'Crystal gazing into Pharma' - excerpts from my session at MedicinMan's marketing conference, BrandDrift2013.

2. o Healthcare is first a responsibility and then only an opportunity for Pharma
o Pharma Marketing has a great role to play in fulfilling the responsibility and optimizing
the opportunity.
o ‘Read your Roti before eating it” – Lifebuoy put this sentence on all the Rotis, which
Got served at the recent Mahakumbh, “ Lifebuoy se haath dhoye kya” (have you washed
your hands with Lifebuoy). Keeping in mind the importance of hand hygiene, this was a
great example of optimizing opportunity while fulfilling responsibility.
o “Marketing is not a function, it is the whole business seen from the Customer's point
of view.” – Peter Drucker
o Pharma in India, has been progressing through the decades with very aggressive
portfolio and sales force expansion
o Newer stakeholders, in healthcare delivery space, will keep gaining ground
o Landscape is stormy with network of influencers – Providers, Payers, Regulatory…
o Vivian Greene said, ‘Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass…it’s about learning
to dance in the rain!”
o Increasing Health Insurance and Public Funding of healthcare is fuelling growth
o Healthcare infrastructure investment and expansion augurs well for future
o Household healthcare spend will keep growing through the years

3. o Medical tourism will increase in coverage – geographically and in therapy areas.
o Private Hospitals will continue their rapid expansion and improved reach.
o Hospitals will keep evolving from current critical care to chronic and primary care also.
o Lifestyle related interventions, Niche therapies and Disease Management will gain
o Moving from being ‘Out of pocket’ to becoming majorly reimbursed healthcare market.
o Pharma growth agenda will have to address the present and emerging opportunities .
o Opportunities in geography: Driven by growing urbanization, Metro and Tier I towns will
continue to be significant drivers of growth.
o Opportunities in Economy: Disposable incomes set to rise significantly in rural areas
o Opportunities in Life Cycle Management: Pro-active approach towards building brand
portfolio and augmenting the same as you progress through the life cycle
o Opportunities across specialty: Targeting GPs, Physicians and Specialists
o Opportunities in adherence: Medication compliance has great impact on health outcomes
o Opportunities in Digital Ecosystem: Increasing number of consumers are exploring social
media for healthcare.
o Lets us have look at the possible roadmap for a sustainable growth for Pharma.
o Multi-Segment approach: Different Indications; Across sectors -Clinicians, Hospitals,
Health Systems; Various specialties; Diverse Tiers of geography.
o Collaborative Marketing: Evolving from Transactional to Relationship based to finally
into a collaborative mode of marketing strategy and operation

4. o Multi-level approach in Marketing : Share of voice with Prescribers, Partnership with
Providers and Participation with Payers
o Physician centricity transforming into healthcare Systems involvement
o Co-creation of value through network orientation and system involvement
o Dialogue, Access, Risk-benefit and Transparency are the elements of co-creation
o Choice, Trust, Community and Innovation are the outcome of co-creation
o All-round effectiveness : Organizational - Strategy, Culture, Infrastructure and
Individual – Knowledge, Attitude, Skills
o Commercial Excellence: Achieving integration of Customer Focus & Growth Strategy
with Go-to-Market Strategy which flows into Sales & Marketing operations
o Sales Model Excellence – Hybrid model to address Customer size and complexity
o Reach and penetration: Portfolio and Geography match with focused BU and sales
model supported by appropriate channel structure
o Sales Force Optimization- 6 elements: Resource Optimization, Segmentation & Targeting,
Incentives & Rewards, Training & Capabilities, Sales Force Planning, Measurement
o Relationship progression: From being Standard Supplier to becoming Strategic Partner
o Social Media Engagement: Transparency, Trust building and Patient empowerment
o Multi-Channel approach: Two-way and multi-point communication
o This an era of Partnerships which will thrive on Copetition, so join hands !
o Pharma can keep thriving with a Healthcare approach fuelled by Multi-level Marketing
and driven by All-round Effectiveness.
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this presentation are made in an individual
capacity and do not necessarily reflect those of the company or any of its affiliates.