Category: Veeva Knowledge

If you couldn’t attend the Veeva Commercial Summit 2024 or want to catch up on the key takeaways, we’ve got you covered. This year’s Summit, themed “Moving the Industry Forward,” brought together over 1,300 attendees from 140+ companies to explore the future of technology and innovation in the biopharma sector.

As proud content partners of Veeva and sponsors of this year’s event, our team of consultants were on hand, engaging with industry leaders at our stand and gathering valuable insights. With 2024 marking the transition from Veeva CRM to Vault CRM, we believe it’s important to share these key findings to help you navigate the changes ahead and make a real impact.

This article provides a summary of the key highlights. If you’d like to receive the full report, please submit your email below and we will send it out to you.

Download the Veeva Commercial Summit report here

What are the key takeaways from the Veeva Summit EU 2024?

Vault CRM: The transition is picking up pace

The shift to Vault CRM is officially in full swing. With functionality now on par with the Salesforce-based Veeva CRM, this move is progressing faster than expected. Currently, 30 customers are live, and over 50 have signed up to make the change – including major players like GSK, Bayer, Novo Nordisk, and Boehringer Ingelheim.

That said, the migration isn’t without its challenges. GSK’s global rollout, for instance, is set for completion by Q3 2025. It’s no mean feat but the potential rewards of improved functionality, efficiency and flexibility are highly sought after.

AI steps into the spotlight

When hasn’t AI taken the spotlight in the past year? AI was a major focus at this year’s Summit, with several exciting announcements around AI-powered tools for Vault CRM. It’s worth noting that CRM-based AI has no licensing costs, however MLR bot is not CRM-based and may be subject to licensing costs. Here’s what’s coming by late 2025:

• Vault CRM Bot: Think of this as your Microsoft Co-Pilot for CRM—a prompt-based assistant designed to simplify your workflows.
• Voice Control: Enables voice-based interactions with CRM using Apple Intelligence-compatible devices.
• Vault MLR Bot: Helps with pre-checks directly within PromoMats, streamlining compliance tasks.

These features have the potential to supercharge productivity for field teams and office-based users alike.

A boost for Medical teams

Medical teams will soon enjoy enhanced call reports and new tools to edit and save back PowerPoint presentations when opening from Vault. These updates will save time and improve collaboration, giving teams more freedom to focus on delivering impactful outcomes.

Data integration gets a makeover

Integrating tools and data has never been smoother. The Summit revealed several updates aimed at simplifying connections with platforms like OneNote, Excel, WhatsApp Business, LINE, and Zoom.

One standout improvement was the introduction of a direct data API, which reduces transfer times from 10 minutes to just three seconds – a huge step forward in efficiency. Veeva is also driving standardisation across the industry with its “Common Data Architecture,” which aims to simplify metadata management and collaboration between organisations.

Customer-Centric enhancements take centre stage

Veeva’s commitment to customer-centric innovation was clear, with updates designed to make life easier for users:

• Campaign Manager (launching 12 December 2024): This tool offers the ability for scheduled marketing emails to be sent out and also approved/rejected by the field team for on-territory HCPs with easy to access visual campaign analytics.
• X-Pages: MyInsights is getting a makeover and will now be called X-Pages on Vault CRM (but remaining MyInsights on Veeva CRM). Built into Vault CRM at no extra cost, this update offers users an improved, intuitive interface.

Why this matters

The Veeva Commercial Summit 2024 highlighted the transformative changes coming to biopharma. From the Vault CRM migration to ground-breaking AI tools, these innovations promise to make processes smoother, insights sharper, and workflows smarter.

At twentyeightb, we’re proud to be Veeva content partners and sponsors of this incredible event. If you’d like to learn more about these updates and what they could mean for your field teams, be sure to request our full report by submitting your email below. If you would like a more personal discussion and would like to chat to us about how we can help enable your field teams, then contact us here.

Veeva’s latest CRM update is upon us, with a small batch of updates set to hit production environments on Thursday 22nd August 2024. As we anticipated, this round of updates and enhancements from Veeva focuses on sharpening existing functionality rather than introducing new features. As ever, we’ve taken the time to summarise the major changes below. However in the meantime, with Vault CRM drawing much of Veeva’s focus, perhaps it is time for a refresh on the brilliant basics when it comes to Veeva CRM & CLM.

What are the Veeva CRM & CLM brilliant basics?

Much of our work as consultants at twentyeightb centres around enabling our clients to better leverage the tools and data already at their fingertips.

