Ask the Expert: Leveraging medical education to improve sales force effectiveness

The buzz about the industry lately: chronic complaints about declining sales force effectiveness. Most everyone agrees that there has to be a better way to reach physicians, but the specified actions to be taken are less clear. For many, the choice remains the same – promotional dinner and lunch programs – the more the better the share of voice. Yet cost pressures challenge this model.

The business model for promotional medical education is evolving. The diminishing returns on sales force effectiveness coupled with the OIG guidelines and state regulations are requiring technological savvy be introduced into the marketing mix. Promotional event management companies with information management technology are critical to the compliant success of the implementation of these representative driven promotional lunches and dinners. However the unanswered question remains: are they effective?

Today’s model

The pharmaceutical market is becoming more complex, new tools are needed – fresh techniques that deliver insights to drive action and build and maintain a competitive edge.
Today’s model is segmented, targeted, and expands traditional promotional education tactics beyond the healthcare provider. Today, the marketer needs to recognize that medical education is a primary driver of reaching and educating healthcare professionals and consumers.

Leveraging a model built to help the marketer segment and target physicians and measure the effectiveness of the promotional education program is tantamount to the success of sales force efforts to drive the brand. A model built under this premise allows for concept refinement throughout the year – as the marketing message changes, the targets are refined, allowing the marketer to align promotional educational messages. In other words, a model that offers multi-faceted programs that are customizable, and allows for a 1:1 marketing relationship.

This model lets the brand do more with less and ultimately reap the rewards of higher market share. The new model breaks away from the traditional approach of “more is better” – rather this model is focused and requires buy-in from both sales and marketing to reap greater return from promotional education.

Educating the consumer

Many companies are investing millions to reach the consumer – DTC promotion investments have increased over the last few years, however many are questioning the returns. Early reports suggest that investment in this area is projected to decline in 2007.

The solution often cited in the literature is to increase spend on internet media – viral marketing is the latest opportunity to leverage preexisting social networks to increase brand awareness. Consumers have access to more information than at any time in the history of the healthcare industry. A close examination of consumer perception of the industry however shows that consumers do not trust the industry; in fact, an October Harris Interactive Poll showed consumer trust down 50 percent from 2004 to 7 percent in 2006. The question we all face is how to improve trust in the industry and increase brand awareness.

These are times that remind one of the fundamental nature of branding – clarity of promise and position, continuity, and control. Companies may benefit from stepping back and reexamining the nature of customer relationships along the brand chain to regain control of the brand’s delivery and its reinforcement in the marketplace. Building relationships with advocacy organizations is a great start. Many companies have assigned a dedicated sales team offering value added education to advocacy organization. This approach can greatly improve perception and trust. Many patients and caregivers turn to such organizations for information. Moreover, providing live state-of-the-art education forums for patients and caregivers breaks the barrier and gives the information to those that need it the most. The information on the internet then, if consistent, can only reinforce the messages delivered.

Advocacy organizations offer many programs that healthcare providers are completely unaware of. Therefore, bridging the gap between the advocacy group and the healthcare provider can be accomplished through the sales organization. Couple this with value added programs and the marketer will only further company visibility and ultimately trust and loyalty to the brand. Considering the push toward consumerism, an educated consumer is an empowered consumer.

Summary

Improving sales force effectiveness through medical education requires an outside of the box model – one that is focused on physicians and other healthcare providers and offers value added education to consumers. This model requires that medical education be integrated – thus it leverages traditional tactics with segmented targets, ongoing refinement of messages, and it expands its reach beyond the traditional healthcare provider.

Compliance remains a mainstay in medical education today; therefore partnering with suppliers with information management technology is only one part of the equation. A technology platform that brings compliance solutions plus ongoing measurement of program effectiveness that leads to customizable and refined promotional programs will lead the way.

Tracy Doyle is President and CEO of Phoenix Group.