An Array Of Great Ideas For Marketing Niche Products

While the pharmaceutical market may be in a constant state of flux and change, it seems that there is a definite trend away from the marketing of big brand, wide reach products to more “niche” medicines and that this change seems to be accelerating. An additional challenge is thus presented for the pharmaceutical company sales staff, most especially in the area of education.

All-important product branding must now be determined at a very early stage of the development cycle and pharmaceutical companies must be even more aware of how volatile the market can be and how constraints can emerge as the company seeks to enter, penetrate and extend into niche markets, which are often more focused and narrow minded. The branding exercise must take into account potential resistance or the need for additional clarification at an early stage of the marketing cycle.

Increasingly so, pharmaceutical markets are overcrowded. The consumer has a wide array of choices and is increasingly more influenced by a variety of external forces in addition to the direct advice that may be given to them by the professional or practitioner. We live in an age when information is instantaneously available and we are, in increasingly surprising numbers, spending our time interacting on social networks. We are becoming more in touch with every aspect of our lives as a consequence. As the market becomes more crowded and the consumer becomes more educated, more emphasis must be placed on marketing program efficiency by senior company executives.

Pharmaceutical companies are spending a great deal of their time moulding and shaping the market so that it is ready for the product when it is released. This underlines the need for early marketing efforts during brand creation and the need to ensure that educational channels are engaged.

If more emphasis is being placed on marketing within niche product areas, then it is true to say that there is more emotional involvement and less tendency to “go with the flow” on the part of the professional or the consumer. The pharmaceutical company must be fully in control of its marketing message and methodology, or it will not be able to differentiate itself from competitors in the marketplace. Consequently, the company’s sales force members are under even more pressure now than they were before, as they must penetrate an increasingly sceptical barrier at the practitioner level with an even more targeted and stronger message accordingly.

A company cannot succeed without a strong sales force and senior officials are in close contact with pharmaceutical consultants and pharmaceutical consulting firms as they train and develop their sales forces appropriately. In most cases, pharma consulting plays a great role in helping the organisation to identify shifting marketing forces, especially when associated with niche concentration. If the professional is traditionally distant, sharper skills will be required and more cognitive training must be assured to enable the sales executive to break through and be successful. Effective implementation is almost always dependent on training, at least in equal part to ability and experience.

Alan Gillies is the CEO of L2L Consulting, a cutting-edge pharma consultancy firm which specialises in optimising productivity and performance within international companies by applying tailored organisational strategies.