Marketing return on investment (ROI) in the pharmaceutical industry has evolved within a decade from a somewhat ethereal pursuit by marketing science groups towards a divining rod for resource allocation. The 6th Annual European Pharmaceutical Congress, Pharma Marketing ROI, organised by eyeforpharma and held in Amsterdam, 23-24 October 2006, indicated that companies have embraced the concept of ROI and many have gone beyond the hype of early practices and procedures. Certainly, they are beginning to focus on more realistic expectations and on more effective approaches.
The conference emphasised the overarching demand by pharma management for better ROI, improved marketing investment decisions and more effective performance measures. ROI was also explored from perspectives such as shareholder value, time-frames and the diffusion of innovation. A range of issues were addressed, including:
The connectivity of ROI with the financial community
Lifecycle marketing
Brand and customer loyalty
Regulatory issues
Multi-channel marketing
Sales and marketing integration
There were two underlying themes. The first centered around whether pharmaceutical companies were sufficiently marketing oriented. It was pointed out that, at several major pharma companies, marketing training had become a victim of management demands to cut costs. There was a general consensus that marketing excellence was crucial to the delivery of superior results, and that it would require a greater emphasis on training to improve the quality of business-critical decision making.
The second theme was based on the pharma company as a customer-centric organisation. Much emphasis was placed on the need for organisational adjustments to meet changes to the competitive environment and the demands of the financial community. Significantly, there was little emphasis on satisfying customer needs. 'Superior satisfaction leads to superior profits' is a common mantra within companies that deliver exceptional results across all industries. This suggests that the marketing ROI for pharma needs to have a broader focus. It needs to move away from concentrating solely on improving efficiency to embracing effectiveness in the quest to improve overall customer satisfaction to drive superior performance.
Contents
6th Annual European Pharmaceutical Congress - Programme
Introduction
About the author
Conference structure
Forecasting and finance
Marketing intelligence and analytics
Lifecycle marketing
Brand and customer loyalty
Regulation, research and development
Integrate and measure multi-channel marketing
Closed-loop marketing
Conclusions
References
About The Author
Dr Barrie G James is internationally recognised as a leading-edge pharmaceutical thinker, for his consulting in pharma strategy, futures, ethics and evidence-based marketing. He manages Pharma Strategy Consulting in Huntingdon, UK, which specialises in creative and pragmatic solutions to fundamental strategic, ethical and marketing problems in the pharma industry.
Earlier in his career, Barrie held executive positions at Ciba-Geigy, Merck & Co., Syntex, Biogen and Schering-Plough in strategic planning, marketing, operating management and business development.
His books and reports on the pharma industry have become standard industry references and his work has been cited in Business Week, the Economist and the Financial Times. His latest publications are The Little Black Book of Pharma Marketing and PharmVision 2015: A Short History of the Future.
Conference Programme
Day one
Chairperson: Stewart Adkins, Consultant, Stewart Adkins Advisors
Forecasting and finance
What skills, experience and attributes will Product and Marketing Managers need for the pharma industry of 2026?
Sean Davies, General Manager, Ferring Pharmaceuticals
Industry challenges seen through a financial analyst's eyes
Stewart Adkins, Consultant, Stewart Adkins Advisors
Managing the diffusion of innovation to drive ROI
Baba Awopetu, International Product Manager, EMEA, Stryker
Strategise for initiatives that favor long-term success over a short-term ROI
Guenther Illert, Vice President Life Sciences, Capgemini
Take advantage of connecting strategy to shareholder value
David Impey, European Director of Marketing, Eisai Europe Ltd
Tradeoffs to increase shareholder value - how BI UK optimises its strategic and brand planning
Ollie Mitchell, Head of Marketing, Boehringer Ingelheim
Marketing intelligence and analytics
Optimising promotional spend across countries and across brands - unique methodologies for assessing ROI
Paul Jones, EMEA Practice Leader, Promotional Management, IMS
Marketing the science through the science of marketing building global brands
Ian Talmage, VP Marketing, Bayer Healthcare
Gain the competitive advantage by visual and interactive data analyses!
Jakob Petersson, Senior Consultant, Business Analytics, Spotfire
Measuring, managing and maximizing return from promotional activities
Graham Leask, Strategic Planning Director, formerly Astra Corporate
Panel session: Enhance the use of your tools: what can you do differently to generate extra sales?
Moderator: Fonny Schenk, CRM Director, Janssen-Cilag
Panellists: Kai Bruns, Senior Market Research Director, Lilly
Mark Bard, President, Manhattan Research
Menno Vis, Senior CRM Manager, Amgen
Lifecycle marketing
'The satellite navigation problem' - choosing the best route
James Macdonald, Marketing Director, Ferring Pharmaceuticals
How to increase your ROI in late-stage lifecycle marketing
Marty Groen in 't Woud, Commercial Director, Astellas Pharma
Panel session: Know which marketing strategies to use at different stages through the product lifecycle
Moderator: Guenther Illert, VP Life Sciences, Gapgemini
Panellists: James Macdonald, Marketing Director, Ferring Pharmaceuticals
Sean Davies, General Manager, Ferring Pharmaceuticals
Marty Groen in 't Woud, Commercial Director, Astellas Pharma
Brand & customer loyalty
Turning customers into loyal advocates: learning from consumer marketing
Paul Marsden, LSE Marketing Expert, formerly Astra Zeneca
Learn how to integrate and leverage detailed customer information to determine, predict and benefit from customer behaviour
Menno Vis, Senior CRM Manager, Amgen
Day two
Chairperson: Keith Foster, Business Development Director, Archstone Consulting
Regulations, research and development
Learning & development: building the foundation for marketing excellence
Edward Nathan, Senior Director, Wyeth
Understanding the key regulatory issues pharmaceutical companies across Europe are currently faced with
Thera Adam, Senior Associate, Life Sciences Group, Simmons & Simmons
Market research: throwing good money after bad?
Trevor Acreman, Head of Pharmaceutical Practice, Millward Brown
Integrate and measure multichannel marketing
Powerful practices that achieve cohesion through the channels
William Benn, EVP Sales and Marketing, Intuitive Group
How to measure marketing activity affecting factors
Roberto Sani, Marketing Director, Dompe Pharma
Multi-channel marketing - where should you allocate your resources?
Manos Christodoulakis, Market Analyst, Sanofi -Aventis
Do physicians truly understand your key messages?: implement techniques to increase your sales and ROI
Morten Hjelmso, Founder and Managing Director, Agnitio
Closed-loop marketing - sales & marketing working together to increase ROI
Marketing & sales: towards customer centric selling
Wolfgang Walter, Regional Business Director, Altana Pharma
A holistic view on pharma (marketing and sales)
Marc Sluijs, Business Consultant Pharma, Agile Software Corporation
