The pharma sales team is an integral part of the company, and is often responsible for driving company growth. With increasing competition, stringent regulatory constraints, and highly demanding healthcare professionals (HCPs), the sales team is always under pressure to deliver. The disciplined activity of the field force to communicate with HCPs on a regular basis for brand awareness or medical communication is the backbone of the pharma field strategy. This field activity, or Daily Call Reporting, is an integral part of the sales activity.
What is Daily Call Reporting?
The pharmaceutical industry has evolved from manual forms to digital sales force
automation tools for recording daily calls. Daily Call Reporting (DCR) is a process where the
field force documents their daily interactions with HCPs, chemists and stockists. DCR helps
companies track, manage, and analyze sales activities. The DCR captures interactions with
HCPs, product detailing, feedback, market intelligence, and other documentation.
When DCRs are incomplete or inaccurate, it can have a profound impact on several areas:
● Execution: If the DCRs aren't showing what's happening on the ground and aren't
capturing the desired data, the sales manager can't effectively plan or strategize their
sales activities. It's also hard for managers to design targeted training for the sales
reps. This leads to negative sales growth and wasted efforts. Without accurate DCR,
there's a risk of poor resource allocation. It can also impact the performance of the
field force due to misaligned territories.
● Missed Opportunities: DCR gathers a lot of ground intelligence that helps pharma
companies make tactical or strategic decisions. However, imprecise reporting
damages valuable data, and companies will fail to capture market trends. When
competitor intelligence isn't recorded, it impacts market share, causing negative sales
growth. Poor DCR reporting hinders the effective management of Key Opinion
Leaders (KOLs) or misses business opportunities.
● Skewed Data: When data inputs are skewed, it subsequently creates wrong analysis
and may cause misleading decisions. Skewed data also impacts the performance
measurement of the sales reps. It can also create compliance risks that might lead to
audits, fines, or reputational damage.
Imprecise, incomplete, or inaccurate DCRs trigger a chain reaction of issues that ultimately
result in lost revenue.
Importance of Daily Call Reporting in Pharma
● Performance Tracking: DCR plays a crucial role in recording the daily activities of
the sales reps that helps management assess their productivity and track
performance. It provides a clear picture of reps' activities in the field. The calls or
interactions are measured in terms of 'quality' rather than only 'quantity'. It helps
define field force accountability.
● Mentoring: By monitoring the efforts of the sales team and understanding their
strengths and weaknesses, managers can provide targeted coaching. Managers can
pinpoint top performers and assign targets that reflect their capabilities.
● Market Intelligence: Leverage DCR data to uncover trends, understand HCP
preferences, gather feedback, and monitor competitor activity. This market
intelligence helps in strategizing sales activities, identifying new opportunities, and
making informed business decisions.
● Regulatory Compliance: Accurate reporting helps pharma companies maintain
compliance with regulatory guidelines. A robust DCR system can capture detailed
call reports, integrate GPS tracking, and call duration tracking for real-time validation.
GPS Tracking in Pharma
Technology has evolved from static manual reports to record the actual physical location of the sales reps. The GPS-enabled DCR automatically validates visit locations and times. It ensures data integrity and reduces the chances of ghost calls. It ensures the accountability of the field force while recording the DCR. Real-time field tracking provides analytics that can help in time management and optimizing resources.
Keacyte's Effortless Call Reporting
Keacyte is an advanced pharma DCR system that captures daily call reports and has GPS-
based call reporting. Keacyte's offline-first DCR mobile app simplifies logging calls, field
work, and follow-ups. It tracks interactions with doctors, chemists, and stockists. It enables
smart validations, has editable windows, and its robust approval processes ensure accurate
and compliant reporting.
Its geolocation data can provide insights into market coverage and customer distribution that
helps pharma companies allocate territories more effectively based on sales reps'
performance and the density of healthcare professionals. This helps organizations monitor
visits to HCPs and optimize routes.
It enhances field execution with GPS tracking, voice notes, and omnichannel outreach. It
records call visits with geofencing and engages HCPs via call, WhatsApp, email, or virtual
meeting with real-time traceability.
Its smarter tracking and location intelligence helps in accurate reporting and improving
productivity.
Keacyte’s DCR is integrated with other modules like Leave Management, Sample Tracking,
and E-detailing for seamless field operations.
Conclusion
DCR is not only a key performance indicator but also an authentic source that devises effective pharma strategy and drives field force accountability. Pharma companies should upgrade their DCR system to propagate a culture of transparent, accurate reporting to uncover their field forces' full potential.