To Study the Main Promotional Tools Used by Pharmaceutical Industry to Obtain Doctors Prescription

Transcription

1 Volume-4, Issue-4, August-2014, ISSN No.: International Journal of Engineering and Management Research Available at: Page Number: To Study the Main Promotional Tools Used by Pharmaceutical Industry to Obtain Doctors Prescription Suprit John Joshi Sr. Assistant Professor, Joseph School of Business Studies, S.H.I.A.T.S(deemed to be University, Allahabad, INDIA ABSTRACT Marketing management is an art and science of choosing target markets and getting, keeping and growing customers through creating, delivering, and communicating superior customer value. Pharmaceutical companies are money making corporations just like any other; they exist to create a profit. The overarching aim of corporate drug promotion, therefore, is to increase profits by raising consumer demand for pharmaceutical products. The purpose of the study is to develop a simple framework for finding out the impact of the different kind of promotional tools offered by pharmaceutical industry on the prescribing behavior of doctors. Further the study also focused on whether the perception of doctors towards various promotional tools is different with respect to demographic variables. Pharmaceutical companies are spending lot of money on promotion of their products to doctors. Promotional strategy objectives vary among organizations. Some use promotion to expand their markets, others to hold their current positions, still others to present a corporate viewpoint on a public issue. Promotional strategies can also be used to reach selected markets. Most sources identify the specific promotional objectives or goals of providing information, differentiating the product, increasing sales, stabilizing sales, and accentuating the product's value. I. INTRODUCTION The Indian pharmaceutical industry came into existence in 1901, when Bengal Chemical & Pharmaceutical Company started its maiden operation in Calcutta. The next few decades saw the pharmaceutical industry moving through several phases, largely in accordance with government policies. Commencing with repackaging and preparation of formulations from imported bulk drugs, the Indian industry has moved on to become a net foreign exchange earner, and has been able to underline its presence in the global pharmaceutical arena as one of the top 35 drug producers worldwide. Currently, there are more than 2,400 registered pharmaceutical producers in India. There are 24,000 licensed pharmaceutical companies. Of the 465 bulk drugs used in India, approximately 425 are manufactured here. India has more drug-manufacturing facilities that have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration than any country other than the US. Indian generics companies supply 84% of the AIDS drugs that Doctors without Borders uses to treat 60,000 patients in more than 30 countries. The last century, has witnessed a phenomenal growth in science and technology including medicine. The noble traditions of medical profession have been virtually washed away by the strong financial and economic reasons. Number of medical practitioners and medical institutions has increased at an alarming rate leading to higher competition between groups and individuals. Many of the present day ethical problems have originated because of the cut throat competition and degeneration of the moral and ethical values in the society. Pharmaceutical companies have to primarily depend on personal selling to promote (communicate) their medicines in the market as the target audience and customers are different, who are not the end users but merely influencers. These influencers are medical practitioners referred to as 'doctors' or 'physicians' by general public. The medium of communication, i.e. the 'medical representative' is the face of the pharmaceutical company and only he/ she can create an impact on the prescriber of the medicine. It is very important to see that the medical representative delivers the message appropriately. Pharmaceutical companies direct all their efforts to promote their medicine to these distinct classes of customers and train the field sales force to take on the task of promoting medicines to highly skilled and knowledgeable customers (doctors). Hence pharmaceutical selling is distinct from other kinds of selling. The objective of pharmaceutical marketing is to make profits through satisfying customer needs and wants. Hence, the marketers have to understand the real needs, 298

2 wants, belief and attitude of customers towards products and services. A strong and different approach of promotion as compared to the competitor may be required for sustaining and growing the business. II. OBJECTIVE To Study The Main Promotional Tools Used By Pharmaceutical Industry To Obtain Doctors Prescription. III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The researcher made use of sample survey in the present study. A sample is a small specimen or a separated part of the whole population, representing its general qualities, as far as possible. It is a smaller set of values selected from the population, reflecting its characteristics. Sample Size : 100 Pharmaceutical companies {Multinational and National in operations on the basis of turnover more than 100 crores} Area of survey : Allahabad Urban, Uttar Pradesh Sampling Technique : Random sampling Research Tool : Structured Questionnaire Attitude measurement : By Likert scale IV. DATA ANALYSIS Current Promotional Strategies Adopted By Pharma Companies Are Adequate Strongly Disagree Disagree Do not Know Agree Strongly Agree Table 1: Current Promotional Strategies Adopted By Pharma Companies Are Adequate Among the respondents 31% are strongly agree, 21% agree, 6% strongly disagree, 21% disagree & 21% do not know. Data shows that in current perspective the Promotional strategies are adequate but still needs improvement. Medical Representatives, Sponsorships,CME, Company Funded Clinical Trial Are The Main Promotional Tool For Pharma Industry Strongly Disagree Disagree Do not Know Agree Strongly Agree Table 2: Medical Representatives, Sponsorships, CME, Company Funded Clinical Trial Are The Main Promotional Tool For Pharma Industry Among the respondents 34% are strongly agree, 19% agree, 23% disagree, 15% strongly disagree, & 9% do not know. Comparison of the data received shows that the above mentioned tools are currently the main identified ones in view of the industry. 299

