People power is rising

I GOT THE ABOVE INTERESTING IMAGE FROM HERE.

On the Indian pharma marketing front, there is a new fillip to 'people power'. People are mattering more than ever in pharma marketing. This is the conclusion drawn during my recent marketing experience during the 'in-stall activity' at ASICON 2008. Like many pharma companies we too had a great time communicating and having exciting in-stall activities for visiting surgeon delegates at ASICON 2008, Ludhiana. ASICON is the annual conference organized by the Association of Surgeons of India. In the latest edition of this annual event - a melting pot for surgeons - pharma marketers got their pool of surgeons to listen to their pitch, while the surgeons got an occasion to network and update themselves with the latest surgical techniques, laparoscopic procedures and the recent trends in tumor removal during cancer management.

Power plays are changing

Power is defined as the ability to control behaviors, events and resources. There are six types of powers:

Expertise power: the knowledge and skills of people.
Reward power: the power to grant rewards.
Coercive power: the power to create negative reinforcements, or to punish ie., to make people jump through the hoops!
Referral power: the charisma, charm and aura that some people have.
Legitimate power: the power that comes with the birth or designation of a person. For eg., a scion of an industrialist will have certain legitimate powers.
Connection power: having relationships with people who matter.

In India, money power and connection power are the traditional routes to market success. A company utilizes its connections with people who matter to obtain licenses and other approvals and consequently market a product successfully. The ability to obtain licenses and other approvals has always mattered a lot. In fact this was the differentiator. It helped companies get their product to the market fast - real fast - before others did.

However, with the product patent regime in place, the rise of media power, the spread of wealth, better education, more and more pharma production facilities, and every body becoming competitive and street smart, all marketers wising up to the concept of connection power, the power plays are now distinctly changing. The connection power for obtaining licenses, approvals and the money power to produce a product are not enough to connect with the market successfully. To make a product a continuous market success, connection power and money power alone are not enough. People power is gaining traction.

Everybody is game for pharma marketing

It appears that everyone now believes pharma marketing is not a rocket science! The MR has to connect with the target audience, deliver regular visits and communication, provide samples, literatures, communication inputs and gifts, negotiate sponsorships, and finally obtain prescription harvests. Every pharma company is aggressive and game for these SOPs (standard operating procedures). For eg., during the in-stall activities at ASICON, all pharma marketers were aggressively using tactics to get the maximum visits from delegates. If you start a lucky dip, the next day, the stall opposite to yours starts the same - to become competitive. Every one provides gifts, freebies and other services to create a better stall. Certainly this is happening on the field during in-clinic activity too. So the question is, how do you get an edge over the competitor pharma marketer? This is where people power gets traction.

People power is communication power

In pharma marketing, communication power is crucial. The process of sending messages successfully is crucial to marketing success. Communication between individuals depends on verbalization - to an extent of 7%, vocalization - to an extent of 38% and body language (particularly facial expressions) - to an extent of 55%. The ability to communicate effectively requires training and confidence. Both these come from knowledge and practice. In fact, this communication power made the difference during in-stall activities, and surely this is making the difference during in-clinic activities too. People communication power is becoming all the more important as most companies (MNC and Indian) are becoming equally aggressive in terms of visits to doctors, sampling, gifting and sponsorships. MNCs do this in style - they provide medical grants or scientific grants to influence prescribing behavior. Indian companies are a little more brazen, they call it deals and sponsorships. The end objective is the same. However, what makes the difference is the person from the company, his communication and representation. What makes the difference is the communication inputs of the company - at the corporate level and field level. The communication print and nonprint inputs and people power are the keys to win the contemporary pharma marketing battles. IT REMINDS ONE OF THE AGE OLD SAYING - PEOPLE DO BUSINESS WITH PEOPLE!

Thanks for reading this blogpost, please scroll down, read all other blogposts, click on OLDER POSTS wherever required. MERRY CHRISTMAS (belated) AND HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009 in advance.

Information search and marketing successes

The trigger for this blog is lovely KATRINA KAIF (I got the above image from HERE). It has made headlines in India - the maximum search made by googlers of India (and Pakistan) is for Katrina Kaif. The question is not: 'Why Katrina Kaif?' The question is, why do people do 'information search' - what is it that motivates people to search for items or persona?

