Every brand needs the right experts to help define and tell its story. Maybe you’re building an advisory board to guide your launch strategy and messaging. Perhaps you’re scaling up your speaker’s bureau and want to ensure you have credible, respected experts who can truly move the needle with healthcare professionals (HCPs). Whatever your need, one thing is certain: identifying the right Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) and Key External Experts (KEEs) can make or break the impact of your peer-to-peer strategy.
But here’s the challenge—not all experts are created equal, and not all identification studies provide you with the results you need. Don’t make the mistake of using outdated lists, relying on internal recommendations, or not knowing key insights about your experts. The result will predictably be suboptimal engagement and missed opportunities to connect with the HCPs who need to hear your message.
So how do you identify the top experts? Let’s walk you through three critical tips that are the foundation of KOL and KEE identification.
1. Build a List That Serves Both Commercial and Medical Teams
One of the big mistakes an organization can make is providing your commercial team with the same identification study that was developed for medical affairs. The early studies conducted for medical affairs typically identify one set of experts for strategies geared to phase 2 and early phase 3 development including advisory boards, while the commercial teams look for expertise in content development, strategy, and other peer-to-peer activities.
Commercial teams may often try and work with the initial study provided to them by medical affairs, but then find the data to be insufficient to their specific needs.
Before you share your initial KOL identification study to commercial, consult with the team to identify which data is useful and which data you still need to possibly collect with an additional study. Medical Affairs teams need experts who understand clinical nuances and can provide scientific guidance. Market Development and Marketing teams need credible voices who can effectively educate peers.
2. Match the Right Experts to the Right Activities
Not every expert is right for every business need. This might sound obvious, but organizations sometimes try to use a one-size-fits-all approach to expert engagement. They identify a solid list of KOLs and then try to plug them into whatever business needs and strategies are on the calendar.
Let’s be clear about the differences: A KEE who is focused on research might not be the dynamic presenter you need for a speaker’s bureau. A widely known KOL with groundbreaking published articles might lack the communication skills to engage with local your targeted physicians effectively. And a Digital Opinion Leader (DOL) who commands massive influence on social media might be very uncomfortable presenting at a traditional speaker program. This newer category of experts have built significant online clout by driving conversations in real-time through platforms such as Doximity, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, ResearchGate, Sermo, podcasts, and more.
When you’re identifying experts, start by clearly defining the role they’ll play. Are you building a speaker’s bureau that requires credible individuals who can deliver compelling, compliant presentations to groups of physicians? Then you need to assess not just clinical expertise but also presentation skills, speaking experience, and the ability to engage an audience. Are you forming an advisory board to guide your clinical development strategy? Then you need deep therapeutic area expertise, strategic thinking ability, and individuals who aren’t afraid to challenge your assumptions.
Managing experts across multiple activities requires careful coordination. The best experts are in high demand, and you should think strategically about how to maximize their impact without utilizing any expert beyond your budget. It’s also important to remember the best experts are not always the most popular. Some experts might serve on your advisory board, participate in broadcasts and occasionally speak at programs. Others might focus exclusively on one activity where they deliver the most value. Map out your expert ecosystem with clear roles and communicate transparently with your experts about how you envision working with them.
3. Dig Deep Into Complex Data
Here’s where many KOL identification efforts fall short: The nuanced insights that separate good experts from truly great ones are often buried under a mountain of raw data. It’s like finding a needle in a haystack. Yes, publication counts matter, but the content of their peer-reviewed publications matters just as much as the quantity of publications. Association participation and congress attendance is important, but it’s also important to look at how they work within congresses and associations to help formulate guidelines. But if you’re only looking at quantitative metrics, you’re not getting the full picture.
Identifying top experts requires a more sophisticated analysis. Are they published in top-tier journals? Are they first or senior authors on pivotal studies? Have they contributed to clinical guidelines or consensus statements that shape treatment paradigms? Are they leading key clinical trials in your therapeutic area?
It goes even deeper than that. You need to understand their sphere of influence. Who cites their work? Who do other physicians mention when asked who they turn to for guidance? What’s their reputation among peers, not just nationally, but regionally and locally?
This data and analysis should also aid in validating your current experts. If you already have a speaker’s bureau or advisory board that was developed years ago, are those individuals still truly considered experts by their peers? The landscape changes. New research emerges. Rising stars become established thought leaders while yesterday’s experts may have shifted their focus or retired from active practice. Regular vetting ensures your expert roster remains current and credible.
Moving Forward
Take the time to do it right. Obtain the data that will work for both your commercial and medical teams Clearly define the roles your experts will play and match the right individuals to the right activities. And understand the nuances of the data to ensure you’re identifying not just any experts, but the ones who will truly move your strategy forward.
When you identify top experts strategically, you’re not just building a list. You’re building relationships with the voices that matter most in your therapeutic area. And that can make all the difference because at its core, peer-to-peer is built around relationships.
Partner With Experts
At V2V, we specialize in KOL/KEE identification. Our team helps you understand not just who the experts are, but why they matter and how they can best serve your strategic objectives. The sheer volume of an identification study is immense, and an experienced partner will know how to navigate that complexity.
If it’s just your team and a spreadsheet, you may find yourself overwhelmed quickly. Be on the lookout for an exciting software announcement coming soon from V2V. It may be the pivotal tool you need to intuitively organize and sort through complex data to pinpoint the experts that will align with your objective.