3 Medical Representatives Are The Main Promotional Tools For Pharma Industry Disagree Do not Know Agree Strongly Agree Table 3: Medical Representatives Are the Main Promotional Tools for Pharma Industry Among the respondents 41% are strongly agree, 26% agree, 27% disagree, & 6% do not know. Data shows that Pharma Industry too is in strong favour of the MR s being the main Promotional tool where prescriptions are concerned. Sponsorship Is The Main Promotional Tools For Pharma Industry Disagree Do not Know Agree Strongly Agree Table 4: Sponsorship Is The Main Promotional Tools For Pharma Industry Among the respondents 32% are strongly agree, 19% agree, 29% do not know & 20% disagree. Majority of the percentage of the respondents of the industry is with the fact that sponsorships campaigns also play a big Promotional role in Prescription growth as per the data received. CME Is The Main Promotional Tools For Pharma Industry Strongly Disagree Disagree Do not Know Agree Strongly Agree Table 5: CME Is the Main Promotional Tools for Pharma Industry 300

4 Among the respondents 21% strongly agree, 28% agree, 12% disagree, 23% strongly disagree & 16% do not know. As per the data received Continued medical education is also an important promotional tool for the industry but as per the respondents the favour percentage is less than the above two. Company Funded Clinical Trial Is The Main Promotional Tools For Pharma Industry Strongly Disagree Disagree Do not Know Agree Strongly Agree Table 6: Company Funded Clinical Trial Is the Main Promotional Tools for Pharma Industry Among the respondents 29% strongly agree, 30% agree, 14% disagree, 14% strongly disagree & 13% do not know. Data received shows that around one fourth of the respondents strongly agreed with this fact, so it can be considered as the third best option in the promotional tools. Highly Qualified And Knowledgeable MR Has A Higher Recall Value In Drug Prescription Strongly Disagree Disagree Do not Know Agree Strongly Agree Table 7: Highly Qualified and Knowledgeable MR Has A Higher Recall Value Among the respondents 41% are strongly agree, 34% agree, 12% strongly disagree, 6% disagree, & 7% do not know. Data analysis show that the qualification and Knowledge base of a MR who is the base of Promotion of the industry plays an high role in the recall value of the Doctor hence increased Prescription. V. RESULT After this study it is clear that it largely depends on the various Promotional campaigns of the Pharmaceutical Companies in which Medical Representatives play an important role in implementations. Medical Representative and the related sales team are main instruments in gaining the Prescription flow from the doctors. It is often pondered that which promotional tool gives the companies increased Prescription flow which results in increased sales and revenues for them. This study was directed towards this goal of comparatively evaluating these options and brings forward the best among them. Sponsorships, Continued Medical Education (CME), Company funded Clinical Trials are the other important Promotional tools. VI. CONCLUSION We find that in all these factors it is the Medical Representatives is the central axis in all of these tools as he is the only person who executes all the Promotional campaigns. He is considered as most reliable communicator as well as the implementer. The main reason is the personal touch with the Physician in relation to the communication, professional help and execution of Company s programmes. So, for getting positive 301

5 prescription flow, Company should be focusing on recruiting a good and sharp Sales team taking care of its Qualitative life as well as professional needs. Other promotional tools should also be frequently used to keep the attention of the Physician focused on the product so that the Prescription flow is continuous. REFERENCE [1] Baethge C (2008). Transparent texts. Dtsch Arztebl Int., 105(40): [2] Bloor K, Freemantle N (1996). Lessons from international experience in controlling pharmaceutical expenditure II: Influencing doctors. BMJ, 312: [3] Bowman MA, Pearle DL (1988). Changes in drug prescribing patterns related to commercial company funding of continuing medical education. J. Contin. Edu. Health Prof., 8: [4] Campbell EG, Gruen RL, Mountford J, Miller LG, Cleary PD, Blumenthal D (2007). A national survey of physician-industry relationships. N. Eng. J. Med., 356: [5] Chimonas S, Brennan TA, Rothman DJ (2007). Physicians and drug representatives: exploring the dynamics of the relationship. J. Gen. Int. Med., 22: [6] Chren MM, Landefeld CS (1994). Physicians behavior and their interactions with drug companies. A controlled study of physicians who requested additions to a hospital drug formulary. JAMA, 271: [7] Denig P, Haajer-Ruskamp FM, Zijsling Hox DH (1998). Physicians choose drugs. Soc. Sci. Med., 7: [8] Fischer MA, Keough ME, Baril JL, Saccoccio L, Mazor KM (2009). Prescribers and pharmaceutical representatives: why are we still meeting? J. Gen. Int. Med., 24: [9] Gagnon MA, Lexchin J (2008). The cost of pushing pills: a new estimate of pharmaceutical promotion expenditures in the United States. PLoS Med., 5: e1. doi: /journal.pmed Copyright Vandana Publications. All Rights Reserved.