The answer is: PROBLEM SOLVING - the process of problem solving REQUIRES INFORMATION SEARCH.

The other name of life is problem solving. We are constantly solving problems and taking decisions accordingly. For eg., putting up a blogpost that is interesting is a problem and this requires a series of decisions and activities. However, the start of the problem solving process is INFORMATION SEARCH.

To solve problems, we search for information first within our memories. We try to make decisions to solve problems based on the wisdom of our past experiences or the stored up knowledge in our brain. At another level we tend to confer with trusted individuals and seek information to help solve problems. In fact, in the cyber dimension, Google has redefined and created a new paradigm in the problem solving process. We only have to type in the words associated with the problem and we can try and create a menu of actionable approaches to solve the problem.

SO WHAT ABOUT PHARMA/HEALTHCARE MARKETING AND THE PROBLEM SOLVING PROCESS?

Marketing communication and other activities address people - in fact, to be specific, marketing activities address the problem solving process of people. Marketing people present value to the prospects and customers - the net result is that the value preposition solves the problem(s) of the target audience.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s the medical representative had a hallowed status in the field. During those times, the MR was the only source of valuable information that could add value to the clinical practice of a physician. Hence, there was a great value for a MR during those times. Besides there were very few MRs and this created additional value for the profession. Later on as the number of MRs increased and the print medium picked up (offering several print products with clinical information), the MR's role altered to becoming a relationship management expert (offering intangible and tangible inputs to the doctors). With the increasing internet penetration and the consequent collapse of the information float (this means people will have access to real-time information), the MR's role will alter considerably in coming days. Consequently, mobile based and internet based marketing communication activities will see increased focus so as to engage members of the target audience. The major role of the MR will be to create a human face to the company operations in the market and IMPORTANTLY HELP BUILD TRUST in the company products and processess.

I recollect my days of independent field working in Bangalore some time in the late 1990s. I read about a report in the Times of India that nifedipine on long-term use increases mortality. We had an antihypertensive product - atenolol and indapamide combination. I met a leading doctor, Dr. K G Das in Ulsoor. This gentleman is an illustrious and very knowledge oriented doctor. I detailed our antihypertensive product, and as part of the post-detailing discussions, I placed the newspaper report, in front of him, and said:"Sir, many of your patients may have read this report today morning, so naturally, they will be confused, and may confront you for answers." The doctor read this newspaper report and then had discussions with me for about 45 minutes about clinical trials, and many other matters. Needless to add, my prescriptions for our antihypertensive combination saw a rise.

The moral of the above story is that when marketers present information in a timely fashion, it helps the marketer achieve better success significantly.

Marketers need to understand the problem solving process of doctors and chemists. By understanding the problem solving process, and offering value added solutions, marketers can gain better prescription mileage.

Gifts, relationship management and other promotional tools are vital to influence prescribing behaviour and the chemist OTC behaviour, however, it is critical to participate successfully in the problem solving process of the target audience to attain key marketing success.

Thanks for reading this blogpost, please scroll down to read about a book in which, there is a chapter penned by me. Also, please scroll down and click on OLDER POSTS, to read all other blogposts. Thanks.

My chapter in a book

The above images are of a book: INDIAN PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY: Strategies and Challenges in Formulations Marketing. This book is a compilation of articles written by various experts. The book has been edited by Mr. B V S Prasad and Mr. K Gowri Shankar, who are noted experts in this field with very high qualifications. The book is published by the ICFAI University Press. As such, the ICFAI University Press has an initiative called Icfai books. In this initiative they publish books in the areas of finance, management and allied areas with a special focus on emerging and frontier areas. One project is to compile thought-provoking articles from leading professional mags and research journals. And in this series, 1500 books have been published. http://www.blogger.com/www.books.iupindia.org

One such book is INDIAN PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY: Strategies and Challenges in Formulations Marketing. And my article published earlier in CHRONICLE PHARMABIZ, has been compiled in to this book. The article entitled Prescriber Fatigue and Product Life Cycle Management is in Section 2 - it is Chapter 11, and on page no. 127.

