Pharma Marketing

Pharmaceutical Marketing

Marketing strategyAlternative strategic thrusts

Differentiation• Quality / Features• Name• Customer orientation• Patent protection• Support services• Technical superiority• Product – range breadth

Low cost• No add ons• Product design• Mfg. / Operations• Scale economies• Experience curve

Preemptive move• Supply systems• Product• Mfg. system• Gain customer loyalty / commitment• Distribution

Strategic Thrust

Focus• Indication / use• Segment• Geographic

Synergy• Enhance customer value• Reduce operation cost• Reduce investment


Differentiation Strategy

Generate customer value

Provide perceived value

Be difficult to copy

A successful differentiationStrategy should

Determinants of Competitive Advantage


The way we compete• Product strategy• Positioning strategy• Distribution strategy• Manufacturing strategy

Basis of competition• Product superiority• Selling skills• Field force size• Financial strengths• Organisational agility

Where we competeTarget market / product marketSelection

Whom do we compete against

Competitive advantage


Revitalising a brand

1. Increase usage

2. Find new uses 3. Enter new markets

4. Reposition brand

5. Augment brand

6. Obsoleting / Migrating

7. Extend brand

Brandrevitalisation

The Goal of Advertising


Message

Number of doctorsAware / or not aware

Penetration

No. of prescribers amongaware doctors

Prescription pull

Goal : Maximise penetration & prescription pull sinking your message home


Marketing Communication

How advertising communicates

Sender :

Message

Message

Message

Medium

N o

i s

e

Screen

Message

Receiver

Memorystorage

Decode Encode Response

Feedback


Marketing CommunicationHow advertising communicates

Incoming information

Sensory register

Signalstrength

Pertinence

Short term memory storage

Rehearsal Retrieval

Long term memory storage

Action


Marketing CommunicationHow doctors make Rx decision

C O M M U N I C A T I O N

DoctorSegments

CategoryBenefits

Outcome Assessment

• Performance

• Self-image

• Patients acceptance

Considered Rx

Neutral Rx

Reject

CompetitiveChoices

Rxs = Behaviour

Desire to fulfill the need

Explore / Create the awareness of need / gap

Rx Generation Plan

Rx Generation

Act of Conviction

Knowledge / Experience leads to conviction

Knowledge/ Experience Rxs- I am not aware - So I don’t act- I am aware, but don’t understand - So I don’t act- I am aware, but don’t feel the same - So I don’t act- I am aware & would like to act - So I do act

Rx Generation Plan


The Loyalty Pyramid

Committed Prescriber

Likes the brandWill switch if alternative

Is more likeable

Satisfied prescriber willswitch at a “price”

Satisfied / Regular prescriberWill switch only if better alternative

Switchers / Price sensitive prescribersNo loyalty


The Doctor’s Rx – Decision Process

I definitely like it better than others

I like it better

I know but not sure

I know but don’t care

I don’t know

Status/Response Unaware of Benefits

Aware of Benefits but doesn’t feel important

I like the Benefits but not sure about significance

I will compare against other products

I like your Benefit. I will Rx it


The Loyalty Matrix Priorities

Switchers Fence sitters Loyal

Prescriber Medium High Higher

Non- Low to prescribers medium

High Low

To whom do brands appeal and why ?

• No brand can appeal to all doctors all the time.

• Seldom is there exclusive brand loyalty.

• This is because the non-discriminating appeals of the brand usually apply more or less equally to all brands in the market.

• At the same time, the discriminating appeals are not usually quite important enough for doctors to become exclusive prescribers of Brand ‘A’ or Brand ‘B’.

What appeal do brands have amongdoctors ?

• Doctors SELDOM MAKE a mental list of all the advantages / disadvantages, favourable / unfavourable factors among brands..

• They make a choice between brands based on an OVERALL IMPRESSION that they have about each brand.

• Doctors often have a mental shortlist of brands that they like to prescribe. Also, this shortlist will have an order of priority..

• How favorable the OVERALL IMPRESSION is, will determine whether a brand is in the doctor’s mental shortlist, and also what priority it enjoys.

• The long term objective of advertising, therefore, is either to get a brand on a doctor’s shortlist

OR

• If it is already there, to move it up in terms of preference from 3rd or 4th place to 1st or 2nd.

