1. Introduction to Pharmacy Marketing
John E. Clark, PharmD, MS
Assistant Professor
University of South Florida | College of Pharmacy
Department of Pharmacotherapeutic & Clinical
Research

2. Learning Objectives
At the end of this lecture, student should be able to:
Define the term marketing
Describe four key elements associated with the act of marketing.
Identify environmental factors impacting the market for pharmacists
Understand how to develop a marketing strategy for pharmacy

3. Definition of Marketing
“The activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and executing offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.”
American Marketing Association

4. Definition of Marketing
“Exchanges between people in which something of value is traded for the purpose of satisfying needs and wants”

5. Why study marketing? Marketing is Application of marketing can
A way of problem solving in the real world
A way of influencing others
Application of marketing can
Help you get the job you want
Make you a more effective pharmacist

6. Misconceptions about Marketing

7. Misconceptions about marketing
Marketing is selling or advertising.

8. Marketing Marketing Research Selling Pricing Merchandising Advertising
Distribution

9. Other misconceptions about marketing
Marketing is evil.
Health care professionals do not need to market.
Employee pharmacists do not need to market.
Only retail pharmacists need to market.

10. Every pharmacist is a marketer.

11. Everything pharmacists do can be called marketing:
Dispensing a prescription drug
Assisting patients in the selection of OTC medications
Providing drug info to patients or health care professionals
Taking a patient’s blood pressure
Counseling patients about drug regimens
Recruiting pharmacists for a new job
Educating pharmacy students

12. Who Does Pharmacist Have Service Exchanges With?
Patients
Physicians, Nurses
Third-Party Payers
Employers and Administrators
Supervisors and Staff
Pharmacist Colleagues and Co-Workers

13. Pharmacist Service Exchanges
The Economic Value has been Demonstrated
Target Drug Monitoring
Drug Therapy Interventions
Consultative Activities

14. Pharmacist Service Exchanges
Where Positive Outcomes have been Demonstrated
Pharmacokinetic Monitoring
Aminoglycosides
Vancomycin
Therapeutic Drug Monitoring & Interventions
Physician Orders and Medication Reconciliation
Warfarin
Participation in Medical Rounds
Inpatient Medication Teaching

15. Pharmacist Service Exchanges
Where Positive Outcomes have been Demonstrated
Dispensing a drug
Helping patients select OTC medications
Providing drug information to patients or health care professionals
Taking a patient’s blood pressure
Counseling patients about drug regimens

16. Key Concepts Value is central to marketing Value is personal
Value vs benefit
Value vs Cost of exchange
Value = Perceived benefit / Perceived cost
Marketing is best understood as Communication
Target audience
Events
Face-to-face
Press release
Advertising
Sales promotion

17. Marketing Mix and the 4 Ps
Product
Price
Place
Promotion

18. Total Product Offering
Includes all aspects of the product considered in the purchase decisions.
Actual Product
Core Product
Outcomes
Benefits

19. Product Benefits
Outcomes: Does the product Meet the Customer’s perceived need?
Compatibility: Does the product fit with the consumer’s lifestyle?
Convenience: Is the product easy to use? Is the product/service easy to access?

20. Product Benefits
Social Impact: Does the product offer prestige to the customer or Does the product embarrass the customer?
Emotional Impact: Does the product have an emotional attraction to the buyer?

21. Price Cost-Base Pricing: Markup pricing
Price = Cost * (1-desired markup %)
Demand-Base Pricing: Considers customers’ reaction to price; impact of price on purchase volume

22. Place Impact customers access to the product
Design of the physical layout of the location
Size
Proximity

23. Promotion
Advertising
Sales Promotion
Personal Selling
Publicity

24. Understanding the Marketing Environment
Market Research
Secondary Market Research
Primary Market Research
Qualitative research
Quantitative research

25. Environmental Analysis: Factors to Consider
Macroenvironmental Factors
Economic factors
Legal and regulatory factors
Social and cultural factors
Technical factors
Microenvironmental Factors
Capabilities of the business

26. Marketing Plan Facilitates systematic thinking
Helps to anticipate future events
Allows for coordination of all activities involved in the marketing of the product
Facilitates objective evaluation of success and failure of marketing tactics

27. Structure of a Marketing Plan
Executive Summary
Situation Analysis
Environmental analysis
Macro and Micro
Category analysis
Customer analysis
Planning assumptions
Objectives

28. Structure of a Marketing Plan
Product / Service Strategies
Tactics and marketing programs
Financial documents
Monitoring and controls
Contingency plans

29. Transactional vs Relationship Marketing
Parties focus less on bargaining hard for deals and more on meeting the needs of the other party.
Marketers cultivate relationships over time that will benefit both parties.
The choice
Transactional marketing – get what you can and get the patient out of the door
Relationship marketing – every interaction with a customer is an opportunity to help the customer and strengthen the relationship

30. Characteristics of Relationship Marketing
Develop a relationship with customer.
Collect and manage customer information.
Individualize your services to customers.
Involve front-line personnel.
Emphasize long-term outcomes.
Pharmaceutical Care
Establish therapeutic relationship
Assess and record patient needs.
Create an individualized care plan.
Delegate clerical tasks to free up time for professional duties.
Monitor impact on patient outcomes.

31. Is pharmacy practice predominantly transactional or relationship-oriented?
Orientation
Relationship

32. Approaches to Addressing Marketing Problems in Pharmacy
The way you approach a problem will determine how it is solved.

33. Some process-centered approaches to marketing
Production – fast and cheap
Sales – fast and cheap with heavy selling
Product – better mousetrap

34. Customer-centered approaches to marketing
Marketing concept
Needs and wants
Targeted customers
Products and services that satisfy
Societal marketing
Considers societal impact

35. What is the dominant approach in pharmacy practice?
What is your approach?

36. Key problems with marketing pharmacist services
Control of practice by non-pharmacists
Product orientation
Conflicting professional and merchant roles
Poorly defined image of pharmacists among public
Pharmacist shortages
Silos of health care

37. Summary
Marketing can change your way of thinking about current pharmacy practice.
Application of marketing principles can help you change pharmacy practice.
Marketing can give you the tools to successfully promote yourself, your ideas, and the profession.

38. Learning Objectives Define the term marketing
Describe four key elements associated with the act of marketing.
Identify environmental factors impacting the market for pharmacists
Understand how to develop a marketing strategy for pharmacy