My thanks are due to ICFAI, the editors - Mr. B V S Prasad and Mr. K Gowri Shankar who have published the article in the book. And I will be failing in my duty if I do not express my heartfelt gratitude to Mr. Anand Mohan Dass. He was not only important in the process of the above book production, he has also kindly couriered a complimentary copy of the book to me. I once again thank Mr. M Anand, Senior Research Associate, Icfai Research Center and Mr. Gowri Shankar. I also thank the Chronicle Pharmabiz team, in the first place, for having published the article some time back.

I request people interested in the Indian Pharmaceutical Industry to pick up this book as it is a great resource. It has 21 articles in all. The articles are in three sections: Section 1 is on Pharma Industry Overview, and the second section is on Marketing Strategies and Challenges: Formulations. The third section is on Company articles.

The ISBN is 978-81-314-1627-3

The book publishers are: The Icfai University Press, 52, Nagarjuna Hills, Punjakatta, Hyderabad, India, Pin code: 500082

Website: http://www.blogger.com/www.books.iupindia.org

Email: icfaibooks@iupindia.org

GO AHEAD, DO KINDLY EXPLORE THE ABOVE BOOK.

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The Great Indian Milk Opportunity For Pharma

MILK IS AN INTERESTING MARKET FULL OF POSSIBILITIES FOR PHARMA AND HEALTHCARE MARKETERS, PLEASE READ BELOW FOR SOME INSIGHTS, AND I GOT THE ABOVE IMAGE FROM HERE, CLICK HERE (the link discusses on 'organic milk').

INDIA IS THE LARGEST PRODUCER OF MILK IN THE WORLD. THE PACKAGED MILK BUSINESS IS HAVING AN ANNUAL TURNOVER OF AROUND Rs. 10000 CRORES! WE PRODUCE OVER 100 MILLION TONNES OF MILK, REPRESENTING AROUND 15% OF THE WORLD'S PRODUCTION. CAN THE PHARMA AND HEALTHCARE MARKETERS OF INDIA CASH IN ON THIS 'MILK OPPORTUNITY'?

Milk has a legendary status in India. Lord Krishna liked milk and milk products especially in his infant days. Milk is seen as manna from heaven. Warriors, wrestlers, and even Dhoni the charismatic and dashing cricketer, drink a lot of milk. Dhoni, it is rumored, drinks at least 1 litre of milk a day. Kids, the aged, the working class, and just about everybody consume milk. In fact, juice drinking culture is not the mass culture in India (as it is in the West). Consumption of milk and milk based products is the mass culture and has a high consumption pattern in Indian society and culture. Due to these cultural reasons, patient/consumer compliance and delight can be expected to be higher with milk and milk based pharma products and health supplements.

Milk as a vehicle provides exciting opportunities for strengthening nutrition, health, and healing.

Value added products derived from milk with special interest in pharma and health supplement business include:

Whey protein: is the best source of protein. In India, protein malnourishment is quite common. Whey protein has the highest biological value of any known protein. The biological value of a protein food, is the measure of how much protein gets incorporated in to the body. Higher the BV more the proteins from the food gets incorporated in to body's protein. Whey protein has a BV (biological value) of 106 to 150, egg whites have lesser BV of 100 BV - Whey protein BV is the highest for any protein food - no wonder in Indian traditions, the cow has a hallowed status... you see... Whey protein is derived from cow's milk, in fact, it is a by product of cheese manufactured from cow's milk. The globular proteins from whey protein are easily assimilated in the body particularly in the muscles. Hence, body builders too prefer whey protein based supplements.

Milk calcium (milk mineral complex): is a source of calcium derived from milk. In fact, it is more properly called milk mineral complex. This is a concentrate of minerals present in milk. Calcium is in the highest proportion. Milk calcium is also a whey by-product. Patient acceptance of milk calcium is obviously high - due to a positive image, hence, there are labelling advantages. Along with calcium, milk calcium offers magnesium, and the calcium to phosphorous ratio too is beneficial. Milk calcium has a mineral composition similar to bones CLICK HERE.

