Customer Service Technology is becoming a deciding factor, not just for hospitals or B2C brands, but for pharma companies too. Gartner argues that many organizations buy tech based on demos, not business need.
In pharma, that misstep can cost millions in delays, compliance lapses, and lost trust. For Indian pharma CXOs, embracing tech that aligns with business strategy, rather than letting vendors drive the narrative, is the smarter path to competitiveness.
Leading with business needs, not vendor demos
Gartner notes that more than 80% of technology buyers report “moderate to high regret” in their as-a-service purchase decisions. That’s often because the decision began with flashy features instead of pressing business problems.
Document use cases up front
When selecting a Customer Service Technology, pharma leaders should map out real-world use cases, such as adverse event reporting, HCP query resolution, or patient support calls, and make vendors show how their platform handles those.
Map the end-to-end customer (or patient/HCP) journey
In pharma, “customer” includes prescribers, patients, regulators. A journey map helps expose gaps, say, between post-treatment support calls and patient retention metrics, that the tech must solve.
Insist on cross-functional alignment
Customer service in pharma intersects regulatory, clinical, medical affairs, marketing, and legal. Gartner recommends building a cross-department team so the tech’s scope is horizontal, not siloed.
Gartner
Common pitfalls in pharma’s tech bets
Pharma companies often make the same mistakes when buying Customer Service Technology.
Feature overload, function underuse
A platform may promise sentiment analysis, chatbots, omni-channel routing, but unless teams use them, they become shelfware. Vendor allure blinds buyers to real ROI.
Lack of explainability
When AI is used, for example, to triage HCP queries or route patient calls, regulators in India will expect auditability. A “black-box” model risks regulatory pushback.
Integration bottlenecks
Pharma already uses CRMs, pharmacovigilance tools, LIMS, and more. If a new service tech can’t plug into that stack, it adds friction instead of removing it.
Overemphasis on “cool tech”
Gartner warns that projects led by vendor demos often stray from what the business actually needs. In pharma, cool tech with no alignment is a big waste.
What Gartner says: Use cases and strategy trends
Gartner’s latest thinking highlights where tech actually delivers value in service operations.
Likely wins:
• Agent assistants (help the rep find context and knowledge fast)
• Case summarization (quick overviews of open issues)
• Personalization (tailoring responses based on history)
Calculated risks:
• Automated correspondence (writing communications for you)
• Real-time translation (useful across India’s many languages)
• Fully autonomous AI agents (still experimental)
Trend priorities for 2025:
Conversational AI (GenAI) is rising fast; many leaders plan pilots this year. Also, executive pressure to automate, and embedding service functions deeper into core enterprise processes.
How this applies to Indian pharma CXOs
Let’s bring this home. India’s pharma firms face unique pressures that make misaligning tech extremely risky, and real gains possible if done right.
Multilingual, multi-region reach
Customer service tech must handle vernacular Indian languages and region-specific medical terminologies.
Regulatory complexity
DCGI, CDSCO, ethics committees, they require audit trails. AI decisions for patient support or drug info must be explainable.
Volume + cost sensitivity
The scale of HCP queries, pharma marketing feedback, patient helpline support, automating intelligently can reduce headcount costs without sacrificing quality.
Legacy stacks are real
Many firms still run on older CRMs or PLS systems. A service tech that forces rip-and-replace won’t fly.
What to demand from your tech partner
Pharma CXOs should frame tough questions in the deal room:
- Is your AI explainable and auditable?
- Can you show why a patient query got escalated or an answer changed?
- What local/regional use cases have you deployed? If the vendor has labored to handle Indian drug databases or regional HCP structures, that’s a positive.
- How modular is your integration? You shouldn’t rebuild your core systems. APIs, middleware, or adapters are better.
- How do you ensure adoption, not just installation?- Training, governance, and usage metrics should be baked in, not add-ons.
A roadmap for service tech transformation in pharma
Here’s a practical path forward:
- Start with a focused pilot, say the HCP helpdesk. Use it to validate hypotheses, measure ROI, and prove to skeptics.
- Use journey mapping to spot the “moments of truth”, the interactions that matter most (patient drop-off, complaint handling, adverse event support).
- Scale from pilot to program in waves: regional to national to global.
- Track impact metrics: cost per interaction, resolution time, agent productivity, and compliance incident count.
- Build an internal center of excellence (COE) for governance, training, and cross-domain collaboration.
Conclusion
Customer Service Technology isn’t a luxury. In pharma, it’s a strategic capability that can reduce risk, speed up responses, and protect reputation. Gartner warns that too many tech decisions start with vendor demos and end in regret.
Indian pharma has both the challenge and the opportunity: get this right, and your service capabilities become a competitive moat, not a liability.
Want to design a Customer Service Technology framework that aligns with your pharma goals, not vendor pitches? Let’s talk.