The simple move from PDF sales aids to full HTML interactive core visual aids is often the first step – which we are now, more so than ever, committed to helping our clients navigate with the launch of our Field Content Essentials package. This swift and painless piece of digital transformation allows brand teams to start collecting data and insights around the performance of their materials in the field.

A second step that we find has a positive impact on field sales performance, is the integration of rep-triggered emails into digital sales aids. Being able to send materials to an HCP mid-call without breaking flow is a great way for the rep or KAM to continue the onward engagement with their accounts and enable sequential selling.

Finally (as we don’t want to give away all the secrets of omnichannel success in one foul swoop), it becomes about what you do with all this useful data that you have begun to generate. While Salesforce is the industry leading CRM tool for a reason, depending on your setup you may find that the key information about your accounts is scattered across various different views. MyInsights dashboards allow you to draw all those key insights on either your territory as a whole, or each individual account into one intuitive, consumable view within Veeva CRM. To enable a speedy deployment, we’ve developed a number of best practice layouts, including MCCP (Multi Channel Cycle Planning) and Field Medical Effectiveness, that can be easily configured and deployed by your CRM teams.

Anyway, onto the latest updates in 24R2

Still getting that ‘sync-ing’ feeling?

For day-to-day users of Veeva CRM, ensuring that they are viewing the most up-to-date information in the CRM is pretty crucial. While there are relatively few updates in this release that are noticeable for the end user, if you’re not yet feeling the full benefit of the non-blocking sync feature that we highlighted in the 23R3 release, then this latest update does bring some good news. We have probably all experienced a device sync task failing before, but what can be more frustrating is not understanding why or being able to troubleshoot the issue.

Enhanced error messaging launched as part of this update means that you’ll now be alerted if the sync or refresh fails due to:

• Insufficient disk space
• Lack of connection
• Sync starting but not successfully completing

So while you may not be able to prevent a sync from failing, at least you’ll know why it did!

A year on, MyInsights Studio continues to evolve

As the only UK-based Veeva MyInsights Certified partner agency, we have kept on top of the developments with MyInsights Studio since it launched last year. A couple of new templates have been added to the roster of this highly configurable data visualisation tool; the call report page template and the territory feedback page template.

The real strength of MyInsights Studio is around the premise of being able to call on and collate standard reporting metrics into a concise view, in a no or low-code manner, meaning it is more accessible for teams that are light on IT expertise and resources. The further addition of platform-aware styling is a nice touch too, meaning that MyInsights Studio-generated content will match the UI styling of the supported platform in which it is displayed.

If you are finding that taking your first steps into MyInsights dashboards is proving to be daunting, get in touch with our team who are experts at guiding you in the direction of a dashboard that is perfectly tailored to your needs.

The first Veeva CRM major release of the calendar year is set to land in production environments on 2nd May 2024, with quality of upgrades rather than quantity being the watchword of this particular release.

With Veeva’s laser-focus on launching Vault CRM to new customers and transitioning existing customers – all whilst fending off the competition – it is no surprise they will be limiting changes to their existing CRM to bug fixes and previously planned updates. Here is our breakdown of the two notable field enabling developments that snuck through just in time.

New features coming to Approved Email

Greater flexibility with Veeva’s new Email Builder

One of the keys to creating the types of personalised yet compliant Approved Emails that we always recommend at twentyeightb, has been getting your head around templates, fragments and tokens. Now, with the launch of their iPad based Email Builder tool, Veeva are looking to simplify the user experience and place greater flexibility in the hands of marketing and field teams.

Separate to Veeva’s existing BEE Editor email tool, the Email Builder guides the sender through the available subject lines, greetings, key messages, documents and sign-offs. This user-friendly approach – once configured – has the potential to significantly uplift post-call follow-up rates and enable reps to keep the conversation alive with their target HCPs.

Email Builder. Image source: Veeva CRM What’s New In 24R1.0, April 2024. Accessed via Veeva

“The biggest value-add here is the potential uplift in the adoption of personalised, relevant and timely approved email usage through an improved UX and greater flexibility. Marketeers will also benefit from a more visual approach that will support a more structured and relevant approach to Veeva Approved Emails.”
Ben Keppie, Consultant

To support Veeva Approved Emails in meeting compliance requirements, a couple of neat features have also been added, including

One-click unsubscribe will now be enabled by default for Approved Emails, which means that HCPs receiving Veeva Approved Emails will be able to opt-out of future communications, directly within their email application. This, alongside Approved Email content prevention – a function that enables content creators to mark certain templates and fragments as hidden, so that they don’t display – will help to smooth over any compliance concerns around the right content being in the right hands.

