Pharmaceutical Marketing in Pakistan is Not True Marketing – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #933

Pharmaceutical Marketing in Pakistan is Not True Marketing – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #933

Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #933 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to aq.pharmaveterans@gmail.com for publishing your contributions here.

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It is a controversy generating statement, because the large corps of pharmaceutical marketers will contest it vehemently. 

Let me take you to the historic journey of pharmaceutical industry evolution, and then make my point.

When I started working in pharmaceutical industry almost 50 years ago, there was no marketing department in any pharma company. The MNCs received promotional materials from parent offices and got these reprinted here if more quantity was required. Local pharma companies got folders designed through printers. There were no product managers and there was no discussion on strategy which also came from abroad. The business heads all came from sales, and their entire focus was on sales and sales strategies. 

Few years later, some product management activity started here and there. Product management started in earnest in 1990s and has been flourishing and expanding since. Titles like ‘Marketing Manager’ were used earlier also despite having no marketing; it just reflected a position senior than ‘Sales Manager’. As the roles became more clarified, the titles and their relative seniority was also reassigned. 

Presently, all major companies have elaborate ‘marketing’ set ups, either through BUM – Business Unit Managers’ structure where product managers report to the BUM, or through a separate marketing structure with product managers reporting to Group Product Manager and then Marketing Manager. Whatever the structure, the functions of marketing group or department remain the same. 

Before we go further, let us have a look at conventional marketing and the difference between marketing and sales.

Conventional marketing, also known as traditional marketing, refers to the established practices used to promote products and services to a broad audience. These methods rely on pushing messages out through various channels, with less emphasis on direct interaction with potential customers. Some key examples of conventional marketing include:

• Print advertising: Newspapers, magazines, brochures, and flyers were once dominant forces in brand promotion.

• Broadcast advertising: Television and radio commercials were used to reach large audiences with a single message.

• Outdoor advertising: Billboards, bus ads, and transit signage aimed for high visibility in public spaces.

• Direct mail: Flyers, catalogs, and promotional letters delivered directly to mailboxes.

• Telemarketing: Contacting potential customers by phone to generate leads or promote products.

Pharmaceutical industry is not allowed to approach public directly for marketing their products; they must route their promotion through doctors. More recently, campaigns like Calcium and Zinc benefits have been allowed as ‘public service messages’.

While both marketing and sales aim to generate revenue, they approach it differently:

• Marketing: Focuses on creating brand awareness, generating interest, and attracting potential customers. It involves activities like market research, product positioning, and crafting compelling messaging. 

• Sales: Focuses on converting leads into paying customers by building relationships, addressing specific needs, and closing deals. Sales involve techniques like negotiation, objection handling, and closing techniques.

Think of marketing as casting a wide net to attract potential customers, while sales involves carefully tying in those who show interest.

Pharmaceutical Marketing in Pakistan

Pharma market in Pakistan has been dominated by generic products. Each large selling molecule is marketed by multiple companies, sometimes 50 or more maybe. This and other factors lead to the situation where true marketing becomes improbable.

Selction of products is done on the basis of what sells more. It does not identify the gaps in market or the gaps in patient care. Research products are designed to fulfill unmet needs, but generics do not do that.

What sells more is replicated by too many companies thereby causing a glut in the market. This is even more so if the product has lucrative margin. Since most, if not all, generic products are perceived as equal, there is not much to offer as competitive advantage.

No generic company is generating clinical data based on its own products. Even this area cannot be exploited for marketing opportunities.

All technical information available in public domain is from the original research products. Any generic product can use this data to promote their own product, without creating any differentiation.

Since there is no product advantage, the only difference can be made in services to customers. This is the domain of sales, not marketing.

Marketing people in generic companies devote their time in designing folders, give aways, presentations, campaigns, and data anaylsis, where available. 

Needless to say that most of these activities are targeted towards converting potential customers into business, not identifying new customers. This is more in line with sales rather than marketing.

Pharmaceutical Sales in Pakistan

The salespeople carry all the weight of business. They search customers, develop customers, make sales strategies to convert customers into business, protect customers from poaching by competitors, and ensure that sales targets are met. 

It is unfair that salespeople remain unsung while marketing people take most of the limelight.

Way Forward

Pharmaceutical marketing needs to rethink its role for future. Here are some key changes that highlight the evolution of marketing in recent times. It would be good for the marketing people to focus on these areas to do more fruitful marketing.

• Shift from Mass Marketing to Targeted Marketing: Reaching specific customer segments with tailored messages has become more important.

• Rise of Digital Marketing: Traditional channels are still used, but online marketing dominates due to its measurability and targeting capabilities.

• Focus on Customer Engagement: Marketing is no longer a one-way street. Building relationships and deveoping customer interaction is key.

• Data-Driven Decisions: Marketing decisions are increasingly based on data insights gleaned from market data, customer behavior and analytics tools.

• The Power of Content: Creating high-quality content that educates and engages potential customers is a core marketing strategy.

The future of marketing will likely involve even greater personalization, automation through AI, and a focus on building trust and transparency with customers.

Concluded.

Disclaimers: Pictures in these blogs are taken from free resources at Pexels, Pixabay, and Google. Credit is given where available. If a copyright claim is lodged, we shall remove the picture with appropriate regrets.

For most blogs, I research from several sources which are open to public. Their links are mentioned under references. There is no intention to infringe upon anyone’s copyrights. If, however, it happens unintentionally, I offer my sincere regrets.