Trivia question for the channel-mix nerds: what’s the average number of meaningful touches to move an HCP from awareness to first trial on a new device? In a 2023 cardiology pilot, we hit trial at 6–8 touches when the brand positioning was reinforced via rep email plus a short peer video, but I’m looking for the benchmark or source you trust.
For a 2,000-seat room, the most useful reps I got were in a 0.6 CEU Zoom micro-lab that recorded short sets for GoReact review while a cheap LED at eye level mimicked stage wash for front-loading and ‘applause-line’ cues. If you need something before April, check your local RID affiliate’s skills labs — solid coach feedback and video review, though the lighting simulation isn’t perfect versus in-person. Would a Zoom lab suffice, or are you set on in-person?
We generally see 7–9 meaningful touches to first trial — “rule of 7” still has legs — especially when rep email and a 60-90s peer video are followed by a short hands-on demo. One concrete step: tag what counts as “meaningful” in CRM and run a cohort time-to-trial by specialty; academic centers usually need a couple extra touches, @Elena. If your 6–8 didn’t include a live demo or sample placement, that often knocks one or two touches off.
In our fall neuro launch, we hit trial in 5–6 touches when we followed the “rep email + short peer video” with a single-CTA Calendly link to a 10‑min Zoom micro-demo within 72 hours — front-loading that live demo shaved about 1–2 touches. Caveat: if access is tight or it’s a new-to-world category, it drifts back to 8–10, . Are you counting scheduling/in‑service as a touch or just content + rep contacts?
We added a macro that pulls the account’s timezone into the opener — “Looks like it’s about 3 p.m… your time; want a 20‑minute demo today or tomorrow?” — and it cut the back‑and‑forth in half (and no more 3 a.m. invites); just watch out for VPNs or traveling reps. @Jae do you tag TZ on intake or infer it after first reply?
Quick datapoint: with interventional cards, we average 6–8, but drop to 5–6 when touch 3 includes a 1-pager “next-case checklist” and we ask for the scheduled case date — laying out scrubs the night before. @natasha_p_89’s point on speed is spot-on; the caveat is office-based subspecialties still sit closer to 7–9. Was your pilot more cath lab or EP?
I keep seeing ‘6–8 touches’ too, but we reliably hit trial in 5–6 when touch 3 is a pre-filled loaner/eval request the HCP can submit in under a minute. In cardio, pairing your 2023 pilot’s reinforcement with a 30‑day eval link tied to the local lab’s inventory cuts the stall — , “meaningful” is fuzzy. Do you count the availability-confirmation text as a touch or only the educational stuff?
From what I’ve seen, plan on 7–9 interactions overall, with academics trending higher because VAC is the extra boss level that adds a week or two. If VAC’s involved, move a ‘mini VAC packet’ (value brief + IFU + ballpark pricing) to outreach 2 and offer two proctor hold times in the same note to compress the cycle. @tony_r88 do you CC the VAC admin when you send the pre-filled eval, or wait until the champion signs off?