4 ways to recruit faster and smarter
By George Dorsett, Senior Vice President of Sales, Marketing & Growth
What’s the first sign of madness? You might have heard answers ranging from “hair on the palms of your hands” to “the invisible man who steals your socks.” But for innovative clinical research professionals, there’s a more traditional punchline: “Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”
When it comes to patient recruitment, that saying hits home.
At Clariness, more than 50% of the studies we’re asked to support are “rescue” projects -studies struggling with slow enrollment, mounting pressure, and looming deadlines. The stories are familiar:
- Delays in site onboarding or country activation
- Logistical bottlenecks in getting the Investigational Product to sites
- Competitive trials impacting site enrollment ratios
- Overly optimistic feasibility studies
- Higher-than-expected screen fail rates
- Site fatigue from resourcing issues
And yet, many sponsors wait too long before bringing in a centralized recruitment partner. Meanwhile, familiar industry statistics get repeated like a broken record: “80% of clinical trials are delayed due to enrollment issues” and “20% of sites fail to enroll a single patient.”
If that doesn’t make you think of the “madness” analogy, nothing will.
In this article, we’ll break down 4 actionable, proven strategies to accelerate patient recruitment – especially when you’re in a time-critical rescue scenario.
1. Launch campaigns fast – without waiting for EC/IRB approval
One of the biggest recruitment killers? Time lost waiting for Ethics Committee (EC) or Independent Review Board (IRB) approval. This process can drag on for weeks – sometimes months – while your enrollment targets stay frozen in place.
Our Solution: ClinLife® Registry
Instead of waiting, we leverage pre-approved, indication-specific campaigns that require no new EC submission. While your study-specific materials wind through the review process, we can launch campaigns immediately, engaging patients from day one.
That means:
- No EC delays
- No lengthy review cycles
- No post-approval bottlenecks
- Referrals start flowing almost instantly
And we don’t just launch – we scale. With hundreds of established partnerships across patient advocacy groups, local affiliates, and advanced ad-tech networks, ClinLife® Registry eliminates “test-and-learn” delays. In fact, our fastest randomization from referral was just one day this year.
Pro tip: In a rescue situation, choose a partner with proven funnel performance and a robust multi-channel outreach plan. Anything less is just gambling with your timelines.
2. Keep sites at the heart of your strategy
In rescue recruitment, your sites are your greatest allies – but they’re also the first to feel fatigue if support is lacking. Too often, recruitment companies focus only on finding patients, not on converting them through site engagement.
We take a different approach:
Clariness has a global site partnership team of 80 specialists dedicated to nurturing site relationships and reducing investigator/coordinator burden. With experience collaborating with more than 8,000 sites worldwide, our team brings proven insight into what drives performance. The results?
- Sites using ClinLife® report an NPS of 9.2
- Higher referral-to-randomization conversion rates
- Happier, more engaged site staff
Our formula is low-touch technology + high-touch human support. Equip sites with the right tools, keep communication frequent and supportive, and they’ll deliver.
3. Outshine the competition with patient-centric creativity
In competitive indications like neurology, oncology, and immunology, standing out isn’t optional – it’s survival.
Sometimes a centralized recruitment campaign isn’t the silver bullet. You might get better ROI by empowering sites with patient education and retention materials. But creating these materials can stall for weeks due to stakeholder debates over tone, design, or messaging.
That’s where our in-house patient insights team comes in. We know:
- How patients describe their conditions
- The language and tone that resonates with them
- How to turn that into conversion-ready materials fast
Through our next-generation creative agency, we’ve cut material creation timelines by over 40%, enabling rapid pivots in rescue situations. Studies show that sites equipped with our tailored materials recruit 10% more patients from their own databases.
And don’t forget retention. Losing a patient mid-study is far more expensive and damaging than finding a new one.
4. Maximize campaign impact with precision targeting
Speed is nothing without accuracy. That’s why our campaigns go beyond “fast” to laser-focused targeting – not just for patients but also caregivers.
We combine:
- Indication-specific messaging tailored to patient personas
- Omni-channel outreach (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Spotify, blogs, forums)
- Offline trust-building with HCP networks and community groups
For example, in a pediatric atopic dermatitis study, we didn’t just advertise online, we partnered with pre-kindergartens to get study materials directly to parents. The result?
- First patient randomized within 1 week
- Higher quality referrals
- Reduced budget waste
When you align your message, audience, and channels, you accelerate not just recruitment, but study success.
Rescue doesn’t require a lifeboat – just the right partner
If you’re facing slow enrollment, you don’t need to panic – you need a partner with methods, not madness.
Whether it’s launching campaigns instantly, engaging sites effectively, outshining your competition, or maximizing outreach precision, Clariness specializes in turning rescue situations into success stories.
Get in touch today to see how we can help you hit your recruitment goals – fast.