Zhiyun MedTech: From Virtual Reps to Omnichannel Marketing—Data-Driven Strategies and AI Engine Are Key

2021 was a year of accelerated advancement for China’s—and indeed the global—pharmaceutical and healthcare industry. As new healthcare reform policies in areas such as “Internet+,” tiered diagnosis and treatment, national centralized drug procurement, health insurance payment reforms, and public health were progressively implemented, alongside the normalization of epidemic prevention and control measures and rapid technological advancements, digital pharmaceutical marketing has gained increasing legal support and technical assurance, driving the industry’s accelerated development and transformation.

As one of the first companies in China to strategically position itself in digital pharmaceutical marketing services, Qingyun Technology has successfully secured a leading position in the industry. Over the past five years,Qingyun Technology rapidly evolved from an initial focus on virtual representatives to an omnichannel marketing model integrating online and offline channels., setting a pioneering example and accumulating extensive practical experience.

On June 15, at the Omnichannel Digital Marketing Innovation Forum of the 6th Future Healthcare 100 Conference, co-hosted by VCBeat and VB100, and jointly organized by Qingyun Technology,Yan Guowei, CEO of Qingyun Technologywith“Building Omnichannel Marketing from Practice”as the theme, sharing Qingyun Technology's practical experience and achievements in the pharmaceutical digital marketing industry. VCBeat has compiled its insightful perspectives.

Digital marketing centered on virtual representatives has become a highly popular topic in recent years. How did it emerge and evolve?

In fact, as early as the early 2000s, the pharmaceutical industry began communicating with physicians via telephone and other means. Digital marketing truly emerged in early 2017, with virtual representatives becoming a distinct marketing channel.

Since 2017, the implementation of policies such as volume-based procurement, national reimbursement drug price negotiations, the “two-invoice” system, pilot programs for the “one-invoice” system, and compliance regulations has eroded the pricing advantage of China’s prescription drug market—particularly for off-patent originator drugs and generics—making it difficult to sustain business models reliant on consistently high gross margins. As profits have been rapidly compressed, the pain points of high costs and low efficiency inherent in traditional, labor-intensive marketing models have become significantly more pronounced.

In this context, digital marketing models dominated by virtual representatives have begun to proliferate and evolve. After five years of continuous practice, optimization, and integration, they haveTransitioning from an online-only model centered on virtual representatives to an omnichannel marketing model that integrates online and offline channels, with sales delivery outcomes as the primary driver.

Qingyun Technology also joined the wave of digital transformation in 2017. Yan Guowei stated that through integration, innovation, and upgrading with pharmaceutical companies, physicians, and internet platforms, the importance of digital marketing in the pharmaceutical industry has become a consensus within the sector.

On the physician side, doctors have already accepted remote visits conducted primarily via phone calls and WeChat. Remote academic services can benefit physicians and empower them to enhance their clinical diagnostic and treatment concepts.

On the enterprise side, pharmaceutical, medical device, and diagnostic reagent companies have begun to adopt remote detailing and recognize that this online model can positively drive sales for most products. Measured solely by sales volume, an omnichannel marketing model combining online and offline channels outperforms a purely online promotional model.

From the platform perspective, for digital marketing enterprises or medical platforms, the vast amount of data generated by digital marketing can be accumulated and analyzed to ultimately infer certain personality preference characteristics of physicians in remote communications. Additionally, while the decision-making logic underlying data flows and business processes can be determined through certain patterns, whether a quantitative logical relationship can be established remains to be further verified.

Through five years of extensive practice,There is broad industry consensus on the value that virtual representative-centric omnichannel marketing delivers to all stakeholders., there may be opportunities, but this is only the beginning; a long road still lies ahead.

Over the past five years, Qingyun Technology has continuously built and refined its omnichannel marketing platform through extensive practical applications, accumulating substantial hands-on experience and data-driven insights. The company has also explored the value of this data-driven omnichannel marketing platform in serving physicians, supporting pharmaceutical companies, and enhancing the innovation platform itself.

First is the value of physician services.Qingyun Technology analyzed data from 35,000 physicians providing remote services. The call answer rate for online visits was 60%, with a successful communication rate of 80% and an effective communication rate of 85%. The WeChat response rate was 27%, and the participation rate in online meetings was 30%.

In terms of physician coverage, the service primarily targets experts and department heads at lower-tier hospitals in core cities or at hospitals in remote areas. As these physicians are not covered by offline representatives, remote services have increased their access to academic resources.

In terms of academic services, Qingyun Technology conducted a tag analysis of the academic needs of 30,000 physicians. The demand for information services was the highest, accounting for 24%, while the demand for patient data accounted for 16%. These tags will provide guidance and recommendations for the personalized distribution of academic content.