Email content just got more dynamic, too

On top of greater control over the elements comprising their emails, senders will now have the opportunity to tap into approved content that is more tailored around their on-going conversation with an HCP.

Dynamic content creation has the potential to support reps in sending more relevant and timely follow-up information, personalised with the interactivity from the CLM content that is presented. As long term advocates of functional content that engages HCPs during CLM presentations, we’re really pleased to see greater emphasis being placed on the value of data capture and the role that insights from tools such as cost calculators and formulary matrices can play in supporting a multichannel cycle or key account plan. To get a better understanding of the kind of dynamic content that is achievable within Veeva and the rich insights that it can bring, why not book a short demo call with our team.

If you’d like to better understand the way in which functional, dynamic and personalised content can be harnessed by your field teams, we are ideally placed to support you both through consultative advice and technical implementation across your digital marketing materials. Just get in touch with our team to find out more.

Demystifying pharma technology jargon

Have you ever found yourself scratching your head trying to understand some of the acronyms and peculiar techie words used in pharma? It can be difficult to stay up-to-date, with technology changing all the time. VAE this, sandbox that; what do they mean and why does no-one ever seem to explain them in simple terms?

For this reason, we have decided to step in and help. In our bitesize series, we’re going to provide you with some helpful tips to support you in navigating the changing landscape of pharma technology. Therefore, using our team of experts here at twentyeightb, we have created our top 12 Veeva terms. Our client services and consultancy teams hear a new buzzword every week, so we’re well placed to provide this ‘cheat sheet’ for you to easily access whenever you need.

For the purpose of creating this guide for you, we asked our team of experts to put forward the Veeva CLM/CRM terms that they frequently use and/or come across in the industry, and asked these questions:

• What does this mean?
• What does this stand for?
• Can you explain it to me in simple terms?

Top 12 Veeva CLM/ CRM terms you may not know

1. Action button

The Action Button is in the top left hand corner of the Veeva CLM (three ellipses). This button allows the rep to:
– Exit the presentation
– Complete a survey
– Send an email
– Send a Medical Inquiry
– Order Products
– Take other customisable actions

This button cannot be disabled.

2. Binder

In Veeva Vault, ‘Binders’ are virtual containers used to organise and manage documents and content related to specific projects, studies, or processes. Think of them as digital folders where documents, files, and information are stored and organised in a structured manner. Users can create binders to categorise and manage content according to their workflow needs, making it easier to locate, access, and collaborate on documents within the Vault platform.

3. Call report

In Veeva, a ‘call report’ typically refers to a record or document that captures essential information about interactions between field sales teams and healthcare professionals (HCPs) or other key stakeholders.

4. Customer reaction buttons

In Veeva, ‘customer reaction buttons’ are interactive elements integrated into the customer-facing applications or interfaces used by sales representatives or other field personnel during interactions with HCPs or other customers. These buttons provide a quick and efficient way for representatives to capture and record the reactions or feedback of customers during meetings, presentations, or discussions.

5. History arrows

In Veeva applications like Veeva CRM or Veeva Vault, ‘history arrows’ typically refer to navigational elements or controls that allow users to traverse through their browsing history within the application. These arrows enable users to easily move backward or forward between previously viewed pages or records, similar to the functionality of browser navigation buttons.

6. Key message

In the context of Veeva, ‘key messages’ refers to the “slides” that make up a CLM presentation. This can be confusing when many in marketing use key messages to refer to the core claims that support the features and benefits of their brand.

7. Metadata

In the context of Veeva or any data management system, ‘metadata’ refers to the descriptive information or properties that provide context and structure to the stored data. It essentially describes the characteristics of the data, making it easier to understand, manage, and use effectively.

8. Production environment

In the context of Veeva, the ‘production environment’ refers to the live or operational system where Veeva applications and solutions are deployed and used for day-to-day business operations. It is the environment where real-time data processing, customer interactions, and other critical business activities take place.

9. Sandbox environment

In the context of Veeva or any software development and testing environment, a ‘sandbox environment’ refers to a controlled, separate instance of the software platform where developers, administrators, and users can safely experiment, test, and validate changes without impacting the live production environment. It serves as a replica of the production environment but is isolated and independent, allowing for risk-free testing and development activities.

10. Shared resource

In the context of Veeva, a ‘shared resource’ typically refers to a centralised asset or tool that is accessible and usable by multiple users or teams within an organisation. These shared resources are often managed and maintained within Veeva applications such as Veeva Vault or Veeva CRM, facilitating collaboration, efficiency, and consistency across the organisation.

