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
Pharmaceutical Marketing
Differentiation Strategy
Generate customer value
Provide perceived value
Be difficult to copy
A successful differentiationStrategy should
Determinants of Competitive Advantage
Pharmaceutical Marketing
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
Pharmaceutical Marketing
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
Pharmaceutical Marketing
Message
Number of doctorsAware / or not aware
Penetration
No. of prescribers amongaware doctors
Prescription pull
Goal : Maximise penetration & prescription pull sinking your message home
Pharmaceutical Marketing
Marketing Communication
How advertising communicates
Sender :
Message
Message
Message
Medium
N o
i s
e
Screen
Message
Receiver
Memorystorage
Decode Encode Response
Feedback
Pharmaceutical Marketing
Marketing CommunicationHow advertising communicates
Incoming information
Sensory register
Signalstrength
Pertinence
Short term memory storage
Rehearsal Retrieval
Long term memory storage
Action
Pharmaceutical Marketing
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
Pharmaceutical Marketing
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
Pharmaceutical Marketing
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
Pharmaceutical Marketing
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
Pharmaceutical Marketing
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.
Pharmaceutical Marketing
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.
Pharmaceutical Marketing
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.
Pharmaceutical Marketing
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.
Pharmaceutical Marketing
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
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