Probiotic/prebiotic enhanced milk-derived products: Yogurt is a billion dollar business worldwide, and it is promoted as a healthy probiotic based drink. Yakult is the prime mover in this business. Yogurt is not a product of rocket science. It is a custard like food made from curdled milk. Yakult is trying to make its inroads in to the Indian market. And this in a country which is not a stranger to milk and milk based products. Yakult yogurt is a value added product derived from milk, and such a product is definitely possible for Indian manufacturers to manufacture. Yakult (or can we call it mishti dahi!?) is a Japanese doctor's invention. It uses Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus. The reason that Yakult makes waves is the fact that it addresses the large gastrointestinal market. In fact, in India, 1/3rd of the Pharma market is gastrointestinal. Electrolyte energy drinks and other products too address the large gastrointestinal market (info@jagdale.com). Similar to probiotic based milk products, prebiotic (FOS) based milk products are also doing good business globally. This clinical trial established that prebiotic and probiotic milks have good impact on pediatric health. (In this clinical trial there is also a lucid explanation on what probiotics and prebiotics are). There is good scope for such products in India too.

Colustrum: is the first secretion from female mammals immediately after birth of baby, for the first 2 to 4 days. It is a rich source of nutrients, antibodies, immunoglobulins, and growth factors. Bovine colustrum derived from cattle - it can be consumed by humans, and improves immunity, growth, and overall health. Merck in India is a lead player in the colustrum market.

Milk based vaccination: is an interesting concept being worked on by certain researchers. For eg., Immunization against malaria through milk, has been experimented upon CLICK HERE. Probably there will be biotech milks in the future with distinct therapeutic benefits like vaccination. Some marketers, call colustrum as nature's vaccination approach.

Milk based pharmaceuticals/nutraceuticals: imagine a Calcium Sandoz brand line extension in liquid milk form (offering vitamin D and calcium as milk mineral complex 50 to 100% RDA) - there you have a very big market that can ride on the Rs. 10000 crore milk market! Or ‘Shelcal milk’ from Elder Pharmaceuticals. If nanotech is used it is possible to mask taste and provide antibiotic-based milk preparations for specific uses in disease conditions. Thus, milk based pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals are possible in the future.

Fortified milk products: The world-over fortification is a mass approach to improve nutritional status of target populations. For eg., iodized salt is mass consumed in India, to improve thyroid health. Milk presents a great opportunity for vitamin and mineral fortification to provide healthy beverages to target populations.

IS IT POSSIBLE TO ACHIEVE THE FOLLOWING IN THE FUTURE?

World’s largest producer of whey protein: India
World’s largest producer of milk mineral complex: India
World's largest producer of colustrum: India
World’s largest producer of fortified milks: India
World’s innovator of vaccination through milk: India
World’s innovator of milk based pharmaceuticals/nutraceuticals: India

Yes it is possible...

HOW TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN?

This is possible through COLLECTIVE INNOVATION AND GENERIC MARKETING. THE SECOND FACTOR IS THE MOST CRITICAL FACTOR. BAD MARKETING CAN BURY MANY A GOOD PRODUCT. PRODUCT INNOVATION SHOULD BE BACKED BY MARKETING OR INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS WILL FACE MARKET FAILURE. (Generic marketing means nonbrand marketing, see below.)

The best marketing approaches can be worked out through studying established marketing models for other products. For instance look at this approach of the olive producers of European Union. The stakeholders as you will observe by clicking on the hyperlink, have formed an International Olive Council in Madrid, this non profit body has the sole objective of launching promo campaigns in high potential markets like India, and increase the consumption of olive oil. These are generic promotional activities. By this marketing activity, all stakeholders in the olive oil business, stand to gain. And more wealth will be created for the olive oil stakeholders. This is the way of business. And we can take a leaf from this olive oil story to create an organization to popularize Indian milk and particularly milk derived products of interest to pharma and healthcare marketers.