11. Veeva Approved Email (VAE)

Veeva Approved Email is an email platform built into Veeva CRM that enables pharma sales teams to send tailored, approved content to HCPs, while remaining compliant. Available on online and mobile CRM platforms, it helps reps connect and facilitate personalised interactions with hard-to-reach customers.

Veeva Approved Emails utilise HTML, can be tailored for specific HCPs and are managed centrally through Veeva Vault to ensure compliance.

A VAE can also be known as an ‘RTE’ – Rep-Triggered Email.

12. Veeva Vault PromoMats (VVPM)

Often abbreviated to ‘VVPM’, Veeva Vault PromoMats is a component of the Veeva Vault platform specifically designed for managing promotional materials within the life sciences industry. VVPM enables organisations to create, review, approve, and distribute compliant promotional content across various channels.

Is all this endless jargon still not quite making sense? Why not check out our library of Veeva resources, or if you have a burning question then get in touch with our expert team.

In the dynamic landscape of pharmaceutical marketing, Veeva Approved Emails enable and empower your field sales teams to communicate effectively and compliantly with Healthcare Professionals (HCPs). To harness its full potential, understanding the intricate anatomy of a Veeva Approved Email is crucial.

As we navigate the anatomy of Veeva Approved Emails, we’ll uncover the significance of Template Fragments, Auto Citations/Footnotes, and the content elements that contribute to an impactful email.

What are the components of a Veeva Approved Email?

There are two main types of Approved Email document types, which are both created in the same way and utilise the same functionalities, however the content should be considered in different ways. The two main types are: email templates and email fragments.

Email Template

In the realm of digital communication, email templates take centre stage as HTML files securely stored in Veeva Vault. They serve as the foundation of a Veeva Approved Email. It’s crucial to note that a minimum of one template is vital for ensuring the seamless operation of your communication strategy.

To ensure compliance, the content of an email template is static, meaning end users cannot make edits themselves. These templates can be dispatched independently or tailored to accommodate one or more email fragments, offering enhanced flexibility and a more personalised touch.

It is beneficial to consider whether you can employ a standard email template or templates that have utility across multiple use cases, for example:

• Standard logo placement
• Standard salutation & close (consider the tone of voice and utilising free text – e.g. Hi John vs. Dear Dr John Smith and Kind regards/Cheers vs. Yours sincerely)
• Veeva content/functionality tokens or any fields pulled from CRM/free text fields
• Any links to Vault PromoMats documents
• Unsubscribe, legal and privacy statements/links
• Date of prep and job code placeholder
• PI and AE reporting (could also be incorporated within Template fragment – see below)
• Company address (could also be incorporated within Template fragment – see below)

Email Fragments

This section explores the vital role of email fragments – compact snippets of HTML housing distinct messages and optional hyperlinks to content stored in Vault or external websites. The unique feature of fragments lies in the user-driven aspect, empowering end users to incorporate multiple fragments into a single template and arrange them in any preferred order.

Fragments give users the power to add a personal touch to each email, allowing them to fine-tune messages for stronger connections in every relationship. What’s more, they provide an easy way to share the latest updates or content without the hassle of creating more email templates.

One or more email fragments can be selected by the user to add to the associated email template. This offers the rep a degree of flexibility and customisation, enabling them to send more targeted content.

Like templates, fragments can include text, images, link to a Vault PromoMats document/third party website as well as including a range of Veeva tokens. It is important to consider how many fragments are expected to be used at any given time, as this can determine how some of them are made/optimised for rep usage.

Auto citations/footnotes

Fragments containing references can be numbered/annotated automatically (based on the fragments selected by the rep for inclusion in the email).

Template fragment

Consider whether you can employ a template fragment that has utility across multiple email templates (e.g. prescribing information, legal, company address and AE reporting). The template fragment is associated with the email and cannot be selected by/edited by the rep.

Content

Pre-header text (email preview text)

Pre-header text is a line of text that appears after the subject line in the recipient’s email inbox. The aim is to give the recipient a summary of the email content.

If you don’t specify the pre-header text, the first line of text within the email will be displayed – e.g. This is a promotional email for UK healthcare professionals only.

So it’s worth thinking about providing a snippet that will encourage the recipient to open and read the email.

Subject line

It is worth determining the required subject line(s) early, so that you can include this on any test emails that re sent for review.

In Veeva you can utilise a number of different options in the subject field; including custom text fields, personalising the email subject line or employing a pick-list of different subject lines to choose from.

Please note, some pharma companies have specific subject line requirements (e.g. if it’s a company event, they may require that the subject line has the company name in), to avoid delays it is recommended to have an understanding of these requirements in advance.

