UBC Phar400 Intro to Marketing 3.0 13Feb2015

UBC – Phar400 | Pharmacy Management
pharmacySOS.ca | Gerry Spitzner
Part One | February 6, 2015

 Objective: Define marketing and explain how the marketing
concept works and is applied to Pharmacy patient services.
 Thoughtstarters/important insights
 Brand and Branding
 Marketing 101
 Managing the Marketing Mix
 Professional Services Marketing Mix
 The Marketing Plan
 Myths & Mistakes of Pharmacy Services Marketing
pharmacySOS.ca | Gerry Spitzner 2

Marketing is the most often
misunderstood business function.

 What is “Push” vs. “Pull” marketing?
 “Push and pray” is the old marketing paradigm which
assumes that messages sent out blindly and broadly
will magically lead to loyal, long term customers.
 “Pull and stay” uses an approach that brings the right
customers through listening and engagement;
enabling the business to build trusted relationships
and position it as the customers logical choice; when
the customer needs you.

 When the care is patient-centred and focused on their health
rather than accuracy, compliance and disease education,
customers are much more likely to be satisfied with the care
process, and to refer others.
 Trust begins to emerge when we have a sense that another person
or organization is driven by things other than their own self-gain.
 Focus primarily on the relationship of marketing to the most
important beneficiary of pharmaceutical care: the patient.
 Ultimately, care needs to be about them and what they can do to
improve their health.

 In today’s world, business is built on relationships.
◦ People do business with people they know, like and trust.
◦ Trust begins to emerge when we have a sense that another person or
organization is driven by things other than their own self-gain.
◦ Trust is not a checklist. Fulfilling all your responsibilities does not
create trust. Trust is a feeling, not a rational experience.
◦ You have to earn trust by communicating and demonstrating that you
share the same values and beliefs.
◦ You have to talk about your WHY and prove it with WHAT you do.
◦ Understand why, how and what products/services patients need and
want to buy, rather than what you want to sell to them.

It’s 2015 and 99 percent of people in our industry are stuck in
the mud marketing their services like it’s 2005 or even 1995.

Traditional marketing has collapsed in terms of getting the
attention of a consumer. Old marketing; you look for customers.
New Marketing; customers look for you.

Every single marketer out there is a
storyteller.
Stories are attempts to share our values and beliefs.
Storytelling is worthwhile when it tells what we stand for.

One is a feeling and one is an
activity.
What’s the difference?
10pharmacySOS.ca | Gerry Spitzner

 The sum of the perceptions that are held about you, your
company and your products/services.
◦ When you say it about yourself, it's bragging. When someone else
says it about you, it's proof.
◦ Including perceptions held by both external and internal audiences
and stakeholders.
 How people think and talk about you when you’re not there.
◦ A brand is any person’s emotional response - a gut feeling about
you, an organization, a product, or a service.
 Your customers & patients own your brand, you do not.
◦ You don’t have direct control of the perceptions held by them.

 Branding is the universe of activities you undertake
that affects brand perceptions.
 In order to effectively build a positive brand
perception, you must engage in both internal and
external activities which are aligned to deliver a
consistent impression of who you are, what you do,
how you do it and why.

Horizontal Brand
‘One thing for a bunch of people’
Vertical Brand
‘A bunch of things for one person’

Simon Sinek; There’s no such thing as “re-branding”.
A brand’s WHY is either clear or it’s fuzzy. And if it’s
fuzzy, changing the look won’t help.

All you need is a planned approach
to marketingthat targets the right
audience, gives them the
information and advice they want,
and eliminates what they don’t want
– a sales pitch.

One thing to be clear
about is that marketing
is NOT sales.
Selling and closing sales
is different.

 the same as advertising
 becoming a “salesperson”
 manipulating customers to buy
 cold calling
 using hype or exaggeration
 making quick sales
 using high pressure sales tactics
 a task, a department or a job
 a stand-alone activity

 “Marketing is the process of planning and executing
the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of
goods and services to facilitate exchanges that satisfy
individual and organizational objectives.”
Nickels 6e/Copyright © 2007 McGraw-Hill Ryerson
 “Marketing is the process of creating, communicating
and delivering the value of a product or service to
customers.”
Wikipedia

 It is how you get customers.
◦ Promotes product/service awareness to the public, boosting
sales while at the same time building the company's
reputation
◦ Identifies new product/service areas and new or potential
customers
◦ Identifies your competitors and makes you analyze what their
advantages are
◦ A solid marketing plan will help you identify your customer's
needs and wants

