How can you improve your company outcomes and increase your return on investment (ROI)? That is the urgent story for today’s pharmaceutical commercial expenditure leaders like you. These objectives could include decreasing the time-to-market for new pharmaceuticals, enhancing digital adjacencies across the ecosystem for sales growth, and using deeper consumer data for enhanced brand loyalty, among others.
The need for you to rethink your value offer is self-evident. External commercial spend–which includes marketing, sales, and payor rebates–has been outperforming revenue growth for many pharmaceutical companies in recent years. Between 2013 and 2015, rebate spending and direct-to-consumer spending grew at a compound annual growth rate of 34 percent and 20 percent, respectively, according to a Mckinsey study, while gross sales only increased by 11 percent.
Furthermore, many of the pharmaceutical industry’s traditional sales and marketing techniques are rapidly proving unsuccessful, according to PwC, accounting for up to 25% of annual revenues on average. Despite the fact that direct-to-consumer advertising is underperforming, payers are aggressively seeking price reductions, and providers are restricting sales representatives’ access to primary care physicians, pharmacos continue to invest heavily in direct sales forces.
And, with both patients and physicians using the Internet and mobile devices to stay informed and interact, you’ll need to adjust your marketing mix quickly to ensure effective messaging.
Spend optimization with advanced data analytics
Is there a better strategy for you to take in order to reap the benefits of data analytics in terms of making better-informed decisions about pharma commercial spend? I believe the following four stages, if followed, will go a long way toward assisting you in achieving better business results:
1. Create and manage core database: To begin, create a core database that includes all relevant sales, marketing, and payor characteristics. This database needs to be comprehensive, with data on all marketing channels, sales visits and messaging, customer relationship management, payor access, rebate levels, and so on. It must also be granular, with pertinent data segmented at the account, health care professional (HCP), and other levels.