2011-06-20 2416
Since 2010, with the implementation of various institutional reforms under the new healthcare reform, the impact on all aspects of the pharmaceutical industry has become evident. The exploratory phase of public hospital reform, the continuous adjustments in essential drug bidding, distribution, and a series of major changes in the pharmaceutical distribution sector led by the Ministry of Commerce have made it increasingly difficult for pharmaceutical marketing enterprises, with terminal development as their core focus, to make progress.
Similarly, with the implementation of the three-controls pilot program and the continuous emergence of new healthcare reform policies in various regions, there has been an increasing questioning and restriction on the role of individual agents, which has created a predicament for pharmaceutical marketing agencies. From the practical business situations of many small and medium-sized marketing enterprises that I have come into contact with this year, their sales and profit margins are generally lower than last year, and they are also facing rising operating expenses, making their situation even more challenging.
Does this mean that pharmaceutical marketing enterprises have truly reached a desperate situation with no way out? Actually, that's not the case. From the perspective of resource optimization and regional advantages, marketing enterprises have accumulated their own advantageous resources to varying degrees through years of operation. These resources ensure the smooth entry of products into the market. Particularly in some regional markets, the significant advantages of marketing agencies are something that production companies cannot establish in the short term, and these significant advantages are essential for production companies, forming the premise and foundation of collaboration. However, having these advantages alone is far from enough. Pharmaceutical marketing enterprises, especially regional small and medium-sized enterprises, need to excel in three aspects to attract good business.
I. Enhance existing customer management
For marketing enterprises, after years of accumulation and development, each enterprise possesses a multitude of agent customer resources. Many of these customers have been cooperating with the enterprise for many years, displaying high loyalty, which is the foundation for the survival of marketing enterprises. The cost of developing a new customer is ten times that of maintaining an existing one. The fact that more than 95% of the enterprise's sales come from existing customers proves that enhancing sales through existing customers is crucial for the enterprise.
However, through communication and exchanges with many marketing enterprise executives, I have discovered that many enterprises have not effectively utilized the agent resources in their hands. They simply treat these customers as objects for product and profit transactions. Some enterprises may argue that they have done a lot of work in maintaining existing customers, such as giving gifts during festivals, holding annual agent conferences, communicating with customers over meals during pharmaceutical trade fairs, and occasional celebrations with customers. These routine measures are necessary, but they are not sufficient to elevate existing customers in terms of product operation and breakthroughs.
II. Develop partnerships with new customers
Alongside effective existing customer management, another aspect of marketing enterprise development is the cultivation of new customers. It can be said that the stronger a company's ability to develop new customers, the more secure its sales and profits will be. Developing new customers can be approached from the following three aspects:
Combining proactive and passive approaches: In the past few years, advertising was paramount for pharmaceutical marketing, as effective media promotion would attract numerous agents to actively seek product representation. However, with the unprecedented prosperity of media and the increasing rationality of agents, imprecise media information dissemination and poor results lead to significant resource wastage. Therefore, combining proactive telephone marketing with information dissemination is essential. On one hand, media information dissemination should become more precise, while on the other hand, actively reaching out to as many agents as possible through telephone marketing can maximize the effectiveness of the marketing efforts.
Emphasizing integrity, efficiency, and win-win cooperation: In communication and exchanges with new customers, marketing enterprises need to prioritize integrity. In cooperation, efficiency and ensuring mutual benefits should be emphasized, avoiding one-off deals. In the current business environment, there is no room for deception or fraud, and both parties should safeguard their own interests while ensuring the profitability of the other party.
Assisting business operations to achieve long-term cooperation: It is common for marketing enterprises to experience a lack of follow-up after completing a single cooperation with new customers. Through research conducted by the author, it was found that within a year, approximately 568 cooperation agreements with new agents were achieved through promotion and development, averaging nearly 50 per month. However, secondary orders accounted for less than 20%, and after two years, fewer than 40 of these developed customers remained in cooperation. Besides agents transitioning to other industries, a significant factor is the proactive abandonment of unprofitable product operations. Therefore, marketing enterprises must not only excel in customer acquisition but also be adept at maintaining agents, assisting them in various ways to operate profitably.
III. Building core competitiveness
To achieve better marketing results and develop themselves, pharmaceutical marketing enterprises need to enhance their core competitiveness and gain bargaining power with upstream manufacturers to acquire high-quality products. This requires focusing on their own core strengths.
Building star products and target markets: For marketing enterprises, products are the prerequisite for marketing, and this is particularly true for pharmaceutical marketing enterprises. During the operation of marketing enterprises, creating star products and target markets is crucial for their development and breakthroughs. Star products can attract more product resources for the enterprise and represent the operational capabilities of the marketing enterprise. Simultaneously, through star products, companies can establish product prestige, exert brand influence on the market and agents, and attract more customers to join their agent network. Star markets not only ensure sales and profits for marketing enterprises but also serve as their stronghold, forming regional market competitiveness, and gaining market influence. They can also attract more agents by providing a feasible operating model through the company's flagship.
Emphasizing differentiation and specialization: Competition among enterprises ultimately needs to move beyond homogenized competition and enter the realm of differentiation. The same applies to marketing enterprises. Based on comprehensive market research and their own advantages, enterprises can establish unique images in specific aspects through channel positioning, product categorization, and business model positioning. This allows them to conduct specialized operations and enhance industry influence.
Becoming a cash cow for customers: Furthermore, there must be a change in perspective, shifting from the notion that "customers are a source of revenue for the enterprise" to "transforming the enterprise into a source of revenue for customers." The objective is to attract customers to profit by following the marketing enterprise's operations. To achieve this, it is necessary to study products, markets, channels, and customer realities to create a viable and replicable business model that genuinely assists customers in achieving successful sales and profits.