Alt text (alternative text)

This is a short written description of a digital image, which conveys the meaning of the image when/if it cannot be viewed, or if a person is using a screen reader.

If you alt text isn’t specified, it is common practice to use the file name of the image provided.

Email tokens (non-Veeva)

Make sure you have listed your email tokens and the required format of these tokens for the chosen platform.

If someone else is developing your emails, it is also helpful to send over a list of all tokens that are used on these platforms and any documentation for these as well (if the platform in question actually has this available of course), to help prevent errors and reduce build time.

What’s next

Well, now you know the anatomy of the Veeva Approved Email but wouldn’t you like to know how to make them more presentable, avoid delays, and improve communication? Check out our previous article ‘The four ingredients you’re missing from a successful rep-triggered email brief‘. We’d love to received the perfect brief from you, so don’t forget to find out more about our Veeva Approved Email development services as well.

Veeva CRM releases three major updates each year to address user issues through updates, and provide new functionality. The improvements and added functionality will hit all Veeva instances on 7th December 2023. Alongside our other key takeaways, we are excited to share with you one particular improvement that will be well-received – the reduction of sync times!

Enhanced sync timing

The most impactful announcement in the latest round of enhancements is the improvement of sync times. This is very exciting news. By introducing enhanced sync timing and error notifications, wait times when using Veeva CRM will be significantly reduced. An improvement we are pleased to see and one that will be very well received by pretty much anyone working in Veeva CRM on even a semi-regular basis.

For field-teams, this means less time waiting to ensure the latest media and calls are synced, reducing the amount of fear pressing that sync button puts into the heart of the rep. For CRM admins, CLM content reviewers and MyInsights producers this will speed up the workflow to bring materials to market.

Better ways of working within teams

For improved collaboration, Veeva Vault will be integrating with Office 365, allowing multiple users to concurrently edit documents for a smoother user experience. Notifications outlining workflow steps are sent to the owner upon any action initiation, providing an efficient means to track changes and foster collaborative work on shared documents. Admins can also configure notification steps in workflows that will send a summary notification to the Workflow Owner whenever one of these actions is initiated through a workflow or state change.

Housing your data with MyInsights and Dashboards

This year, we’ve been inducted onto the brand new Veeva MyInsights partner program, cementing twentyeightb’s place as a thought leader and producer of field-enablement workflow tools. Veeva CRM MyInsights is an innovative data visualisation module that delivers the right information exactly when and where your teams need it. As a partner on this program, this enables us to demonstrate our expertise in developing tailored dashboards to fit your unique requirements.

In 23R3, there are going to be notable updates to MyInsights Studio navigation actions. The introduction of the ‘View Section’ navigation action empowers content creators to designate multiple tabs within the same group of entry points for user navigation. Upon deployment, users can choose different tabs to access new information within the same account or territory. This feature enables users to move seamlessly from a MyInsights page to a non-default Account page.

Dashboards are also set to receive an update in formatting. Users gain the ability to freely drag and resize charts on a canvas background, choosing the width of the dashboard component. Before this release, dashboards were limited to two sizes and interfaces, with fixed-width charts based on columns. This enhancement provides greater flexibility, enabling users to expand multiple charts for better metric highlighting, or wider charts for a comprehensive view of data.

If you would like more information on how we can help you harness the power of your data through Veeva MyInsights, get in touch with our expert team today.

Account Management

Users can now access their account’s affiliations, even if those affiliations belong to other organisations. This feature offers visibility into the relationships their accounts have, empowering users to make more informed decisions when planning outreach to Healthcare Professionals (HCPs).

Approved Email

We have long been advocates of arming reps with more flexible and human-oriented content, and believe that there are some types of content that we simply shouldn’t need to bother compliance with. Content such as the likes of holiday greetings or logistical documents may not need medical, regulatory, or legal review in PromoMats or MedComms. Business Admins and Content Creators can now streamline this content by directly uploading it to CRM, bypassing Veeva Vault. End users can then easily include this content as fragments when creating Approved Email messages.

Content alignment, through the use of content groups, enables customers to efficiently grant specific users access to designated content. Admins can effectively manage Approved Email and CLM content for large user groups by organising users into content groups. This feature enhances transparency, allowing customers to discern available content for different user types. Integration with Align and/or Vault further streamlines the process, enabling customers to create dashboards and reports for a comprehensive understanding of user access to specific content.

