The Case of the Pharmaceutical Industry

sunandaC

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Introduction

The Indian Pharmaceutical market is worth approx. Rs. 140000 million growing at a healthy 10%. There are around 16,000 players both in the organised and the unorganised market vying for a piece of this pie. It is a very fragmented market with the number one player, Glaxo Wellcome, having a market share of 5.8%. Infact the combined of the top 5 companies does not exceed 20%. Earlier MNC’s used to sell on the quality plank but today quality is a table stake condition where even the smallest player is able to meet the highest quality norms.

Doctor Population

There are approximately 500,000 doctors in India who are registered with the Indian Medical Association. The largest of the pharmaceutical companies cannot meet more than 125,000 of this doctor population. As a result most of the doctors are being met by atleast 60-100 companies.

Out of the total doctor population as much as 60-65% are general practitioners within the basic MBBS degree. The higher specialties constitute the remaining 35-40%.
Promotion

In an ethical market product promotion is directed solely to the qualified directors. No advertising mentioning the brand names is allowed in the lay press. The medical representative (MR) is the major means of promotion though other media like direct mail, journal advertising, conferences, also play a role albeit a limited one.

Starting a CRM initiative

Having understood the major characteristics of the industry, the identification, differentiation, interaction and customization (IDIC), model as suggested by Don Peppers and Martha Rogers would be used to understand the steps to a CRM initiative.

Identification

The first step towards any CRM initiative is identification of the customer. Each medical representative maintains a list of doctors in his area. This list is generated through interviews with stockists, retailers, as well as his peers from other companies. The list called the MSL (must see list), MVL (Must Visit List), Customer list, etc typically lists the name, address, telephone no., specialty, qualification, visit timings, and other basic data of the doctor. The key driver for a CRM program is integration of this data from all the MRs to a central database.
The next step is to add to this data by collecting details from other sources like

• Membership directories of association: Almost all cities have their branches of the Indian Medical Association’s (IMA). These have a directory of all their members listing their contact details and some personal information. These are a good source to begin with but most are updated at very long intervals and hence the veracity of the data has to be checked. Similarly, there are individual associations for almost all the specialties whose membership directories are also easily available.

• List of conference participants: each specialty of doctor organises a national level conference every year where members from all over the country attend. Details can be collected through the sponsorship of the front-desk; organising contests, or distributing give always in exchange for information.

• Doctors Referral: Another route would be akin to a member get member scheme wherein doctors would be encouraged to refer follow practitioners.


Thus a semblance of a database would take shape. The term is a misnomer, since at best it is a customer list, as it contains nothing more than contact information along with some basic information. But nevertheless it is a starting point.


The database at no stage can be termed as final as collection of doctor details is an ongoing process. Continuos additions, updations and deletions are always taking place.


The list cam be mined for details of specialty wise break-up, geographical coverage etc, to serve as a tool for the marketing decision making process.
 
Introduction

The Indian Pharmaceutical market is worth approx. Rs. 140000 million growing at a healthy 10%. There are around 16,000 players both in the organised and the unorganised market vying for a piece of this pie. It is a very fragmented market with the number one player, Glaxo Wellcome, having a market share of 5.8%. Infact the combined of the top 5 companies does not exceed 20%. Earlier MNC’s used to sell on the quality plank but today quality is a table stake condition where even the smallest player is able to meet the highest quality norms.

Doctor Population

There are approximately 500,000 doctors in India who are registered with the Indian Medical Association. The largest of the pharmaceutical companies cannot meet more than 125,000 of this doctor population. As a result most of the doctors are being met by atleast 60-100 companies.

Out of the total doctor population as much as 60-65% are general practitioners within the basic MBBS degree. The higher specialties constitute the remaining 35-40%.
Promotion

In an ethical market product promotion is directed solely to the qualified directors. No advertising mentioning the brand names is allowed in the lay press. The medical representative (MR) is the major means of promotion though other media like direct mail, journal advertising, conferences, also play a role albeit a limited one.

Starting a CRM initiative

Having understood the major characteristics of the industry, the identification, differentiation, interaction and customization (IDIC), model as suggested by Don Peppers and Martha Rogers would be used to understand the steps to a CRM initiative.

Identification

The first step towards any CRM initiative is identification of the customer. Each medical representative maintains a list of doctors in his area. This list is generated through interviews with stockists, retailers, as well as his peers from other companies. The list called the MSL (must see list), MVL (Must Visit List), Customer list, etc typically lists the name, address, telephone no., specialty, qualification, visit timings, and other basic data of the doctor. The key driver for a CRM program is integration of this data from all the MRs to a central database.
The next step is to add to this data by collecting details from other sources like

• Membership directories of association: Almost all cities have their branches of the Indian Medical Association’s (IMA). These have a directory of all their members listing their contact details and some personal information. These are a good source to begin with but most are updated at very long intervals and hence the veracity of the data has to be checked. Similarly, there are individual associations for almost all the specialties whose membership directories are also easily available.

• List of conference participants: each specialty of doctor organises a national level conference every year where members from all over the country attend. Details can be collected through the sponsorship of the front-desk; organising contests, or distributing give always in exchange for information.

• Doctors Referral: Another route would be akin to a member get member scheme wherein doctors would be encouraged to refer follow practitioners.


Thus a semblance of a database would take shape. The term is a misnomer, since at best it is a customer list, as it contains nothing more than contact information along with some basic information. But nevertheless it is a starting point.


The database at no stage can be termed as final as collection of doctor details is an ongoing process. Continuos additions, updations and deletions are always taking place.


The list cam be mined for details of specialty wise break-up, geographical coverage etc, to serve as a tool for the marketing decision making process.

Hey friend, I read your article regarding Pharmaceutical Industry and it is really nice. I appreciate your work and would hope you would share more contents like this in future. Well, I am also uploading a document which would give more detailed information.
 

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