New Delhi, January 19, 2017: In ethical Pharma industry, of all the promotional inputs available to the field force to promote the products, the ‘detailing story’ is the very important and effective one. If the detailing story is not designed properly to create the desired impact, then it may not be helpful to the field force to generate adequate demand for the product, however hard working they may be.
Let’s see below the process involved in constructing an effective detailing story. It should draw the attention of the Doctors to the important features and advantages of the product being promoted, and make them prescribe the product, such as:
- Indications for which the product is to be prescribed
- Composition/content of the product
- Mode of action, i.e. how it works to give relief from the indications/symptoms.
- Should highlight how the product is better than and superior to similar products available in the market place. For example, if the ‘taste’ of the product is better than other products available, then this advantage can be very clearly highlighted like “Doctor, ours – specify the brand name – is the only product which has a pleasant taste, therefore better patients’ compliance and better results”. If the product is priced less than others in the same segment, then it can be highlighted like “Doctor, ours – specify the brand name – is the most economically priced than the rest, therefore less cost of treatment to your patients, leading to better compliance and better results as well”. If any favourable test reports/publications of repute are available in support of the product, then it can also be highlighted.
- In view of all the above, demand prescription for the product strongly while concluding.
- The detailing story thus designed should be simple, easy to understand/comprehend, and precise to the point. Doctors may lose interest and find it boring if it is lengthy. Wherever required, visual effects (pictorial) may be incorporated to make it interesting, better looking and appealing.
- Practice, practice, and more practice help the field force to acquire mastery over detailing.
- Raising the pitch, whenever we talk about the brand name, its advantages over other products, demanding prescription for the product while closing, i.e.voice modulation adds power to the detailing.
- Effective detailing, coupled with proper implementation of other Sales/Marketing strategies like giving regular visits to the Doctors concerned, promoting the right products to the right Doctors, ensuring availability of the product at all levels in the Distribution channel, etc. yield better and long lasting results to the field force.
- The Product/Brand Managers, in association with the Line Managers concerned, should also ensure a) each and every field force understand the purpose, and meaning of each and every word in the detailing story of every product, b) the field force practice the detailing story quite often to ensure mastery over it, so that they can do effective detailing in front of the Doctors at all times, and generate adequate prescription demand.
- Last, but not the least, it is the field force, who are going to present the detailing story in front of the Customers – Doctors. Therefore it is very important to ensure that they are highly motivated/charged, passionate, longing to excel in their job, earn lot of incentives linked to performance, grow in their career, thus succeed in life.
(The author Mr. Srinivasan V has a rich experience of over 35 years in Pharma Industry, with over 400 articles on Pharma Management in India and abroad, to his credit. He is the recipient of the award “The Transformational Leader of the Year” for Pharma Industry in the year 2013. He can be reached at shridhar1956@rediffmail.com, Mobile no:9972390513).
Corporate Comm India(CCI Newswire)
