The ROI from detailing is falling due to escalating promotional costs. As such, investment in sales support technologies is increasing to drive sales force effectiveness. Technology can enhance pharma relationships with physicians through new media applications such as video detailing. Such investments can only be justified by targeting the right technologies towards physician prescribing patterns

• Coverage: Europe, Japan and the US

  
  

• Case studies to highlight successful strategies for improving sales force effectiveness using technology solutions

  
  

Effective physician targeting underpins the success of a pharmaceutical sales force. Companies need to ensure that technology solutions are able to deliver the market intelligence that is required to target the customer base more accurately, thereby identifying physicians with the greatest prescribing potential.

ROI from physician detailing is declining despite increases in pharmaceutical sales force size. Sales forces need to adopt technologies that position field representatives as crucial product educators, instead of being merely promotional agents.

Patients and healthcare payers play important roles in influencing prescribing decisions and companies have been forced to extend their promotional efforts beyond just physicians. A company’s sales force has to gauge market conditions accurately by relaying information about physicians’ attitudes towards certain therapies.

• Evaluate which sales support technologies should be implemented to increase field force effectiveness

  
  

• Understand how technology solutions can be used to engage physicians' interest and to improve the detailing process

  
  

• Recognize how the development of effective sales force communication solutions can support the creation of a customer-centric organization

  
  

Improving Sales Force Effectiveness

Pharmaceutical companies need to implement technology solutions to halt the decline in the return on investment (ROI) from physician detailing. While there is pressure for sales representatives to maximize detailing time, equally there is an emphasis on optimizing the quality of promotional contact with a product’s target audience. This requires the adoption of technologies that present the representative as a product educator, instead of as merely a promotional agent. This brief discusses how different technology-based sales support solutions are being directed towards improving the promotional efficiency and effectiveness of the pharmaceutical sales force.

Improving Sales Force Effectiveness: Evaluating the ROI of technology solutions in the pharmaceutical industry begins with an evaluation of the key factors that drive sales force effectiveness. The brief then presents a conceptual model for maximizing sales force effectiveness, which is based on the following three requirements:

improving the sales force ROI, by tackling field force productivity;

improving physician interactions, by increasing both the level and quality of contact from sales representatives;

maximizing customer relationships with both physicians and patients, by increasing promotional effectiveness and optimizing sales force size.

Where applicable, case studies are used to illustrate successful strategies. The Future Decoded section defines the main factors that are expected to impact on future promotional and sales force effectiveness, and provides solutions for improving the ROI from customer-centered marketing.

Datamonitor evaluates the ROI of technology solutions used to drive sales force effectiveness:

“ Companies need to determine and understand their target audience’s needs better and evaluate how technology can be used to service them appropriately. The utilization of technology to drive pharmaceutical sales force effectiveness should not be viewed as a ‘stand alone’ solution to maximizing the promotional impact of a marketed product. Instead, this strategy is entirely dependent on integrating technology solutions across mainstream operations.

The relay of intelligence about market conditions to and from a sales force remains paramount to companies establishing their product franchises within targeted disease markets. Therefore, the integration of such data is crucial to companies becoming truly customer-centered.” Datamonitor analysis

The eHealthInsight brief Improving Sales Force Effectiveness will enable you to:

evaluate the support technologies that are being used to increase field force effectiveness;

understand how technology solutions can be used to improve the detailing process;

recognize how technology solutions form an integral part of becoming a customer-centric organization

If you would like a detailed table of contents or any further information about this brief, please contact Nick Bennett, Director of eHealthInsight, at +44 207 675 7307 or nbennett@datamonitor.com. Alternatively, please contact your Account Manager in Datamonitor’s Sales Team.