What will happen if we do not take the lead in creating value added products through milk, in India? The answer is somebody else will do it and take advantage of the home market in India and abroad. For eg., the French and the Danish are having a great run in the Chinese market by planting the probiotic concept. CLICK HERE. The no. 1 probiotic product in the huge Chinese market for kids is a sachet product from the French company Biostime. Similarly, the humble Indian gooseberry (Amla, Phyllanthus emblica) is powering ahead the American company called Natreon. This company too is developing a science-based promotion of their brand of an amla based product. Merck in the Indian market is said to having an interest to launch an amla based product.

Business is like a war – healthcare or other business operations are always run for gaining markets and profits. Earlier military wars used to be fought for gaining geographical territories (geographical expansion), and filling up the treasury of the country. Today, the fashion of war is different – it is called business. Products are offered and markets conquered with the intent of filling the corporate war chests with more and more cash. EITHER PLAY THE BUSINESS BY ITS RULES (UNWRITTEN OR WRITTEN) OR GET PLAYED OUT! SO WILL PHARMA AND HEALTHCARE MARKETERS BANK ON THE INDIAN MILK MARKET? LET US WAIT AND WATCH!!

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Era of media barons

AT THE CHHATRAPATHI SHIVAJI TERMINUS, TERRORITS RAN AMOK AND KILLED PLENTY OF PEOPLE IN COLD BLOOD. THE ABOVE IS A RELATED IMAGE, WHICH I HAVE OBTAINED FROM HERE.

Non stop ... anger, excitement, sadness, grief, and so on ... perhaps these words sum up the feelings in India today. It has been an unforgettable week, terrorists tormented Indian, British, Israeli, American and other nationals at Taj, Oberoi Trident, and Nariman House in Mumbai. There are plenty of reports and blogs on these events. BUT ONE THING STANDS OUT STARK AND CLEAR ... IT IS A LOUD MESSAGE TO ALL MARKETERS ... THE ERA OF MEDIA AND MEDIA BARONS HAS ARRIVED IN INDIA! Till now, it was the era of software czars in the Indian information society. Now the era of media barons has started. It is not the judiciary, not the political establishment, not the armed forces and not even the PM ... it is the time of the media barons now, in India. The media controllers are the real controllers in India. Imagine if you had a clutch of print media products, TV channels, and internet websites ... imagine the control one can wield over the messaging process, and over people, and consequently revenues - it is simply amazing. TV celebrity anchors like Arnab of Times Now, Prannoy Roy and Barkha Dutt of NDTV, and Sonia of Aaj Tak - they are amazingly influential! These are the guys influencing our minds, our attention, our thoughts, and thereby actions. The media personnel and media barons are the new architects of the Indian society. And thereby these are the new icons and influencers of the marketing process too.

Power of film celebrities: In Indian society, for a long long time film celebrities have wielded amazing influence on Indian people ... Dr. M G Ramachandran and N T Rama Rao (the yester year film stars) went on to become Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh respectively. Amitabh Bacchan and Rajnikant continue to have iconic status in India. Then came the era of TV ... and new media icons were born. However, the point is the power of the media. Intelligent marketers will understand the pervasive influence of the media and harness the same for marketing products and services.

Imagine a TV channel - DISCOVERY HEALTH AND LIFESTYLE: Today health is a universal concern, people want to have fun yet remain healthy, happy, and have a long life. This need is met through a few print products, print pages and articles, internet websites, and some TV programs. However, there is no dedicated TV mass media channel that can engage interested audiences on health through information, fun, and verve. If Discovery Travel and Living can be such a success, why not Discovery Health and Lifestyle? There seems to be some traction in this business idea. It is the age of the media particularly TV media, there is convergence taking shape, the mobile phone revolution is on and PC/internet penetration is increasing. So it is logical to expect an opportunity for HEALTHCARE MEDIA BARONS.

If this week will be remembered - it is not just for the dastardly terrorist activities in Mumbai, it is also for witnessing the power of TV media and mass media. And there in lies an opportunity for the interested to become HEALTHCARE MEDIA BARONS.

Pharma and healthcare marketers - hark - there is great power in the messenger. The media is the messenger, through which marketers put out messages, and converse with prospects and customers. In the pharmaceutical field, the MRs as a medium will continue to be important, however, as is well known, there are new media touchpoints to address doctors. The internet, mobile, print products (mags + jounals), CDs, and probably the TV medium in the future will be very influential.

