An Array Of Valuable Tips 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. So many choices are presented to a consumer and a wide variety of external forces often come into the purchasing decision, including advice given by the petitioner or front-line professional. We live in an age when information is instantaneously available and we are, in increasingly surprising numbers, spending our time interacting on social networks. As a consequence, we are becoming much more educated about every aspect of our existence. While the consumer becomes more educated and the market becomes more crowded, the efficiency of a marketing program must be in sharp focus for a company’s senior 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.

While niche product areas are the subject of greater marketing emphasis, more emotions are involved in the end-user decision process as well and the professional is less likely to advise the consumer to go down the more beaten track. 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. As an organisation identifies its marketing focus, pharma consulting plays a great role, especially when talking about niche concentration. The distant professional must be the subject of more attention and sharper skills will be needed, with more training required to ensure that the sales executive breaks through all barriers and achieves the results. Effective implementation requires an equal amount of experience, ability and training.

Alan Gillies is the Director of L2L Consulting, an elite pharmaceutical consultancy firm which specialises in Strategy Development and Implementation Excellence for prestigious multi-national organisations.