicians and executives in the research and solicited both traditional nominees and up-and-comers in order to provide as many points of view as possible. We considered alternative communication platforms as well, to ensure that a broad spectrum of influencers were identified.

MJM:    This has the added benefit of giving clients more opportunities to leverage the networks they’ve built. They get a more diverse database of thought leaders and influencers that can be engaged in a variety of ways: as participants on advisory boards or speakers’ bureaus, as contributors or co-authors to published work – or in future research opportunities.

Q:           Why take this approach now?  

AS:         Many of these non-traditional influencers have a strong social media presence or are publishing a lot of digital content. When our clients engage with them, they benefit from seeing what and where these influencers are posting and positing – and how people are reacting. It ultimately gives the client a better understanding of their end customers and what they care about.

MJM:    We live in an influencer culture, and we need to be aware of the growing role these people play in all our lives as consumers. As researchers, we wanted to incorporate that element into a creative and modern take on KOL Mapping.

When you think broader and wider than you might normally when considering a traditional KOL Mapping exercise, you are most likely going to stumble across some truths or insights you wouldn’t normally get. Some of your best ideas and insights are going to come from places you might not expect.

Contact KJT or click here to learn more!