Sales & Marketing

One fortunate consequence of a slower job market is that tenure levels are increasing: 80 percent of sales managers now have at least two years experience under their belt.

Pharma companies today are focused on driving prescriptions. But just because physicians are prescribing a brand doesn't mean that they are committed to it. Who's to say a doctor won't jump ship the moment a flashier new drug comes on the scene?

How hard is it to spot an emerging threat or opportunity in time to actually do something about it? Is it as hard as spotting a scud missile in the deserts of Iraq? As hard as identifying an underwater threat to a submarine using only sonar? As hard as spotting a consumer trend in a vast and complex business like financial services?

It looks like 2006 will be remembered as the year the pharma sales-force arms race finally ended. But there are signs it might also be remembered as the year that direct-to-consumer advertising finally cooled off.

DPE programs should take human nature into account. It is human nature to pick up non-threatening reading material that's at eye level in the waiting room.

80 percent of Web users search for health information online to make better health choices.

Doctors like direct mail as long as the message is concise and to the point. The minute you ask the doctor to actually do something with the direct mail, that's when your effectiveness starts to go downhill.

Realistic emotions in campaigns create the kind of conversation a woman would have with a close friend.

From hedge clippers to balancing elephants, the 20th annual Rx Club Awards honored a display of ads featuring the most creative concepts from around the world.

Long turnaround on ad reviews adds new complications to the process of developing marketing plans.

Hospitals don't want straight-up advertising. If a branded program is going to be integrated into a health-education or health-services platform that's offered directly to a patient's room, it needs to have objective value.

Noncompliance causes 125,000 deaths and more than $100 billion in increased healthcare expenses.

Marketing effectively to physicians in today's pharmaceutical industry is more important than ever. No longer can companies rely solely on DTC and sales force efforts to increase drug and therapeutics revenue.

Dtc advertising has caused more than its share of controversy both inside and outside the industry. Critics wonder: Are patients paying for drugs they don't need? Meanwhile, industry is still struggling to answer the basics: How effective is DTC in getting patients to request a drug by name? CommonHealth's MBS/Vox division conducted a survey that tried to answer industry's question, and in doing so, inform the wider debate about DTC's role in healthcare.

To avoid the extra expense, many pharmaceutical companies abandon their Spanish sites when a new general-market campaign is launched.

Cost-shifting is still one of the favorite tools in almost all employers' cost-cutting toolboxes. But many fear that shifting too many costs to workers will backfire. Low co-pays keep people healthy and on the job: a big return on investment.

A sales rep's sensitivity to the doctor's marketplace, and his understanding of the pressures on physicians-from formularies and HMO rules to the practices of affiliate hospitals-makes him a greater asset in the customer's eyes. Getting to know a doctor involves understanding the responsibilities of personnel in his office. Reps need to know who the doctor relies on most to get things done.

Electronic continuing medical education is one area that is primed for podcasting penetration.

When people ask how health seekers look and act on the Web, there's no one answer: The online universe has become just as diverse as the rest of the world. Nowhere is this more evident than in the latest e-health statistics that, when taken together, paint a picture of customers who are beginning to find their feet-and new finesse-online.

For the fifth year in a row, Pharm Exec invites Professor Bill Trombetta of St. Joseph's University to analyze the pharma industry's financial performance with a battery of business metrics old and new. The highlights: Two top biotechs race neck-and-neck for first place, Forest delivers another strong performance, and AstraZeneca squeezes past Johnson & Johnson and GlaxoSmithKline into the top four for the first time ever. And the winner is . . .

These "guns for hire" bring the science and marketing savvy that clients need, often with in-depth category experience, but without the commitment and cost associated with hiring a full-time employee.

More than high-call frequency will be necessary to succeed in an increasingly competitive sales environment.

Physicians seek point-of-care info and updates in friendly formats. Data should be available when and how they need it, and in exactly the right amounts.

Most DTC marketers say education has been their primary goal all along, but that often, branded messages got in the way. Now marketers are doing something about it, as evidenced by recent increases in unbranded ads. Pharma companies are producing campaigns that more clearly encourage consumers to seek information about their conditions, rather than just running out and requesting a script from their doctors.

There's a school of thought that only the market leader should do the unbranded campaign. I don't subscribe to that.

Self-management programs have been shown to develop confidence and motivation by teaching participants how to use their own skills and knowledge to take control of their healthcare.

Although in-store promotional programs have the unique capability of reaching a large target audience, they currently make up less than one percent of total direct-to-consumer marketing expenditures.

Ask for their favorite new products or advertising campaigns, and most folks in pharma marketing can easily rattle off a whole list. But ask, "What were the consumer insights behind the product or advertising?" and you may be met by a blank stare. That's too bad, because whether brand marketers are developing a current product or launching a new one, powerful consumer insights are what they need to get into the hearts and minds of their target consumers.

We need to do more than just distribute information-we need to look at how consumers process, internalize, and act on that information. Health education is a process that is very personal and complex.

Educational initiatives geared toward women should allow them to interact, so they inspire and empower one another.