Marketing research for pharmaceuticals.

Like many sectors in the economy, the pharmaceutical industry has experienced an explosion of customer segments, product offerings and media vehicles that have made marketing more complex, more costly and less effective.

This intense competition and need for growth have pushed pharmaceutical companies to target ever more demanding customers within ever smaller segments. The effectiveness of messaging is diminishing amidst a blur of media exposure. In this environment, it has become increasingly critical for marketing research partners to not only understand but also anticipate trends in consumer attitudes and behavior.

Loyalty Factor
Satisfaction and loyalty may not be terms generally associated with prescription drug products. While decisions on medication were formerly at the unique discretion of the physician, patients increasingly influence these decisions based on their own needs. Pharmaceutical marketers are confronting the same challenges as other consumer brands – how to influence buyer choice. Impact has managed ongoing tracking research in order to measure awareness, trial, and usage of both prescription and OTC products, and more importantly, to diagnose brand switching behaviors.

Effective Communication with Non-Medicating Patients
Marketers have learned this is not just an issue of awareness, but also involves barriers of patient psychology which lead to non-compliance. The population of untreated sufferers in many categories far exceeds those that are medicating. We have worked with leading pharmaceutical manufacturers to answer these foundational questions: 1) What are the barriers to trial? 2) What combination of positive and negative reinforcement will be most persuasive? 3) How can this population best be reached?

Impact Consumer Research works with our pharmaceutical clients to offer answers to their ever-changing needs within a highly regulated market.