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Pharmaceutical marketers constantly are looking for ways to effectively reach busy physicians. Today, more than 70,000 representatives from major pharmaceutical companies are competing for physicians' attention and limited time, according to the market research firm ScottLevin. Here's what they face.
Specific restrictions against representative visits have been initiated by managed care organizations. Reaching "no-see," rural, and vacant territory physicians have added to the cost and effort of delivering persuasive product messages.
Getting to physicians is a major challenge - having sufficient time to deliver a consistent and complete message is another. A recent study by Health Strategies Group found that 43 percent of representatives' calls on high-prescribing physicians end at the receptionists window. For those who do get past the receptionist, 87 percent of visits last less than two minutes.
Physicians have less time to read the ever-growing number of journals and direct mail that compete for their attention, while teleconferences and peer group meetings continue to garner reduced levels of participation.
Seeking new pathways
Use of new technology holds the potential to circumvent at least some of these problems, judging from the experience of a major pharmaceutical company described in this study, in which I participated. Electronic detailing was the technique chosen.
The company and product names are being withheld by company request, but they agreed to share their experience and the results of the study.
The company was looking to extend physician knowledge and build market share for a mature product. The brand was the number-two non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) with a total prescription share of over seven percent and revenues of approximately $300 million.
The product had been marketed in the U.S. for six years and was nearing the end of its patent life. There were over 15 viable competing drugs prescribed by primary care physicians and medical specialists, including rheumatologists and orthopedic surgeons. The brand had been supported extensively over the years with a full arsenal of pharmaceutical marketing tools, including direct mail, journal advertising, physician education programs, and traditional sales representative detailing.
However, research indicated that the key differentiating benefits had low awareness among physicians. Adding more details was not an option, due to commitment of the sales force to new product launches.
It appeared that electronic detailing could...