 NEED: a state of felt deprivation
◦ (e.g. physical needs, social needs).
 WANT: a desire for a specific satisfier of a need
◦ thus needs become wants, which are shaped by culture and
individual personality.
 DESIRE: a want that is backed by an ability to pay.
◦ The job of a marketer is not only to meet or respond to people’s
NEEDS, but also to help customers learn what they WANT.
◦ Marketers do not create NEEDS, but they do help to translate
NEEDS into WANTS.
(Source: Desselle & Zgarrick, 2005)

 Size of the market.
◦ How common is the condition (or the need for service) in the
pharmacy's geographic area?
 Obstacles to market entry.
◦ Does substantial competition already exist for proposed service?
 Potential revenue and profit.
◦ How much revenue could be generated through service provision?
 Patient access.
◦ Can prospective patients reach the pharmacy easily?
 Patients’ attitudes and behavior.
◦ Is there willingness & readiness of patients to participate actively?

It is extremely difficult to develop
and provide a high-quality product
or service without conducting at
least some basic market research.
Capture behavior, not just data.

 As opposed to periodic studies, customer learning is a
continuous process of probing customers.
◦ It’s a focused process that fundamentally incorporates the
fact that every customer is truly unique and that their needs,
wants and expectations are never static.
◦ They change with the life forces affectingthe individual or the
business and the environment in which they exist.
 Who is your ideal audience. Where do they do
business, get info and heathcare support and why?
◦ Go to where they go, observe them and ask them what they
need and want. How they want it, when they want it and why.

 Marketing involves conducting research to support
marketing activities; and the statistical interpretation
of data into information.
 Understanding both your customers and your
competition through customized market research can
help guide your most important business decisions.
◦ Define the question
◦ Collect the data
◦ Analyze the data
◦ Choose the best solution & implement

 Refers to the factors and forces that affect a firm’s
ability to build and maintain successful relationships
with customers viewed from two perspectives…
◦ Micro environment (or near environment) refers to the forces
that are close to the company and affect its ability to serve its
customers. I.e. the company itself, its suppliers, marketing intermediaries, (those that help to
sell, promote, and distribute goods), customer markets, competition and the public.
◦ Macro environment (external environment) refers to all forces
that are part of the larger society and affect the micro
environment. I.e. demographics,economy, natural forces, technology, politics, and culture.

 Quantitative market research generally probes a few
topics; however by itself doesn’t yield a deep
understanding of the customer.
◦ The results of quantitative research will generally be a
numerical form of data collection and analysis.
◦ The periodic nature merely offers a snapshot of customers at
a moment in time.
 Qualitative research aims to gather an in-depth
understanding of human behavior and the reasons for
that behavior.
◦ Adopt a customer learning approach to find out who your
customers are, what they want, how they want it and why.

 Market segmentation refers to the division of a target market
of consumers into people with similar needs and wants.
 Market segments allow companies to create product
differentiation strategies to target them.
◦ Geographic Segmentation: geographic areas
◦ Demographic Segmentation: age, sex, education, occupation,
family size, etc.
◦ Psychographic Segmentation: lifestyle, interests, values, attitudes
◦ Behavioural Segmentation: benefits desired
◦ Occasion Segmentation: Christmas, weddings, birthdays

Source: William R. Doucette, PhD; Randal P. McDonough, PharmD, MSPharm; J Am Pharm Assoc (2003) 2002

 Who are your competitors?
◦ What customer needs and preferences are you competing to
meet?
◦ What are the similarities and differences between their
products/services and yours?
◦ What are the strengths and weaknesses of each of their
products and services?
◦ How do their prices compare to yours?
◦ How are they doing overall?

 How do you plan to compete and win?
◦ Offer better quality services? (**value**)
◦ Lower prices?
◦ More support? Easier access to services?
◦ How are you uniquely suited to compete with them?
 Gather competitive intelligence from as many sources
as possible; include your data, ideal customers and
competition.
 Then include the information in a S.W.O.T. analysis
and/or an Environmental Scan.

 PEST is the acronym; means
 Environmental scanning is one technique used by
organizations to monitor the market environment at a
given point in time.
 The factors which need to be considered for environmental
scanning are events, trends, issues and expectations of the
different interest groups.
 The results are often compiled and summarized on a single
spreadsheet for easy comparison and understanding.

UBC – Phar400 | Pharmacy Management
pharmacySOS.ca | Gerry Spitzner
Part Two | February 13, 2015

Putting the right product in the
right place, at the right price, at the
right time.

 Product (or service)
◦ What are you going to sell? This is the item or, in the case of
pharmaceutical patient care , the service being marketed.
 Price
◦ How much can you charge ? Setting the appropriate price for a service
is essential to marketing it successfully.
 Place
◦ Where will people buy your service? Making the service available
at the right time and place is important to the success of patient
services.
 Promotion
◦ How will people find out about your service? In addition to advertising,
promotional activities include publicity, PR, and personal selling.