• This means, you need to understand the doctor as well as the brand; to hone in on what makes a doctor tick in relation to a Therapeutic Group / Indication and its component brands.

What appeal do brands have amongdoctors ?

To develop outstanding advertising, we must

judge it in terms of how the target person will

respond and not in terms of what claims the

marketer wants to make.

What kind of responses can we evoke ?

• Direct action : “I should do it now e.g. Short dated products

• Interest : “I should find out more” “Sounds interesting. I must learn more.”

• Trial : “What a good idea”

• Remind & : “Yes, that is why I prescribe” Intensify

• Modify : “I have never thought of it before

Some Common Advertising Objectives

1. To inform prospects of a new product

2. To present detailed technical information about a

new product

3. To build desired product image

4. To inform prospects of the differentiating

characteristics of an established product

5. To suggest new uses for a product

6. To increase frequency of use of a product

7. To correct misconceptions or poor attitudes

towards a brand

8. To remind users to use a product


Advertising

Some important points to remember

1. Because we want our message to sink in, we must take utmost care in developing and deciding the message content.

2. Doctors do not remember our product forever. Some who are aware may forget - some who are unaware may become aware. It is a “Passing Parade”. Hence, continuous exposure of message is essential.

3. Too frequent change of message affects penetration & allows message to grow like a strong giant tree with deep roots.


Advertising

Some important points to remember (contd)

4. Doctors tend to remember just one thing from a message - one strong claim or one strong concept. Remember “Quit India”.

5. As our penetration goes up, our competitors tend to go down. As our penetration goes down, our competitors tend to go up.

6. A visual aid which only looks beautiful is window dressing. The art of the window dresser may be the art of display.

7. Every visual aid must make a proposition to the doctor. Not just visuals, words and product puffery. It must tell the doctor “prescribe this brand and this is the benefit your patients get.


Advertising

Some important points to remember (contd)

8. The proposition should talk about relevant and significant benefits. Blowing up less relevant / insignificant as possible.

9. It is desirable to drape our brand visually with as many activating and pleasant associations as possible.

10. Finally, the proposition must be, not what we want to put in, but what we want the doctor to take out.


Advertising

• Repetition is the key to good advertising. It takes the average viewer nine exposures before the ad is readily remembered. Thus, a specific ad should be exposed at least 27 times before it is changed.

• A successful visual aid page should be 30% headline, 30% photo illustration and 30% text.

• Find a hole, then fill it - Positioning : Al Ries & Jack Trout

• Make the product the star of your ad.


Product Portfolio / Input Strategy

Profit Margins

Sales Growth

High Medium Low

High Invest/Grow Invest/GrowSelective

Investment

Medium Invest/GrowSelective

InvestmentHarvest/Divest

LowSelective

InvestmentHarvest/Divest Harvest/Divest

PAWNFAB Technique(Communication)

P (Medical Treatment Problem)A (Acknowledgement of the problem exists - Creating / acknowledging the awareness of the needs exist)W (Wants)N (Needs)= = = = = => Introduction of the solution (Therapy / Product / Brand)F (Features)A (Advantages over existing alternatives)B (Benefits fulfilling the need or solving the problem)

Rx Generation Plan

- Good summarization of the entire communication helps

to generate better conviction of the solution provided.

- Better conviction only leads to better commitment.

- If there is a conviction about the solution offered,

doctor normally would not restrict its usage only

to few patients, but would like to pass on to

sizeable No. of patients to gain confidence.

Rx Generation Plan

- If the experience with him is good, he definitely would like to repeat his experiences. That’s the way we develop satisfied customer.

- Satisfied customer with value additions such as constant up gradation of his skills / knowledge to build better practice, better & larger patient clientele, wider acceptability & status, social recognition and may be monitory rewards would develop the loyal customer.- Loyal customers are our brand ambassadors.

Rx Generation Plan

Way Forward …..

VAF communication based on “PAWNFAB”

Strategy guidelines must have situational detailing guidelines.

Probing & objection handling techniques

Summary call & commitment

Rx Generation Plan

Way Forward …

Rx generation _____________________________________________

Proper RCPA Dr. Selection Understanding Product of Customer Prospect

Matching

A Format needs to be used (to be evaluated by ASMs)

Rx Generation Plan

Pharma Marketing

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