Chapter 1

Introduction to Marketing

Chapter 1 slides for

Marketing
for Pharmacists,
2nd Edition
 Learning Objectives
 Define the term marketing.
 Describe four key elements associated with the
act of marketing.
 Compare and contrast transactional marketing
and relationship marketing.
 Analyze some of the misconceptions
surrounding the practice of marketing.
 Justify the need for pharmacists to market
themselves and their services.
 Differentiate various approaches to marketing
from the “marketing concept.”
 Assess key obstacles to the marketing of
pharmacists’ professional services.
 Basic Marketing
Principles
What is
marketing?
And why
does it have
TIP
Marketing is not bad ---
such a bad only some marketers.
reputation?
 Honesty and Ethical Ratings of
People in Different Professions,
2005 Gallup Poll
% % %
Very high/ Average Low/
High Very low
Nurses 82 15 3
Pharmacists 67 28 4
Medical doctors 65 31 4
High school teachers 64 27 7
Policemen 61 31 8
Clergy 54 35 8
Bankers 41 48 10
Journalists 28 44 27
Lawyers 18 46 35
Congressmen 14 44 41
Advertising practitioners 11 50 35
Car salesmen 8 41 49
Telemarketers 7 31 60
How have marketers
benefited you and
society?
 Whether marketing is
“good” or “bad” depends
on how it is practiced.

TIP
Actual practice depends
on your approach.
Marketing Defined

TIP
It’s all about
exchanges.
Definition of marketing

Exchanges between
people in which
something of value is
traded for the purpose
of satisfying needs and
wants
 Pharmacist exchanges
Dispensing a drug
Helping patients select OTC
medications
Providing drug information to
patients or health care professionals
Taking a patient’s blood pressure
Counseling patients about drug
regimens
 Pharmacists have
exchanges with

Patients
Physicians
Third-party insurers
Their employer
Their boss
Pharmacist co-workers
 Transactional versus
Relationship Marketing
 Two ways of looking at
marketing exchanges
(a.k.a. transactions)
Way 1: Isolated, individual
transactions; participants never
expect to do business again
(transactional marketing )
Way 2: Series of transactions over
time
Called relationship marketing (RM)
RM focuses on developing long-term
relationship (i.e., customer loyalty)
 Relationship marketing
Parties focus less on bargaining hard
for deals and more on meeting the
needs of the other party.
Marketers cultivate relationships over
time that will benefit both parties.
The choice
Transactional marketing – get what you
can and get the patient out of the door
Relationship marketing – every
interaction with a customer is an
opportunity to help the customer and
strengthen the relationship
 Characteristics of
Relationship Marketing Pharmaceutical Care
 Develop a  Establish therapeutic
relationship with relationship
customer.
 Assess and record patient
 Collect and manage
needs.
customer
information.  Create an individualized
 Individualize your care plan.
services to  Delegate clerical tasks to
customers. free up time for
 Involve front-line professional duties.
personnel.  Monitor impact on
 Emphasize long- patient outcomes.
term outcomes.
 Is pharmacy practice
predominantly
transactional or
relationship-oriented?

Transactional Relationship
Orientation Orientation
Every pharmacist is a
marketer.
 Everything pharmacists do
can be called marketing:
 Dispensing a prescription drug
C Assisting patients in the selection of OTC
medications
C Providing drug info to patients or health care
professionals
C Taking a patient’s blood pressure
C Counseling patients about drug regimens
C Recruiting pharmacists for a new job
C Educating pharmacy students
 Why study marketing?

Marketing is
A way of problem solving in the real
world
A way of influencing others
Application of marketing can
Help you get the job you want
Make you a more effective pharmacist
Misconceptions about
Marketing
 Misconceptions about
marketing
Marketing is
selling or
advertising.
 Marketing
Research
Selling Pricing

Marketing

Advertising Merchandising
Distribution
Other misconceptions about
marketing

Marketing is evil.
Health care professionals
do not need to market.
Employee pharmacists do
not need to market.
Only retail pharmacists
need to market.
Approaches to Addressing
Marketing Problems in
Pharmacy

The way you approach a

problem will determine
how it is solved.
 Some process-centered
approaches to marketing
Production –
fast and cheap

Sales – fast and

cheap with heavy Product –
selling better mousetrap
 Customer-centered
approaches to marketing

Marketing concept
Needs and wants
Targeted customers
Products and services that satisfy
Societal marketing
Considers societal impact
What is the dominant
approach in pharmacy
practice?

What is your approach?

 Major Trends that Will
Affect Pharmacist Practice
 Consumer-driven
health care (CDHC)

Health savings
accounts

High-deductible
insurance plan

Disease/
Cost
wellness
sharing
management
 Aging of the baby
boomers
Retirement of post-World War II
baby boom generation
Demanding, activists
Unwilling to accept health care
status quo
Expect to live longer and healthier
lives throughout their retirement
Around-the-clock society
People expect services and
products 24/7/365.
Convenience is no longer an
option in pharmacy practice.
Hours
Location
Speed
Choice
 Service technology

Voice-operated telephone
and information systems
Bar-code and RFID tracking
Robotics
Service technology:
Robotics
 Using Technology to Serve Patients

Speed service Touch-screen interactive kiosks

Electronic refill reminders
Electronic prescribing, fax prescribing
ATM-like dispensing machines
Increase service Telepharmacy, telephone call centers
Convenience/accessibility Internet pharmacy
Touch-screen interactive kiosks
Diagnostic technologies (e.g., blood pressure machine)
Videos and other educational technologies
Web education, CD ROMs

Customize service Personalized patient e-profiles

Customer relationship management (CRM) cards
Interactive kiosks
Interactive Web pages
Improve service quality, solve Telephone call centers
drug-related problems Electronic prescribing
Maintain a patient Personalized patient e-profiles
relationship CRM cards
Web support groups
 Health care budgetary
constraints
Rising health care expenditures
concern government and other payers.
Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and
other funding responsibilities
Funding battle among health care
providers
Health care marketers must compete
for funds.
 Healthcare innovations

Pharmacogenomics
Nanotechnology
Rising global competition
Medical tourism
Thailand, India, Malaysia, Mexico, and
Canada competing for the U.S. health
care dollar
Patients without health care insurance
or large-deductible health insurance
plans
Drug importation/exportation
Large cross-border price differentials
Key problems with marketing
pharmacist services
Control of practice by
nonpharmacists
Product orientation
Conflicting professional and
merchant roles
Poorly defined image of pharmacists
among public
Pharmacist shortages
Silos of health care
Demand for pharmacists

New pharmacies opening daily

Pharmacist shortages
Rising pay
Overwork
Changing responsibilities
 Nursing
Home
Home
Health
Insurer

Pharmacy

Dr’s Office Hospital

 Conclusion
Marketing can change your way of
thinking about current pharmacy
practice.
The goal of this course is to help you develop
a marketing mindset.
Application of marketing principles can
help you change pharmacy practice.
Marketing can give you the tools to
successfully promote yourself, your
ideas, and the profession.
Questions?