An example of the power of TV medium in causing market expansion is that of Aastha channel and telemarketing of Yoga and Ayurveda (both products and concepts) by Swami Ramdev. Today, the Yoga and herbal market has expanded thanks to his evangelical marketing of these concepts. Words like kapalabharati, anuloma and viloma are on the lips of even the average Indian. The demand and prices of Loki or Bottlegourd, which has good health promoting properties have gone up thanks to Swami Ramdev Baba! This is a live and contemporary example of how the media can revolutionize healthcare attitudes in Indian society. So the Aastha channel and Swami Ramdev can be seen as a good case study for future HEALTHCARE MEDIA BARONS. There is definitely a place for a-la- DISCOVERY HEALTH AND LIFESTYLE CHANNEL ON TV!

Pharma and Healthcare marketers - hark - take note of the trends created by the media! Whispers in the marketplace are that Novartis and Merck are lining up a slew of herbal products through seperate divisions. It is evident that MNCs too have noted the potential for evidence-based marketing of herbal based products and pharmaceuticals in India. Mark for the future ... the herbal product market will expand and see heightened competitior activity. The media is shaping Indian society and attitude. There are HEALTHCARE MEDIA BARONS in the making ... pharmaceutical and healthcare marketers watch out the media is powerful - VERY VERY POWERFUL!

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THE ACCLERATING ANTIDEPRESSANTS MARKET

I GOT THE ABOVE IMAGE FROM HERE.

In the mainstream media today, depression has become a very common word. The global financial woes are collectively called 'economic recession' and/or 'economic depression'.

Along with economic depression, the antidepressant drug market - particularly in the developed countries - is growing steadily. The hot hot market in the global pharma sector is depression. Period. Every one wants a quick fix solution, nothing like popping a pill to fight away the blues, feel high, and love oneself dearly. Diabetes carries along with it depression. And it is popularly known now, India is the world’s capital of diabetes. However, traditionally, in India, depression is an under-diagnosed market. As per ORG IMS Sep 2008, the Indian psychoanaleptics market is Rs. 433.52 crores with 8% growth. The herbal 'mood stabilizers' market is evolving well. The antidepressants drugs (non herbal) market per se is about Rs. 283.42 crores with 3% growth. Thus, the market for antidepressants in developed countries is more than in developing countries. See this data:

As per IMS Health, in 2006, the maximum prescriptions dispensed in USA was for antidepressants. This was followed by lipid regulators, codeine and combinations, ACE inhibitors, beta blockers, proton pump inhibitors, thyroid hormones, seizure disorders, calcium channel blockers, and then benozodiazepines. It is important to note here that benzodiazepines are used in a broad range of psychosomatic disorders - from anxiety to convulsions. Hence, there is an overlap between antidepressant market and benzodiazepines market. WELL THAT IS THE STORY AS PER THE MAXIMUM PRESCRIPTIONS DISPENSED IN USA.

HOWEVER, GLOBALLY THE SALES PATTERNS ARE DIFFERENT, THE LIPID REGULATORS THERAPY CLASS IS THE NO. 1 IN SALES , AND VALUE WISE, ANTI-PSYCHOTICS, AND ANTI-DEPRESSANTS HAVE A POSITION OF NO. 6 AND NO.7 RESPECTIVELY. PLEASE CLICK HERE.

NOW THE MOOT POINT IS, AS THE INDIAN PHARMA MARKET EVOLVES, WILL THE ANTIDEPRESSANT MARKET EVOLVE BETTER TO BECOME A HIGH VALUE MARKET IN INDIA? IT IS DIFFICULT TO SAY, BECAUSE OF YOGA AND OTHER ALTERNATIVE HEALING SYSTEMS IN INDIA. (THIS REPORT IN INDIA TODAY SAYS THAT DIAGNOSIS AND LACK OF TREATMENT FACILITIES PLAGUE THE INDIAN DEPRESSION MANAGEMENT MARKET).

The China experience

In the meantime, as per this report, the Chinese antidepressant drug market is all set to triple by 2012. Urbanization trend and the consequent collapse of social support mechanisms are said to be the cause of increasing depression.

