How Sales and Marketing at Pharmaceutical Companies Use CRM to Meet New Challenges

Here are 6 ways they can meet the new challenges with HSO’s cloud-based solutions powered by Azure and Microsoft Dynamics 365 (formerly CRM):

1. Acknowledge the patient’s need instead of continuing traditional product pocus

In all cases, it is the benefit the patient will gain from a specific drug or treatment that is important for the physician. In the end, the most important task for the physician is to cure the patient or to reduce pain and suffering. Providing the physician with the adequate sources and content of information when needed is absolutely vital to achieve loyalty.

2. Understanding the patient’s situation

Acknowledge the physician’s and the patient’s increasing demand of information and a will to improve the understanding of possible treatments and drugs.

3. Differentiate the market approach based on well-defined segmentation and targeting

The traditional utilization model of assigning pharmaceutical representatives to a geographical area working with hundreds or thousands of selected physicians is to sub-optimize the use of resources.

To achieve highest level of impact and loyalty resulting in an increased number of prescriptions, it is advised to primarily focus resources on identified Key Opinion Leaders and their networks.

As an example, general practitioners can be approached by using a marketing tool box which includes access to a physician’s web portal, printed marketing material and invitations to occasional group meetings where a specialist can be approached in a more one-to-one marketing way by invitations to individual meetings, conferences and by providing “tailored” information to add maximum value to each interaction.

4. The use of a multi-channel marketing

Adopt a multi-channel approach by using a combination of a face-to-face meetings, marketing activities and IS based communication to achieve improved relationship as well as giving 24×7 access to information. By using the right channels for interaction, the value of the interactions will increase. Customer loyalty will improve or remain as long as you continue to acknowledge customer needs and adding value to the relationship.

5. Track the footprints from each and every contact

Regardless of channel or person in the organization which has made a contact, the information must be tracked. Together, this will create an increasing volume of information as a source for analysis and identification of trends and patterns. This gives valuable input to the medical and marketing organizations on what information is valuable for patients and physicians. Feedback and analysis on how messages are perceived and what objections are raised will generate input for adjustments in the marketing approach.

6. Get the benefits from integrations

Today the Information Systems often are fragmented and incorporates Sales Force Automation systems, Marketing systems, web based Content Management Solutions (CMS), Business Intelligence (BI) and Competitive Intelligence (CI) solutions as well as Excel worksheets and other documents, but not in an integrated solution.

Combine the analysis of historic information with assumptions on the future to verify or adjust market strategy, tactics, channels, approach or tools. Traditional islands of information are no longer valid. The real value is created when information is analyzed from all available sources and presented daily to the users to actively support their activities instead of reactive quarterly analysis and activity reports from the back office.

Up to now, integrated solutions were feasible only for large companies due to the high costs and technical complexity. Today, with modern technology from Microsoft as Microsoft Dynamics CRM, SharePoint, Microsoft Office and supporting BI-technologies together with Industry specialists like Absalon and our partners, this kind of technology is available also for smaller companies or subsidiaries of big companies in the pharmaceutical industry.

The skills and organization of the marketing & sales resources is vital for success, but modern technology is an important enabler for the pharmaceutical companies’ sales & marketing departments in their efforts to meet the industries new challenges.