CLM – Using the HCP content player

The HCP Content Player is a dedicated browser experience enabling accounts to view content sent to them from various features of Veeva CRM. Interactions with content viewed via the HCP Content Player are tracked and saved in Veeva CRM, enabling admins to report and audit on activity of sent content. The HCP Content Player is hosted by Veeva and cannot be embedded in customer-owned pages. The HCP Content Player supports various content types, including HTML, images, PDFs, and videos.

Engage HCP with address book contacts

HCPs can now allow Veeva Engage to access their device’s address book contacts to quickly invite and share valuable resources with other HCPs. Also, HCPs will be able to send brand profile resources to new and existing connections via chat, allowing them to quickly and easily share useful information with their connections, including HCPs and CRM users.

Self-led learning with Flightpath

As highlighted in our last two Veeva Release write-ups, there is a continued focus on Flightpath – a learning tool offering overviews and examples to guide you in leveraging CRM features. The latest additions to their learning tool are on hot button topics;

• Using Sync
• Updates to Using Microsoft Teams
• Creating Custom Presentations in CLM

For more information about Flightpath, you can explore our earlier article here.

As Veeva Full Service Content Partners, we stay updated to ensure our clients leverage Veeva CRM’s full capability. To learn more about how this software can empower your fieldforce, contact our expert team.

The second instalment of Veeva’s 2023 CRM release roadmap sees a handful of helpful changes hitting production environments on the 10th August, including a great on-the-go feature improvement for iPhone users in the field.

This particular release builds on a couple of the key enhancements from the 23R1 updates and continues the journey towards the device agnostic experience for CRM users, which has become a notable mission for Veeva since our write up in early 2022.

Approved Email on-the-go

While modern day field team representatives may spend less time ‘out and about’ on territory than before, the convenience of being able to perform your duties using a mobile device cannot be overstated. A big step forward in this regard is an upgrade to the Veeva Approved Email functionality available natively to iPhone users.

They will now find that they can perform all the same actions that are available on Desktop, including creating, editing, sending and scheduling Approved Emails. This flexibility makes sending that quick follow up email – that can so easily be forgotten – after a call, even simpler.

Cleaning up your Call Reports

Ensuring that your CLM presentations only write accurate and useful data to the CRM is an area of best practice that we often find ourselves consulting on at twentyeightb. That may be the holy grail, however sometimes datasets such as product details can be incorrectly recorded to the Call Report. This latest release has made those errors easy to adjust, with users now able to deselect any product details that were automatically added from their CLM presentations, if they deem them not to be correct.

Protecting the scale of CLM presentations

From our experience, we often see brand and field teams testing and accessing digital sales aids using a wide range of device types and sizes. After all, that is reflective of the platform agnostic vision that Veeva is working towards.

Inevitably though, this can cause inconsistencies in how the content presents and performs. While we generally make recommendations to clients to combat this, as a fall-back Veeva have now allowed admins to lock CLM content to 1024 pixels by 768 pixels.

This upgrade has the benefit of preventing content that was developed primarily for iPad devices from becoming distorted on other, larger screens.

Outlook integration moves to real-time

Back in March, we waxed lyrical about the significance of the introduction of an integration between Microsoft Outlook calendars and the Veeva My Schedule application. In a small, but impactful update, Veeva have now shifted their sync between these two calendars from hourly to real-time. While iPad users will need to sync their devices to see the changes, they at least now know that by doing so they will see a 100% accurate representation of their calendar.

Self-led learning continues to thrive

In the last Veeva release, their self-guided learning platform, Flightpath, very much stole the headlines. It has not been left to sit dormant, either, with a number of new modules having been added. Having recently earned Veeva CRM MyInsights Partnership status, we’re particularly pleased to see modules cropping up to further industry understanding of MyInsights Studio and the benefits it can bring to reps in search of territory and account-level insights. Here are some of the new paths that have been added:

• Using Microsoft Outlook with My Schedule
• Using Microsoft Teams for Remote Meetings
• Introduction to Recommended Email
• Introduction to Stakeholder Navigator
• Using MyInsights Studio Templates

Keen to leverage the latest Veeva updates?

As Veeva Full Service Content and CRM MyInsights partners, we stay abreast of all the latest features that can be integrated into your ways of working to maximise the value of your investment in Veeva CRM. If you have any questions about how Veeva enhancements impact you or your team/s, then just reach out – we’d be happy to share our knowledge.

Three times in every calendar year, Veeva launches features and improvements across their varied product suite that are designed to enhance the user experience and provide new capabilities for brand teams. The Veeva 23R1 release hits production environments on 13th April 2023 – here’s the lowdown on the most impactful updates to keep an eye on.

