In pharmaceutical marketing strategies are implemented through medical representative in the thrust areas as doctors, chemists and dealers and society in general. Therefore it is necessary to analyze and interpret the views of medical representative towards the various marketing strategies framed by pharmaceutical companies and the difficulties faced by them.
And understanding the complete system will help to improve the current system of strategy implementation through medical representative.
1. Doctor’s level:
Survey confirms that personal relations and regular calls are equally important at doctor’s clinic level. Few of them emphasis on the fact that knowledge built and company inputs are also play a vital role but has its own limitations, as degree of acceptance copied by competitors is much high. It has also agreed by 70 percent of respondents that these company strategies become more aggressive and result oriented.
Image Source: static.communitytable.parade.com
2. Chemist Level:
ADVERTISEMENTS:
There exists a wide gap between the strategies received by medical representative from the company and implemented practically in the field as per the protocol described. Pharmaceutical companies believe in the fact that retail margins in the form of schemes or trade discount play a vital role at chemist level, also this fact has confirmed and proved by the survey.
Priority at Chemist Level Confirmed by Medical Representative:
| Factors | |
| 1 | Retail margin |
| 2 | Yours relations |
| 3 | Stockists relations |
| 4 | Company role |
| 5 | Others |
Above table depicts the factors that are on top priority at chemist level. This confirms that retail margins are prime factors to increase sale and maintain good relations with chemist
and individual stockists relations has proved to an important factor.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
This provides a new vision for a pharmaceutical company that they should insists on maintaining cordial relations with chemist through field staff. Pharmaceutical Companies, has a specific strategies besides attractive retail margins and cash discount that they provides printed order (short listing) books, special gifts for certain products etc. furthermore Pharmaceutical Companies, should implement certain strategies to strengthen relation with chemist via their field staff.
3. Dealers Level:
Survey found that day-by-day medical representatives are experiencing the negative attitude of stockists towards them. The reason could be the excess stock dumping and non- receipt of credit note. Therefore under such circumstances medical representative have to maintain its positive relations to resolve the problem and at the same time he should help him to maintain sufficient inventory.
Pharmaceutical Companies, has included regular stockists visits and communications related to price revision, introduction or withdrawal of the product to dealer as per the strategy in the protocol of working of field force that help to implement strategy very well.
4. Society level in general:
The ethical standards remained in pharmaceutical at various level as per the average weight age given for the variables as very good, good, moderate and preserved by applying average Significance Score Method. The analysis of the chart concludes that the ethics remain comparatively high at society level in the form of social respect, recognition, and sympathy.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Where as images of medical representative of pharmaceutical companies has been lowered at company level, chemist, and dealers to doctor’s level. Many times it had observed during survey that pharmaceutical companies are deliberately out-focusing ethics for their high personal interest and creating unnecessary pressure on others for achieving their personal objectives.
On the other side this creates an avenue for pharmaceutical giants like Pharmaceutical Companies, to run special campaign to resume ethical standards so as to increase ethical standards at each level.