'Removal of the stigma' and 'improving diagnosis' for market expansion

The most important aspect for marketers of anti-depressant brands is to get the market to expand through increase of the user base. How can it be done? The challenge is two pronged - one, remove the stigma attached and, two, improve the diagnosis of the ailment.

For the removal of the stigma: attached to depression, the best marketing communication approach would be to put the focus on 'IMPROVING THE PERFORMANCE AND SOCIAL LIFE' of a patient. Instead of using the word: depression, using phrases that have a positive presentation will help the cause of antidepressant and mood elevator marketers. For instance, talk about the ability of a drug (herbal or allopathic formulation) to improve social interactions, overcome stage fright, shyness, improve inter-personal relationships and communication, ability to create confidence for better negotiation, and thereby avoid adverse circumstances. Just do not talk depression, but communicate about the benefits of drug therapy for a better attitude. As such it would be an interesting marketing communication experiment to position antidepressant and mood elevator drugs as those that help create positive attitude. When the presentation is positive, the appeal will be positive.

Take the interesting case of alcohol beverage marketing: pharmacologically speaking alcohol is an addictive primary continuous depressant. But it is ironic that all ads and communication for alcohol show it as a fun drink - one that elevates mood, and is associated with celebration. Whereas the imagery for antidepressants that truly elevate mood and help manage attitude better - is that of stigma, morbidity, and sickness. THAT IS WHY MARKETING IS DESCRIBED BY AL RIES AND JACK TROUT AS A WAR OF PERCEPTIONS. Alcohol beverage marketers have ensured that the perception of the alcohol beverage brands is about positivity, fun, frolic, happiness, and being hep - whereas alcohol is actually about addiction and being a primary continuous depressant! Alcohol consumption causes inhibitions to be dropped, but that does not make it a stimulant! Alcohol only has a pretense of being a stimulant!! So the nub of the matter is that advertising, and marketing communication to physicians and patients (through patient information leaflets) should change the perception of antidepressant and mood elevator therapy class to be something positive, truly healing, and improving the attitude. That will go a long way in removal of the stigma attached to depression as a clinical disease.

Help the GP and other specialists to diagnose underlying depression. For instance, several diseases like diabetes and thyroid pathology, and stages of life like menopause are associated with mild to moderate depression. Thus, co-prescribing of antidepressants will go a long way in market expansion.

With China increasing its antidepressants market, and antidepressant prescriptions being the #1 dispensed segment in USA it remains to be seen whether the Indian antidepressant market will take off in the near future. The aspect that antidepressant prescriptions are #1 dispensed gives a clue - patients may be shy to take on to antidepressants, however, once they are on them, they do not seem to want to give up.

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Importance of smiles and gifts

I GOT THE ABOVE IMAGE FROM HERE.

Mass doctor calls and account management approach

There is a distinct movement, in MR field-level challenges - from doctor calls to account management. There is change in the air: from brand selling to relationship management and therapy management.

The intensification of market competition, and empowerment of society and patients with access to healthcare knowledge, has led to a situation wherein it's not remunerative to focus on a large amount of doctor calls. Yes, one has to expose the product to as many doctors as possible through all available media – including through MRs. However, from the general pool of doctors, it is wise to select a subset of doctors for intensive customer relationship management. The selection of these doctors would not be merely on the size of their practice but more importantly on whether they are amenable to close and profitable relations with the MR. After all, ultimately marketing is about customer relationship management in ways as to benefit the organization.

There are more than 120000 MRs in India. Some estimates are up to 200000 MRs in India. With such a massive force of pharma salesmen, it is inevitable that some relationships between certain doctors and a MR would be better than with other doctors. This is the reason why account management approach to doctors will work as opposed mass doctor calls only.

Hence, pharma marketing strategies operate at two levels: one - the general exposure plan where messaging and other freebies are targeted to a large community of doctors, and secondly, a focus marketing strategy plan to manage intimate relationships between the marketer and certain customers (product-wise core doctors). As part of the intensive customer relationship management in the second category, the MR would provide therapy management inputs, concierge services, and other inputs to extract high volume of prescriptions.