Outlook integration a big step towards centralised data

The most impactful announcement in this April release could easily slip under the radar, however it has the potential to vastly improve the uptake of Veeva among field teams. By introducing the capability for Admins to integrate Microsoft Outlook calendars with the Veeva My Schedule application, reps will be able to view all their appointments in both Outlook calendar and the Veeva My Schedule view.

This breaks down a lot of the boundaries that we have seen around Veeva adoption in field teams, with there often being resistance to moving emails and appointment setting from Outlook into Veeva. With a simple integration doing the work for the reps, they will now start to see the benefit of centralised account information, better data capture and greater territory and account level insights. A win-win scenario for everyone.

Self-guided learning takes off with Flightpath

A big investment area for Veeva is the introduction of Flightpath, a new educational tool designed to supplement existing CRM documentation. Flightpath provides overviews of features and functionality within CRM, and currently offers five courses, with the Approved Email and Engage paths looking most beneficial for CRM, brand and marketing teams. The aim of the new tool is to help individuals who are working in Veeva CRM day-to-day to further their understanding and get the most out of the CRM.

Sunset on Veeva CRM iOS 14 support

Following the 23R1.0 release, Veeva CRM will no longer support iOS 14. This marks a fairly swift change, with iOS 15 only having been rolled out a few months ago. Users will need to stay on top of their updates to ensure they are on iOS 15 or higher, however there is some peace of mind for those administering field team devices as a popup will soon display after signing into Veeva CRM with a message to upgrade where applicable.

Smarter approved email campaigns

A couple of useful iterations to Veeva approved email functionality will help reps organise their accounts and campaigns.

Firstly, to prevent missing any further opportunity to communicate effectively with an HCP, reps will now see an error message displayed so they can fix or verify any email addresses that have previously bounced. This prevents additional attempts to send emails to the incorrect address for the HCP.

The second major enhancement to the email offering is the Recommended Emails feature. This is a significant plus point for campaign managers as it gives them the ability to publish campaign-related email messages to a large number of specified targets. In turn these are turned into drafts or scheduled emails by Veeva CRM and recommended to reps to modify, reschedule or send to their target HCPs.

Still using PowerPoint presentations?

While we would always recommend investing in the development of fully functional digital sales aids, if you’re not quite there yet, then Veeva have made it easier for Mac users to utilise PowerPoint Presentations. CLM on CRM Desktop (Mac) now allows for better presentation animations and transitions, while they are now also easier to identify and select thanks to the Media Library in Tile View on CRM Desktop (Mac).

Making My Schedule work harder for reps

A whole host of smaller UX/ UI changes to the My Schedule section within Veeva CRM for iPad will be welcomed by reps looking to better organise their time. Having a number of different data points displayed against their schedule entries is a particularly useful addition, alongside now being able to drag and drop calls for slicker rescheduling of their calendar.

Unsure of how the latest release might impact you and your team?

As Veeva Full Service Content Partners, we get a headstart on the latest updates in order to make sure that our clients continue to leverage the full capability of Veeva CRM. If you’d like to learn more about how this impressive software suite can be better utilised to empower and enable your fieldforce, get in touch with our expert team.

The final Veeva update of 2022 hits production environments on 8th December, but if you’re in marketing, CRM, commercial or sales roles, what should you expect to see change?

Hot off the heels of the EU Veeva Summit in Madrid – at which we were delighted to be among a small number of agency partner exhibitors – comes the Veeva 22R3 release. While the Summit of course focused on the bigger picture around Veeva’s role in the life sciences industry, this latest release hones in on smaller, practical updates designed to enhance rep to HCP engagement. Here’s our pick of the updates:

Favourite fragments

A neat, user friendly addition that will further improve uptake of rep triggered email functionality is the addition of a ‘favourite’ button. Taking the form of a heart icon, this function allows reps to create their own personalised list of favourite templates and fragments, making quick composition of emails even speedier.

More opportunities to trigger your emails

We are great advocates of in-call emails, launched directly from sales aids so are pleased to see this latest update. With the launch of Approved Email and queryRecord functions now being supported on the CRM Desktop (Mac) platform, integrated approved emails are supported on another platform which offers further opportunity to engage HCPs beyond the call.

A whole host of Engage enhancements

This particular release has seen a string of updates to the Engage platform, a handful of which are sure to have a positive impact on both HCP and rep in-call experience.

• Sending websites and auto-published CLM content via Web Link or QR Code on iPhone
• Quick sharing CLM content in Engage Meeting
• Blocking out unavailable time slots on the Engage scheduling site
• Allowing chat between HCPs in Engage and Engage Connect

CLM content comes to iPhone

Content being more accessible across a range of devices is a stated aim for Veeva and they deliver in this release, with iPhone users now able to view CLM in the CRM for iPhone app. While there is some VMOC configuration required, this is a useful update for on-the-go field teams looking to review and share content from their media libraries with HCPs.