Second, the Value to Pharmaceutical Companies, omnichannel marketing offers significant advantages for medical insurance products in the primary healthcare market.In recent years, Qingyun Technology has undertaken multiple projects for extensive practical implementation, including six self-pay products, 28 national medical insurance-covered products, and 18 products that failed to win bids in the Volume-Based Procurement (VBP) program. These initiatives span the fields of diabetes, hypertension, ophthalmology, and cardiovascular diseases, achieving an average year-on-year growth rate of approximately 50%.

Beyond Sales Volume: Omnichannel MarketingHelp pharmaceutical companies establish new channels for physician engagement, achieving remote digital coverage of hospitals and physicians.Help pharmaceutical companies establish online feedback and communication mechanisms for hospital clinical information, as well as online channels to engage physicians; continuously update and refine the database to achieve objectives such as identifying potential physician segments, enhancing brand awareness, and fostering recognition of product value, thereby driving improved patient outcomes.

Based on the establishment of channels, academic interventions can also be promoted.Through baseline physician assessments, pharmaceutical companies can identify physicians’ academic needs and develop targeted content engagement strategies. Additionally, by monitoring the hospital access status of target products, they can establish clinical feedback mechanisms to facilitate precise inventory planning with commercial partners. By delivering key messages effectively, this approach enhances physicians’ brand awareness and acceptance of critical product information, thereby driving overall sales growth.

Furthermore, sales volume assessment will become more convenient and effective.Assess the sustainability and replicability of the omnichannel marketing model in a specific region or among a particular type of physicians by comparing changes in sales volume and ROI before and after its implementation.

Third, the value to the innovation platform itself.Technology is the primary driver behind the emergence and development of digital marketing. According to Gartner’s Hype Cycle for AI Technologies, most AI technologies are currently immature.The Importance of Data in AI Is Becoming Increasingly Prominent.Therefore, at the current stage, data outweighs algorithms in the creation and application of AI models. In the future, those who possess vast amounts of data will drive faster AI development.

Yan Guowei believes that over the next two to three years, AI-driven omnichannel marketing will focus on two dimensions to enhance operational efficiency and the effectiveness of physician engagement. The first isAI Engine-Driven Content Recommendation, accumulating online and offline data, identifying physicians' needs through AI, creating physician profiles, and leveraging AI algorithms for precise content recommendation; secondly,Communication assistance is a key function of online virtual representatives.Significantly enhance the efficiency of personalized communication with physicians through AI-assisted technologies such as intelligent customer service and outbound call robots.

“Leveraging AI technology to enhance customer experience is the top priority for improving operational efficiency and driving digital transformation. AI technology is advancing rapidly; we need to stay at the forefront of technological innovation, continuously integrating more AI-driven innovations into pharmaceutical digital marketing,” said Yan Guowei.

Since 2017, Qingyun Technology has accumulated omnichannel behavioral data from over 400,000 physicians through extensive practical applications, leveraging this data to optimize algorithms for AI-driven recommendations. “As AI itself is in a constant state of evolution, we are continuously conducting data analysis and algorithm optimization.”

Yan Guowei stated,The AI engine serves as a marketing consultant.Taking work order recommendations as an example, the long-term recommendation strategy of the AI engine can be divided into several stages. The first stage is called the rule engine, which establishes a large number of marketing rules based on the marketing expertise of marketing specialists, applies them to the database, and provides them to sales representatives for use, thereby forming initial expert-level recommendations.

Junior expert recommendations generate substantial application data, which is analyzed through machine learning to identify patterns and develop preliminary AI-driven recommendations, including content, channel, timing, and frequency suggestions. Scientific evaluation via A/B testing revealed a discrepancy between the outcomes of these preliminary AI recommendations and expected results, prompting the introduction of advanced expert recommendations.

Currently, the senior expert recommendation from Qingyun Technology isDevelop real-time content-based recommendation strategies through advanced rules, and infer the behaviors of physicians in similar specialties based on physician business tags.“This approach involves analyzing issues from multiple perspectives, integrating the expertise of physicians, clinical specialists, and marketing experts to develop advanced expert recommendation rules,” said Yan Guowei.

Further advancement toward multi-model AI recommendations will not be limited to merely establishing connections; instead, it aims to achieve successful communication with physicians. This approach involves expanding and categorizing the number of tags, applying different AI models to distinct categories, and decomposing and recombining these AI models to derive optimal recommendation strategies.

As can be seen, this is a long-term process,As data volumes grow and parameters become increasingly optimized, AI-driven recommendations will become ever more accurate.By integrating high-quality, multi-dimensional data to create a 360-degree customer profile, and leveraging AI-driven intelligent analysis and recommendations, we achieve comprehensive, personalized outreach (“one-to-one customization”) that accurately anticipates physicians’ needs based on their observed behaviors.

