Pharmaceutical companies put forth great effort when identifying their customer needs and wants They then invest in R & D hoping to discover and launch innovative products. Before a new pharmaceutical product wins its first prescriber or patient, the prescribing or buying customer must be aware of the characteristics and benefits in order for the product to capture their attention and interest.

A successful communication effort from the seller to the consumer ===========> significant market penetration Is the same communication techniques and tools with those of consumer goods that pharmaceutical product marketers use in their markets ?

They can be similar in their approaches, however the pharmaceutical industry is heavily regulated.

The process of communication

The prescribing decision In the pharmaceutical industry, the primary audiences are: Prescribers Patients How can a physician’s prescribing process or a patient’s purchacing process can be influenced by industry communication?

The pyramid of influence The prescribing decision is strongly influenced by the pyramid of influence

Communication strategy

Promotional Mix The main activities of pharmaceutical marketing communication : Advertising Personal selling Public relations Sales promotion Web communications Collectively called the promotional mix

the promotional mix triple purpose: To provide information To persuade To remind

Advertising Nonprsonal, paid communication about an organization, product, or idea by an identified sponser

Personal selling Direct communication with customers to generate a response and/or a transaction

Public relations The evaluation of public attitudes and the execution of plans to gain public understanding and acceptance

Sales promotion Providing extra value or incentive to customers to purchase a product.

Promotional planning Identify target audience Determine desired response Decide on the message Select media Evaluate response