Transforming Pharma Sales in India: A New Approach for Better Engagement

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The pharmaceutical industry in India is currently grappling with challenges related to the quality of interactions between doctors and medical representatives (MRs). The surge in the number of pharmaceutical companies and divisions has led to an overwhelming increase in the frequency of MR visits to doctors. This saturation is making it difficult for doctors to allocate quality time to each representative, a situation worsened by the declining quality of MRs themselves.

Today, MR visits are often viewed as interruptions rather than value-adding engagements. To change this perception, the industry must move away from its traditional brand-centric sales model and focus on delivering genuine value to doctors. With the introduction of the Uniform Code of Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices (UCPMP), it is crucial for MRs to distinguish themselves through their knowledge, skills, and ability to build strong relationships. The objective is to provide a unique customer experience that effectively supports doctors' prescribing decisions.

Embracing Personalization in Pharma Sales

Indians naturally expect and appreciate personalized interactions, and doctors are no exception. This presents a significant opportunity for the pharmaceutical industry to leverage data and technology. MRs should focus on the quality of their interactions, not just the frequency. By gaining a deeper understanding of customer needs and contexts, MRs can create more meaningful engagements, leading to better business outcomes.

Technology plays a crucial role in this transformation. Marketing teams should provide MRs with better access to rich data, enabling them to understand customers' practices, patient demographics, and work processes beyond just treatment preferences. This deeper understanding allows MRs to offer solutions tailored to real problems, moving away from a one-size-fits-all approach.

?A New Commercial Model for Indian Pharma

To achieve true personalization at scale, the Indian pharmaceutical industry must transition to a new model that empowers MRs to address individual customer needs and preferences. Although some progress has been made through omnichannel strategies, these are often limited by the content provided. Pharma companies must connect the vast amounts of data they collect to actionable insights that help doctors make informed decisions. A comprehensive view of the patient journey is essential for delivering an optimal customer experience.

Evolving the Role of Medical Representatives

?The traditional model, where the MR is the sole owner of the customer relationship, is becoming outdated. While MRs excel at delivering tailored clinical messages to select segments, expecting them to manage personalized interactions for a large number of customers is unrealistic. Instead, MRs should focus on building trust and relationships, rather than merely meeting activity-based KPIs. By "unbundling" some traditional tasks, MRs can concentrate on high-value activities that truly matter to customers.

In this new model, delivering a great customer experience becomes a shared responsibility between field and marketing teams, supported by advanced analytics and AI. This approach enables smarter, more flexible customer journeys, allowing MRs to build stronger relationships and solve customer problems.

?Tools, Collaboration, and the Path Forward

To succeed in this evolving role, MRs must adopt a dynamic approach and commit to gathering and sharing insights. They need a deep understanding of doctors' needs and patients’ journeys and must embrace technology as a partner in building better customer experiences. Tools like generative AI can help turn large datasets into actionable insights, enabling micro-targeted messaging tailored to specific customer segments. Collaboration across the organization will be key. MRs who excel will work effectively within teams, sharing insights and trusting the technologies and processes in place.

?The Future of Pharma Sales in India

?As AI and other advanced tools become more prevalent, now is the ideal time for Indian pharma companies to transform the role of the MR to enable true personalization at scale. To begin this transformation, companies should:

1. Address the Cultural Mindset: Challenge the current model where the head office dictates actions to the field without seeking comprehensive customer data. This will require change management in both the head office and the field.
2. Identify Valuable Customer Data: Determine what customer data MRs can gather that would be valuable for a system of analytics, insights, and feedback.

By unbundling the MR role and empowering them to act where and when they are most needed, the Indian pharmaceutical industry can unlock new levels of customer satisfaction and business success.

An important role in this transformation will be played by Field Managers, who directly oversee MRs. If you are interested in training your frontline managers, please connect with us.

Visit : www.assesspro.in or Reach out to us at [email protected]

The author is the CEO of AssessPro , a training and assessment consulting organization that has worked with Lupin, Cadila, and Torrent, and has offered services to various pharma clients including Sun Pharma, Macleods, and Micro Labs.

Authored books:

• Essentials of Pharmaceutical Sales Management
• Get, Set, & Grow – A Handbook for Medical Representatives

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