 All elements of the marketing mix influence each other.
 Product, placement, promotion, and price are crucial to
determining a brand's unique value proposition.
 Marketing is not a stand-alone activity. It is integrated
with all other functions of your business.
 The marketing mix needs a lot of understanding, market
research and consultation with people, from customers
and patients to inter-professionals, to suppliers and any
others in the distribution system.

 The service must deliver a minimum level of
performance; otherwise even the best work on other
elements of the marketing mix won't do any good.
 Defined as anything, either tangible or intangible,
offered by the Pharmacy; as a solution to the needs
and wants of the patient/customer.
 The service has to have the right features - for
example, it must look & sound good and work well.

 Of all the aspects of the marketing mix, price is the one,
which creates sales revenue - all the others are costs.
 The price must be right. Customers will need to buy in large
numbers to produce a healthy profit.
 Each product/service requires its own pricing strategy.
 Some of the more common strategies are:
◦ Achieving a target return on investment
◦ Building traffic
◦ Achieving greater market share
◦ Creating an image

 The product/service must be in the right place at the
right time. Making sure that the service is available
when and where it’s wanted is very important.
 Catching the eye of the consumer and making it easy
for her to buy it is the main aim of a good distribution
or 'place' strategy.
 3 Distribution Strategies…
◦ Intensive - puts services in as many retail stores as possible.
◦ Selective - uses a preferred group of retailers.
◦ Exclusive - use of only one retail outlet in a geographical area.

 The three basic objectives of promotion are :
◦ To present product/service info to targeted customers.
◦ To increase demand among the target market.
◦ To differentiate a product and create a brand identity.
 Promotion mix attempts to engage potential
customers in an information exchange.
 Promotional Tools used in exchange of information;
◦ Advertising
◦ Internet
◦ Public relations
◦ Direct Marketing
◦ Personal selling
◦ Sales promotion

 The marketing mix model can be used to help you
decide how to take a new offer to market.
 Once you have a well-defined marketing mix, try
"testing" the overall offer from the customer's
perspective, by asking customer focused questions:
◦ Does it meet their needs? (product)
◦ Will they find it where they shop? (place)
◦ Will they consider it's priced favorably? (price)
◦ Will the marketing communications reach them? (promotion)

 In the consumer-driven approach, consumer wants are
the drivers of all strategic marketing decisions.
 Product (service) Solution
 Promotion Information
 Price Value
 Place (distribution) Access
 The customer-focused marketing approach is known
as SIVA. This system is basically the four Ps renamed
and reworded to provide a customer focus.

All of these elements work together
to play a part in where the target
market, ideal audience and ideal
customer will do business and
repeat buy Professional Services.

 Process
◦ How services are consumed. Providing and delivering a service and the
behaviour of those who deliver it.
 People
◦ Who delivers the service. The reputation of your brand rests in your
people’s hands.
 Physical Environment/Evidence
◦ A service can’t be experienced before it’s delivered.
◦ Testimonials can provide evidence that a Pharmacy keeps it’s promises.
◦ Clean, well decorated and tidy facilities can also reassure. If the premises
aren’t up to scratch, why would the customer think the service is?

 Relationship marketing moves beyond the basic
principles of the 7 P’s Marketing Mix to include…
 One-on-one marketing. Personal selling.
 Identify groups of like-minded customers.
 Retain patients.
 Take a longer-term view.

 Every encounter with a patient is an opportunity to
establish or build a closer professionalbond.
◦ “Has your doctor told you what to expect from this
medication?”
◦ “Do you know what your goals are for this therapy?”
◦ “How is this medication working for you?
◦ “Have you had any problems you'd like to discuss?”
◦ “Let me tell you about your condition so you understand how
best to manage it,”
◦ “Let me tell you about the benefits of your medication and why
it is important to take it every day”

Approach Dialogue
Sounding tentative or apologeticabout fees: “Mrs. Webb, with all these prescription and
nonprescription medications you’re taking, I think you
might benefit from sitting down with one of our
pharmacists for a medication review session.
Unfortunately, we have to charge for this service.”
A more persuasive and positive way to state this
information would be to say:
“Mrs. Webb, with all these prescription and
nonprescription medications you’re taking, you could
benefit from a personal consultation with one of our
pharmacists, who would review your medications with
you. Our professional fee for this service is $60. And
you may be eligible for a covered Pharmacarebenefit.”
Another key is to close the sale with confidence: “This service takes about 30 minutes. We have the
time now or we could schedule an appointment for you
on another day this week.”

