For
Ram - the modern-day medical representative – being digital was no more an
aspirational thing. He was 22 years and
digital was an everyday way of life. At crack of
dawn, he checked the doctor visit plan on his smartphone and recollected the
conversations of past calls.
Simultaneously, in the early morning hours, Dr. Lakshman was checking
the no. of footsteps walked yesterday and was planning his walk and exercise
schedule, while looking up the weather through his smartphone. If the weather was fine, this young dapper 24-year-old
orthopedics PG aspirant was ready to cycle to the teaching hospital. He was also a co-administrator in a whatsapp
group: 'Young Orthos'. He was also member
of other medical students only whatsapp groups.
Besides, his facebook account followed several medical sites and
journals. His home screen had abundant
links to medical websites, and his passion was to check the updates on
diagnosis, best medical practices, ortho implants and improvements, ortho surgical
techniques and of course medical humour.
Another
interesting whatsapp group on Dr. Lakshman’s whatsapp was 'My MR colleagues', where as an
admin, he permitted some MRs and pharma personnel into the group. They were allowed to post one digital post a
day relating to product updates. He
quite liked the fervor with which the pharma professionals made very attractive
videos, gif posts and other still foto posts.
Ram
the MR, always found it funny when in meetings his aged bosses harped that
digital is the way forward! Ram felt
digital is already happening - so what forward?!! He had
negotiated his entry into several doctor groups, he had taken permission to
send whatsapp posts on his products. His
emails on product aspects or therapy updates were welcomed by doctors whose trust
he had won. So digital was a part of his
‘professional product promotional present’ and not the way forward.
Digital
is not to be overbeaten, Ram strongly felt.
Digital was as much a vital collateral as print inputs were. Ram’s calls to doctors involved showing a
video snippet, an interesting product picture update on his tablet PC, and also
a providing a print input – usually, a reminder card or journal. He was grateful that his company patronized
subscription requests from doctors to e-journals, and cleverly ensured that
password included the target brand name.
Ram’s
concerns were also market trend oriented, he experienced the fractured and
fragmented market daily. If 50
prescriptions were generated daily by a doctor, 20 would go to the pharmacy owned
by his ‘saala’ (wife’s brother), 10 prescriptions would be self-dispensed,
another 15 would go either Jan Aushadhi or a private generic store, and the
battle for remaining prescriptions was between the brand marketers. This, the company management would never
understand he remorsefully felt. For
instance, Dr. Murugan would prescribe teneligliptin as once a day antidiabetic tablet to his patients,
and most of his patients were now encashing those at Jan Aushadi, buying 100
tablets, which meant 100 days usage of his brand was lost!!
Ram
had sagaciously chosen another way out of this muddle. He would focus on pharmacies and the unique
products in his marketing portfolio.
There were some nutraceuticals that could be pushed by pharmacies, he
also ensured that the brands in the pharmacy were VISIBLE to both pharmacists and patients so
that over-the-counter push would take place.
BROWN
BAG CONSULTATION
The
internet superhighway was full of information feeding Ram’s curious mind. He came across a concept of BROWN BAG
CONSULTATION through his browsing. In
the brown bag consultation, the pharmacist would request a patient to bring all
his medications and other OTC products consumed by him in a bag for a quick
consultation. The pharmacist would then
quickly check for any repeat drugs in different dosage forms and other
incompatibilities including drug- drug interactions, and advice each patient on
timing the intake of medicines and other products and generally discuss about
the products, so that there is rationalization.
Ram’s
pharmacists did not know about the brown bag consultation approach. Ram persuasively represented this concept as
an opportunity for pharmacists to build trust and over-the-counter
business. For instance, Tilak of Hanuman
Medicals decided to have atleast 1 brown bag consultation daily. Tilak found that bonding with his patients
was better, and they would come more frequently. Further, he could persuasively cross-sell
some of the nutraceuticals. For example
he had converted many patients to turmeric tablets CURCUMED and introduced new
dental pastes to specific patients (a specific toothpaste for gum bleeding
patients), and a whole new set of patients were opened up for milk mix
beverages, MULMINA antioxidant immune booster drink, and health medical soaps (like PURE virgin coconut oil soap). Ram profited by this brown bag consultation
approach of his pharmacists, through improved sales of his nutraceutical and
other products that enjoyed over-the-counter push.
Conclusion
Digital
is now a regular collateral and a medium to message with doctors along with
print inputs. Digital has become an
add-on and a mandatory method of marketing.
Ram and Dr. Lakshman are living seamlessly with digital and non-digital,
but the moot question is whether strategists have become hyper or hypo digital,
neither is good, striking the right balance and getting the optimal level of
digital marketing will work in pharma favour!