CRM embraces Android

The further step in the Veeva journey to a platform agnostic experience for reps sees CRM for Android arrive in beta. This will enable users to perform standard daily CRM tasks from their Android phones.

With so many beneficial updates packed into this release, it remains to be seen how Veeva will continue their progress against the Summit theme of ‘the race to high value engagement’ in their first release of the New Year, 23R1. If you or your colleagues are keen to learn more about how you could harness these updates to optimise the experience of your reps and their customers, why not book a free workshop with our team?

As Veeva Full Service Content Partners, we’re well placed to advise you on any upcoming Veeva Approved Email, digital sales aid development, or MyInsights dashboard project you may be considering.

As Veeva moves ever closer to the platform agnostic experience promised in the materials surrounding the Veeva 22R1 release, the second iteration of 2022 has seen some subtle but high impact improvements to efficient, personalised HCP engagement.

Personalised is the key word here. No amount of head office marketing emails can replace the context and experience that Pharma reps and KAMs can provide when provided with the right tools. Call-to-action driven, customisable and easy-to-access Veeva Approved Email (VAE) templates can, however, provide the best of both worlds.

To reap the benefits of VAEs, you may be wondering how Veeva is progressing to make it easier for the end user; here are our key takeaways from the Veeva 22R2 release. 

Email Tab – centralising your email efforts

Resisting the urge to default to the familiar comfort of Outlook can be a challenge for field teams – so Veeva knew they needed to make the administration of Veeva Approved Emails more accessible. The new Email Tab is a notable step towards that.

With the advanced tracking capabilities of a VAE, far greater insight into customer behaviours and preferences can be brought in-house to drive data-driven decision making. By housing these in a centralised location within the CRM menu, Veeva should see VAE adoption increase as users seek to take advantage of approved messaging, tracking and personalisation that well-configured VAEs can bring. With folders for draft, scheduled and sent emails, the Email Tab makes templating easier – saving time and keeping all the related information stored and secured in the CRM for useful customer insights further down the line.

Related to this new tab is the ability to save an email as draft and navigate to other areas of the application without losing your work – particularly handy if you need to check some details elsewhere in the CRM before sending.

Search experience enhancements making accounts easier to find

As a new rep on territory, navigating your accounts can be a daunting first hurdle. As you start to learn more about the individuals on your territory, you may find that while not all the names have stuck in your head just yet, some other characteristics or attributes will have. This is where Veeva’s improved account picker comes into its own.

With a large number of fields now included in the search functionality, forgetting the Doctor’s name after a call should no longer stop you from recording it against their CRM record. Even just knowing a little bit about that HCP should be enough, with all the below fields available to search:

• Account
  • Formatted_Name_vod__c
  • Account_Identifier_vod__c
  • Furigana_vod__c
  • NPI_vod__c
  • Account_Search_FirstLast_vod__c
  • Account_Search_LastFirst_vod__c
• Address_vod (searches across all addresses)
  • Name
  • Address_Line_2_vod__c
  • City_vod__c
  • State_vod__c
  • Zip_vod__c
  • Phone_vod__c
  • License_vod__c

Forgot the name of Dr. Smith, but know he is a Dermatologist at a specific centre? The address object search has now got you covered. What’s more, if you’re preparing for a call and having to rack your brains on which CLM presentation is most appropriate,  you can now search in-slide content to find the key message that you know will resonate best with that HCP. If your media repository has become large and unwieldy, this is a really handy feature.

A more comfortable in-person presenting experience

Coming slightly later than the main release (11th August 2022), the Remote CLM update is a timely one as we see face-to-face meetings tentatively increasing post-pandemic.

Remote CLM gives the HCP a friction-free way of viewing the content that is being presented by the rep on their own device – meaning no leaning across the table to share an iPad screen. This is a great way to ensure personal space is maintained and that the HCP can effectively keep up with the content that is being presented. What’s more, the calls don’t need to be in Veeva Engage and there is no need for the HCP to install any applications as they can access the content through a link shared using social messaging apps, verbally, or with a QR code.

If you’re keen to learn more about Veeva’s capabilities as a selling effectiveness tool, why not book a free Veeva workshop for your team? As Veeva Full Service Content Partners, we’re well placed to advise you on any upcoming Veeva Approved Email, digital sales aid development, or MyInsights dashboard project you may be considering.