As such, the above strategy of intensive customer relationship services to core doctors, has been followed by MRs of many a Indian company, but the scenario today is such that all companies (whether MNCs or Indian) – are forced to follow the CRM approach for key accounts.

In the key account management approach: intense CRM is to certain doctors, as opposed to mass doctor call approach - where the focus is on quantity of calls. In the account management approach, products prescribed and sold are due to the management of key accounts (or core doctors) and prescriptions generated there by.

Whether a company follows mass doctor call approach or account management approach or a mix of the two, one thing is for sure, SMILES AND GIFTS take the company a long long way.

The 'profit season' in Indian pharma is April to Sept., when sales are good and demand is high for pharma products. After that in the lean season we have the 'gift season'. This is because from Oct to Dec, festivals dot the calendar: Ganapathi pooja, Id, Durga pooja, Dasara, Diwali, Christmas, and New Year Eve celebrations. These are all gifting times for pharma companies.

SMILE PLEASE

A smile has a lot of significance in human relations and salesmanship. In fact, it is said: A SALESMAN IS NOT DRESSED FOR THE DAY, TILL HE WEARS A SMILE! A smile means a lot: it can indicate love, kindness, amusement, and joy. As John Mack has said in one of his blogposts, A FRIENDLY REP GETS MORE TIME WITH THE PHYSICIAN, MAKES MORE CALLS, AND DOES MORE BUSINESS. It is evident that the pharma company with more smiling MRs can do more business.

The focus of a MR while detailing and performing his in-clinic activity ought to be to get the doctor to smile, genuinely, particularly in agreement with the MR - to his points of detailing. When the MR sees a smile he is sure to win the business. A dashing MR (now a first line manager) Mr. Kiran kept a data bank of the birthdays' of his key doctors. One memorable day, Kiran wished a doctor with a bouquet and wished him Happy Birthday, after his detailing. The doctor was actually surprised as he had forgotten it was his birthday! While happy with the compliment from Kiran, he rewarded him with a good POB (personal order booking) worth Rs. 5000/-. This is a simple example. However, it reflects the importance of key account management, generating customer delight and SMILES from target doctors.

GIFTS PLEASE

Gifts are very important in human transactions and as business tools. WHO DOES NOT LIKE TO RECEIVE GIFTS?! Even the richest crorepathy likes receiving gifts. A gift is an act of love, kindness, sacrifice, and care. It is a gesture that bonds the marketer to his customer and vice versa.

Gifting as per Indian philosophy is of three types:

Saatvic gifting is providing gifts with unconditional love. It is a very high level of thinking. For eg., true saints often give gifts with unconditional love.

Raajasic gifting is the typical business gifting procedure. There is an element of give and take. There are unwritten conditions of gifting. A MR provides a New Year eve gift to a target doctor with the intention of receiving worthy prescription support.

Taamasic gifting refers to giving a gift with unhappiness, contempt, anger, remorse, and other negative emotions.

In any case, gifts play a very important role in CRM (customer relationship management) with reference to pharma company and doctor relationship.

Say the word GIFT and perhaps the first pharma name that pops up is Himalaya Drug Company. They virtually built a huge base of goodwill and sales through regular gifting practices to doctors.

Another interesting example of rajasic gifting that I recollect from my field days is of Cipla: if they gave a costly gift (during those days gifting a fridge to a clinic was a costly gift), to a doctor, they would strike a deal - "Dr., please accept this gift and become a Monday doctor for us for about 6 months". This means, every Monday, the target doctor would give prescriptions only for Cipla products - the rest of the days in the week, he is free to prescribe other pharma products. Every Monday the concerned MR or executive would give a call to the doctor, reminding that he is a Monday doctor! It is kinda cute idea and it worked very well for the company.

With key account management practices coming in vogue in the field of pharma marketing, gifts and smiles have gained more importance.

Realizing the impact of gifting in pharmaceutical selling, OPPI and other bodies have tried to put in to practice a code of conduct with relation to gifting. CLICK HERE.

Thanks for reading this blogpost, please scroll down to read all other blogposts, do click on OLDER POSTS, whenever required to read all posts. This blogpost is put from a nearby cyber centre on 14.11.2008 at 7.30 pm.