Vijay wagh feature1

18 CMYK

Feature Shifting paradigms of
communication strategies of
pharma marketing
Vijay Wagh
SIES College of Management Studies (SIESCOMS), Nerul, Navi Mumbai, India

Marketing communication aims at influencing media available and aim to address many target audience in a
attitude and behavior of the buyer and public at large single style known as “mass communication.” The methods
related to a particular product. The marketer, through available in this regard are:
proper communication channels, always strives to 1. Advertisement.
convey that the right product is available at the right 2. Public relations.
place at the right price. All the promotional activities 3. Sales promotion.
associated with marketing communication aim to 4. Direct marketing.
satisfy the existing or latent demands of a set of In order to become effective as a marketer, a marketing
existing or potential customers, which finally results manager, besides personal selling, has therefore to adopt other
in proper exchange of goods/services for a financial options as mentioned above to communicate with existing as
consideration. In a competitive world, the well as potential buyers. To what extent or mix, one or more
communication strategy should not only be effective of the above strategies could be adopted depends on the
but also aggressive enough to create a clear-cut professional acumen of the marketing manager besides the
impression and positioning in the minds of the context and the permissibility under statutory provisions. For
customers. The same is true for pharmaceutical example, by and large, personal selling continues to be the
industry as well with an added dimension. Since all backbone of pharma marketing in the Indian context. This is
customers (doctors) are knowledgeable in their own primarily on account of the nature of market, products and
domain, the communication should be persuasive and statutory provisions as a result of which personal selling has
convincing in knowledge and content so that it can emerged as the most important method of contacting and
motivate doctors to prescribe a specific brand. The communicating with doctors and channel members. The prime
marketing manager has, therefore, to adopt and choose drivers for the above trend are:
an effective promotion mix and integrate them in a 1. Legal provisions do not, by and large, permit pharma
way that the methods of communication work as companies to use TV or press as a method of
complementary and supplementary to each other. communication with direct consumers.
There is, therefore, an imperative need for an ideal 2. The nature of products is highly technical and scientific in
mix both for content of communication and its nature and directly related to health of consumers, as a
promotion. result of which, they have to necessarily depend on doctors’
advice and recommendations.
Integrated communication mix 3. Awareness among masses about medicine and related
health products is not high.
The two major elements in communication mix Therefore, pharma marketers have great limitations on using
are: advertising, public relations or other sales promotion methods.
a) Personal communication. The pharma marketers can however use occasions of medical
b) Nonpersonal communication. seminars, conferences to publicize their products and services.
Similarly, they can plan sales incentives at the level of their
While personal communication solely depends on channel members (stockists and retailers) and sales force level.
face-to-face meeting and discussion between company However, this benefit cannot be extended to the final
representatives/sales people and the customer, consumer, i.e., patients.
nonpersonal communication methods try to use other Direct Marketing methods, however, can be used with
limited audience, especially with doctors, through medical
journals. For example, “Organon Pharma” used to advertise
Address for correspondence: their products in “British Medical Journal” and gift it to their
E-mail: vijay@siescoms.edu target doctors. Many pharmaceutical companies give

18 Pharma Times - Vol 38 - No. 7 - July 2006

CMYK 19

Wagh V: Shifting paradigms of strategies of pharma marketing

advertisements in medical journals and circulate them among Future of pharma marketing
their target doctors.
In view of the limitation of routes other than direct contact
communication
selling, the role of personal selling in the Indian context has
become extremely crucial. In a market where products and Some of the major future trends of pharmaceutical
strategies are in many cases “me-too” in nature, the battle is communication will be as under:
more between talents of different selling teams. A team of 1. Web-based communication.
trained sales force with effective communication, presentation 2. E-mails (to doctors, chemists and distributors, advertising
and persuasive skills has a decisive role in winning the channel).
marketing war. 3. Advertising.
To sustain an effective marketing campaign, a company
needs to build a team of assertive, responsible marketing 1. Web-based communication
professionals and strategies in place to augment their efforts. Some of the leading Indian pharmaceutical companies have
The role of this team is not only to do direct selling but also already started using their own website-mechanics wherein
to undertake innovative activities that help the company in detailed (medical and commercial) information about each brand
supporting the direct selling activities. For example, companies is being hosted. It helps in educating the consumers (doctors
like Cipla courier medical literature, sales promotion bulletins, and patients) about products those companies are selling. In an
samples and offer letters to doctors, chemists and stockists, in increasingly knowledge-centric scenario, this approach obviously
addition to the personal communication by their medical augments awareness about a company and its products.
representatives. Similar strategies are increasingly followed by
many Indian pharmaceutical companies. 2. E-mails
The visit of MRs can be supported by e-mails to doctors,
chemists and distributors. This can be a highly individual and
Direct marketing methods
customized channel of communication. Some e-mails can be
sent to consumers/patients under the pretext of extended
The word “direct marketing” is possibly a misnomer; it medical service, especially to diabetic, cardiac patients who
should rather be termed as direct contact method/ consume these prescription drugs for long periods. This
communication method. It helps to establish direct communication strategy, besides taking objective feedback of
communication channel between sellers and various the products and being inquisitive about well-being of the
constituents involved in the selling process – like doctors, consumers, can definitely lead to increased loyalty.
chemists, distributors, among others. Direct communication
methods aim at creating, recording and tracking the customer’s 3. Advertising
response towards the products and services offered by the In many advanced economies and countries, direct
marketer over a period of time. They help in formulating advertising of prescription drugs in mass media is permitted.
marketing strategies as well as building long-term relationship In the context of Indian marketing, this issue is highly debated
with customers, resulting in increased brand loyalty. due to low literacy and awareness about medicines and
These methods are of great help to directly reach and deliver possibility of misuse. But in the near future, this may be
goods and services to consumers, and they help create data permitted and could be an important communication method.
base and measure the response of each individual customer.
Some among the popular direct marketing media channels in
vogue are: Conclusion
a) Catalog.
b) Direct mails. Effective communication to potential buyers, decision
c) Telemarketing. makers, persons capable of influencing buying decisions,
d) Fax. current buyers and people with referral power is the key to
e) Internet/e-mail. success. It enables a marketer to sell his products/services
f ) Interactive cable TV. to customers through ethical but persuasive means. Successful
In Pharma marketing, medical representatives (MR) do marketers thus have to adopt proper blend of personal and
usually carry out the function of personal selling wherein an nonpersonal approaches to communication, depending on
MR is expected to meet around 10-12 doctors and 4-6 chemists the product as well as psyche of the customers. While the
per day. Thus the total number of doctors visited in a month former leads to demand generation, the latter, i.e., nonpersonal
in a given sale territory would be around 250 to 280 doctors communication helps in its sustainable retention. An effective
and 125 to 150 chemists respectively. This is pretty low marketing manager is one who can craft a proper mix of
compared to the actual density of the population of doctors communication strategy within the overall gamut of existing
and chemists in a sales territory. In such a situation, direct legal and statutory provisions of the country. Communication
mail of samples, reminders and persuasive mails sent to the strategies of pharma companies in India are expected to
clients whom an MR could not meet could be of great use. undergo radical transformation in years to come. The process
These tools can also be used as powerful tools of has already started. What is needed is for some companies
communication and brand recall strategy to supplement the to take lead through some radical and innovative steps. That
visit. will pave the way for others to follow.

Pharma Times - Vol 38 - No. 7 - July 2006 19

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