Blog Network Association Review

While the pharmaceutical market may be in a constant state of flux and change, it seems that there is a definite trend away from the marketing of big brand, wide reach products to more “niche” medicines and that this change seems to be accelerating. This poses an additional challenge for the pharmaceutical company’s sales staff, especially in the arena of professional education.

Pharmaceutical companies may now be more concerned with discussing product branding at an early stage of the development cycle, as they are keenly aware of the volatile nature of the market and additional constraints that will emerge as the company tries to penetrate and satisfy these more narrow-minded niche markets. The branding exercise must take into account potential resistance or the need for additional clarification at an early stage of the marketing cycle.

Increasingly so, pharmaceutical markets are overcrowded. So many choices are presented to a consumer and a wide variety of external forces often come into the purchasing decision, including advice given by the petitioner or front-line professional. We live in an age when information is instantaneously available and we are, in increasingly surprising numbers, spending our time interacting on social networks. We are becoming more in touch with every aspect of our lives as a consequence. As the market becomes more crowded and the consumer becomes more educated, more emphasis must be placed on marketing program efficiency by senior company executives.

Pharmaceutical companies are spending a great deal of their time moulding and shaping the market so that it is ready for the product when it is released. This underlines the need for early marketing efforts during brand creation and the need to ensure that educational channels are engaged.

If more emphasis is being placed on marketing within niche product areas, then it is true to say that there is more emotional involvement and less tendency to “go with the flow” on the part of the professional or the consumer. This requires a pharmaceutical company to be very clear and distinct in its marketing methods and messages, in order to differentiate itself from its competitors in the eyes of its target markets. This clearly puts pressure on the company’s sales force as these executives must now try and penetrate a sceptical barrier at the professional level and ensure that the message is stronger, yet more targeted than before.

A company cannot succeed without a strong sales force and senior officials are in close contact with pharmaceutical consultants and pharmaceutical consulting firms as they train and develop their sales forces appropriately. In most cases, pharma consulting plays a great role in helping the organisation to identify shifting marketing forces, especially when associated with niche concentration. If the professional is traditionally distant, sharper skills will be required and more cognitive training must be assured to enable the sales executive to break through and be successful. Effective implementation requires an equal amount of experience, ability and training.

Alan Gillies is the Director of L2L Consulting, an elite pharmaceutical consultancy firm which specialises in Strategy Development and Implementation Excellence for prestigious multi-national organisations.