Only through extensive and thorough practice, continuous data accumulation, and ongoing refinement and improvement of the digital marketing model in real-world applications can we build a data-driven omnichannel marketing platform that fully demonstrates the advantages and value of digital marketing.

VCBeat conducted an exclusive interview with Yan Guowei, CEO of Qingyun Technology. The following is the transcript of the interview:

VCBeat:From simple online virtual representatives to many digital marketing companies beginning to deploy omnichannel marketing platforms, how do you view this phenomenon?

Yan Guowei:Establishing an omnichannel marketing platform is, in fact, a natural outcome of market evolution. After several years of exploration, the industry has recognized the advantages of online channels, such as faster speed, higher efficiency, and lower costs. However, online channels also have limitations; for instance, they may be less effective than offline channels in bridging the “last mile,” and the improvement in physician conversion rates has not been particularly significant. Consequently, more enterprises are beginning to explore the integration of online and offline strategies, leveraging multi-channel approaches to reach physicians, disseminate medical information, shape physician perceptions, and ultimately achieve marketing objectives.

VCBeat：What Core Capabilities Do Enterprises Need to Achieve Omnichannel Digital Marketing?

Yan Guowei:First, omnichannel marketing involves integrating all channels that reach physicians, requiring corresponding technical platforms, data integration and analysis, and data-driven decision-making capabilities. Second is the capability for data generation and accumulation; the ability to consolidate data generated through physician interactions across various channels forms the foundation of all efforts. Third is know-how. Since the 1980s, pharmaceutical marketing in China has undergone various stages, accumulating extensive practical experience. For a company’s management team, possessing genuine business know-how is critically important.

VCBeat:Specifically, how can the effectiveness of digital marketing models be validated?

Yan Guowei:To determine the effectiveness of digital marketing models, we evaluate them from three perspectives. First, we examine sales outcomes, as the essence of marketing lies in its ability to drive sales growth. Second, we assess return on investment (ROI); comparing the ROI of traditional marketing with that of digital marketing under similar performance conditions is a common method for evaluating effectiveness. Third, we consider the reduction of reliance on human resources, which allows for continuous optimization in the future. Traditional models are heavily dependent on personnel, but human factors are variable and may compromise the stability of marketing capabilities. Therefore, when assessing the effectiveness of digital marketing, we also take into account whether it can reduce dependence on human intervention.

VCBeat:How Should Virtual Representatives and Field Representatives Collaborate to Achieve Better Marketing Results? What Obstacles Must Be Overcome to Integrate Online and Offline Channels? How Exactly Does Qingyun Approach This?

Yan Guowei:The primary obstacle lies in misaligned objectives. Due to differences in communication channels, methods, and influence across various physicians, achieving effective online-offline collaboration proves difficult. Qingyun Technology addresses this by implementing management mechanisms that clearly allocate target customers between virtual representatives and field representatives, thereby ensuring aligned goals, clear division of labor, and well-defined positioning.

Second, information silos make data sharing difficult, necessitating tools to enhance transparency between online and offline data. Qingyun Technology’s real-time query system enables field representatives to view remote visit records logged by inside sales representatives, while inside sales representatives can see which physicians have been covered by field representatives. Scenarios such as offline meetings with online follow-ups, or online invitations leading to offline meetings, require clear, timely, and transparent data exchange to achieve effective collaboration.

Third, when executing marketing activities for specific customers, information obtained through online and offline channels may be fragmented. To address this, Qingyun Technology has developed a corresponding task system that enables continuous interaction and communication around clearly defined tasks across both online and offline channels, thereby integrating fragmented information to ultimately achieve the task objectives.

Fourth, inconsistencies between online and offline KPI mechanisms can also hinder collaboration. Qingyun Technology assigns sales-related performance targets to offline channels and academic service-related targets to online channels, thereby making performance evaluation clearer and more defined, while also facilitating smoother and more effective online-offline collaboration.

VCBeat:Could you discuss the current state of omnichannel marketing development? What are the key areas we should focus on?

Yan Guowei:Currently, many enterprises are beginning to deploy omnichannel marketing platforms, with a critical focus on data security and compliance. From government regulators to pharmaceutical companies, requirements for data security and privacy protection are rapidly increasing. Qingyun Technology has undertaken extensive efforts in data security and has obtained Level 3 Certification under the Classified Protection of Cybersecurity (MLPS 2.0). Omnichannel marketing makes compliance control more tangible, as all interactions with healthcare professionals are recorded in the data and remain fully traceable. In the future, Qingyun Technology will continue to prioritize and invest heavily in data security and compliance.

Omnichannel marketing in the pharmaceutical industry is still in its infancy. The industrial chain has yet to take shape, and tags and parameters require further refinement. This long-term endeavor relies on a substantial base of physicians and extensive data. Despite the challenges, there is significant potential for future growth, warranting further exploration.