To compete in this market,
Pharmacy professional service
providers must challenge the
conventional wisdom in our industry
on marketing and selling their
professional patient services.

 Myth 1: Flawless Work Is Enough
 Myth 2: Effective Marketing Plans Are Tough To Create
 Myth 3: Internet Offers Limited Marketing Opportunity
 Myth 4: Best Practices Work
Source: Raintoday.com

1. Relying on word of mouth
2. Relying on one marketing method
3. Competing on low prices & “free” stuff
4. Incomplete marketing message
5. Not effectively reaching ideal audience
6. Creating an overly complex marketing plan
7. Delaying marketing until cash flow improves
8. Selling services with a sales pitch

 Professional services marketing is undergoing profound
change. Tell your story.
 Marketing is everything. Marketing isn't for quitters.
 Take steps for nurturing long-term leads. Use relationship
marketing to build value and demand for Pharmacy services.
 New, Internet-enabled technologies are challenging old
assumptions about the way people buy professional services.
 Traditional marketing is not dead – nor is it dying. Just don’t
rely on one marketing method.

 Our vision for Pharmacy professional services is only
actionable if we share it.
 Lets share what makes us different because everyone
can already see what makes us the same.
 Without sharing, it’s just a figment of our imagination.

 Got questions? Get answers? Email me…

 Follow Twitter: @passion4retail
 Connect LinkedIn: Gerry Spitzner
 Web: pharmacySOS.ca
 Blog: gerryspitzner.com
 Email: gerry@pharmacySOS.ca
 Online Biz Card: gerryspitzner.tel
 You Tube Channel: Gerry Spitzner

 Gerry Spitzner is an optimist with a curiosity for improving life and business results.
Optimism is the ability to focus on where we're going; not where we're coming from and
Gerry is passionate about making the public aware of the great things Pharmacists do. He
believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together.
 Drawing on 40+ years in regional multi-site retail Pharmacy operations and drug store
ownership with SDM, plus business development with K&F in the Pharmaceutical wholesale
supply-chain; Gerry has the unique advantage of having worked in several different
business models within the retail Pharmacy industry.
 Fascinated with a lifelong curiosity for why customers buy, trends and a passion for retail he
is dedicated to sharing his thinking with strategies to create, engage and keep great
customers by delivering the promise of an extraordinary customer experience that increases
sales and profit.
 pharmacySOS.ca is a Vancouver, BC based business management consultancy providing
Strategic Operations Services focused on drug stores and Pharmacies. Specializing in
consumer trends and strategic business development for independent and banner
pharmacies helping Pharmacists to market their patient care services beyond dispensing.

The marketing strategy section of
the business plan describes who
the customers are and how you
will get word to them about the
goods and services you offer.
Here’s an example of what to
include…

The purpose of the marketing section of
the business plan is to convince
readers that your business or planned
service provides a great opportunity.

 The Market Description
◦ describe your market in terms of size, value, history, recent
growth trends and anticipated future growth.
 The Customer Profile
◦ describe the characteristics, attributes, behaviors, and traits of
your customers.
 The Competition
◦ identify and discuss each major player currently operating
within the industry
 The Marketing Plan
◦ consists of three main areas; the Pricing Strategy, the
Distribution Strategy, and Advertising & Promotions.

 Executive summary — What is my overall plan? Be concise.
What is it?
 Identify yourself — Who am I and what are my values & abilities?
 Describe the product or service — What need do I meet?
 Identify your target market — Who are my customers?
 Know your competitor — Who else can woo my customers?

 Define your distribution and delivery channels — How will
I deliver my service to my customers?
 Group your activities — How will I reach my customers?
 Outline a plan to deal with challenges — How will I handle the
unexpected?
 Indicate your pricing strategy— How much should I charge?
 Project where you will be in five years — What are my long-
term goals?

 When writing the marketing strategy, be sure to
include at least the following:
◦ Define the people who are you customers.
◦ What groups of consumers will buy from you?
◦ How will you advertise to your target market?
◦ Where and what businesses are competing against yours?
◦ How is your business different from the competition?
◦ What is your competitive edge?
◦ Your value proposition.

 Find a need
 Conduct research
 Identify a target market and ideal customer
 Design a service to meet the need based on research and then
conduct testing (proof of concept)
 Determine a brand name and design a service
 Set a price
 Select a distribution system
 Design a promotional program
 Build a relationship withcustomers

UBC Phar400 Intro to Marketing 3.0 13Feb2015

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UBC Phar400 Intro to Marketing 3.0 13Feb2015