Factors Affecting the Choice of Drug Brands by Doctors

Factors Affecting the Choice of Drug Brands by Doctors This research proposal explores the factors affecting the choice of branded drugs in India. Indian pharmaceutical market is unique due the presence of more than 60000 branded generic drugs. The doctors are spoilt for choice of brand. Hence it is important to find out the factors which affect the prescription of drugs to help both doctors and pharmaceutical companies serve patients better. LITERATURE REVIEW INDUSTRY OVERVIEW Pharmaceutical industry in India is now the third largest and 14th largest in the world in terms of volume and value, respectively. The total turnover of Indias pharmaceuticals industry for year ending September 2009 was US$ 21.04 billion with the domestic market contributing US$ 12.26 billion. [1] Due to the expansion of middle and higher middle income groups in the country, a potential US $ 8 billion market of high cost drugs is expected to emerge by 2015. It is also expected that domestic pharmaceutical market will reach US $ 20 billion by 2015. This will make India a lucrative destination for various pharmaceutical giants. Another factor aiding this movement of multinational companies to India is the evolution of low cost drug policy and stagnation of western market. The pharmaceutical industry has grown at the rate of 12 per cent (CAGR) for the past few years, but this will accelerate soon. [1]. India is among the worlds leading five Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients producers. Indian firms produce about 60,000 generic brands servicing 60 therapeutic categories. This is a unique characteristic of Indian pharmaceutical market as compared to the foreign markets where either Researched Brands or generic drugs are prescribed. These different brand names create a dilemma for the medical professionals while writing prescriptions. MARKETING BY PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES The general process of selling involving the following steps is also applicable in case of generating required prescriptions. Unawarenessà ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚  Awarenessà ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚  Interestà ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   Evaluationà ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚  Test Prescriptionsà ¯Ã†â€™Ã‚   Repeat Prescriptions The most cost effective ways of generating interest among doctors and consumers for new drugs are advertisements and public relations techniques. [2] While getting repeat prescriptions requires generation of involvement. Hence majority of spending goes towards direct-to-doctor (DTD) promotion. Among advertising, detailing (visits from sales representatives), direct mail, sales promotion, publicity and public relations, detailing contributes the most for doctors as well as a strategy for pharmaceutical companies. It is the only technique which can be used for all drugs according to Indian FDA regulations. Only Over-the-Counter (OTC) drugs can be advertised publicly in the Indian market. Key findings of research show a high level of interaction between the pharmaceutical industry and the medical profession. 86% receive medical samples frequently 39% receive desk gifts 19% receive invitations to congresses 12% receive free lunches Half of the doctors believe that receiving benefits from the pharmaceutical industry has an influence on medical prescription, but only 27% accept this as influential in their own prescriptions. [3] GIFTS Giving gifts (such as pens to expensive foreign holidays) to doctors is one of the most common techniques used by pharmaceutical companies. These companies are working on relation of reciprocity technique. In country like India, where a lot of importance is given to relationships, doctors on receiving gifts feel obliged to return the favour by prescribing the respective brands. SALES REPRESENTATIVES The main job of Pharmaceutical sales representatives is to convince the doctors to prescribe their products. Along with that they also deal with the channel partners like chemists, wholesalers and even hospitals and other medical service agencies. Hence they have the potential to influence the buying of drugs at every stage. During their visits to the doctors they can customize the product offering based on the doctor profile and the types of patients that consult the doctor. They build relationships with the doctors and leverage it to extract maximum sales from that contact. They use all the selling skills to convince the doctors about the superiority of their products. They also act as the channel for the exchanging information. Many times this involves controlling the information that reaches the doctors as these representatives have become the main source of information about new research and products that hit the market every day. They increase the visibility of their products by continuously reminding and distribution of the gifts related to their products. All these activities influence the prescription habits of the doctors. One of the survey results showed that: 84% of GPs considered pharmaceutical representatives as an efficient source of information 31% said they might change their therapeutic prescribing following visits from representatives [4] ADVERTISING Direct advertisement through mass media is restricted to OTC drugs. These are directed to end consumers i.e. the patients as well as channel partners. These can also be used to impart information without use of particular brand names and to create awareness for public benefit. Many times advertisements become counterproductive by encroaching into the doctors space of providing treatment options creating discontent among doctors. PRICES The concern is that pharmaceutical companies marketing has led to poor people paying for branded products that cost a lot more than the much cheaper generic but have little or no additional medical value. The poor patients cannot afford the original researched brands. Hence the many branded generic drugs fill in the void left by these pharmaceutical companies. The decision is left to the doctors whether the patient can afford the medication or to find out the one which is affordable. Certain patients perceive the effect of costlier drug to be more than the cheaper one. The doctors need to look into the psyche of the patient before deciding which drug to recommend. BRANDING Majority of the doctors use brand names except in hospital setting where the brand is decided by pharmacy. There are various factors that lead to prescription of a branded drug than a generic drug. Brand names are shorter and easier to remember thus get a preference over generic drugs in a prescription. E.g. On given a choice of S-3-aminomethyl-5-methylhexanoic acid (36 letters) or Lyrica (6 letters), it is most likely that doctors will opt for the latter being less complicated. [5] Another common argument for prescribing a brand name is that it avoids patient confusion, as patients are most likely to use brand names for identifying drugs and usually have a poor knowledge of corresponding generic names. [6] Other issues such as the quality and bioequivalence of generic substitutes are often mentioned. Availability, Sampling, Packaging, Continued Medical Education Programme and free disease detection camps are the factors that are to be evaluated upon. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY To study the factors affecting the decision of doctors while prescribing a product To recommend appropriate marketing strategies to Pharmaceutical companies as per customer needs To explore customer (physicians) needs wants from a pharmaceutical company TIME FRAME The research shall be completed in 8 months time frame (Design and Sampling 2 months, Data Collection 4 months, Data Analysis and Reporting 2 months) SCOPE OF THE STUDY Study is limited to doctors in major cities of India SOURCES OF DATA PRIMARY SOURCE The researcher has to collect data through mail or telephonic interview by getting questionnaire filled up from chosen doctors SECONDARY SOURCE The researcher has to refer to various Pharmaceutical and Marketing Journals, Magazines, Reports websites SAMPLE SIZE 1000 Physicians have been chosen from across major cities in India SAMPLING METHOD Random purposeful Sampling Method 20 Cities have been randomly selected 50 Physicians have been randomly selected from each city Cities chosen are: Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Coimbatore, Pune, Chandigarh, Patna, Guwahati, Bhopal, Itanagar, Raipur, Ranchi, Panaji, Jaipur, Bhubaneswar TOOL OF ANALYSIS Data collected from different sources has to be tabulated. Percentage and Average method has been applied to analyze data. LIMITATIONS OF RESEARCH The Sample size chosen may not be enough to give a true representation of the total population. The research only encompasses metros and A-Tier cities.

Strategic Plan Part Ii Bus 475

Strategic Plan Part II BUS 475 Christina’s Unique Clothing Store will cater to clientele looking for a shopping experience that cannot be gotten anywhere else. In order for the small business to accomplish this, the owner of Christina’s Unique Clothing Store will need to complete a Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threats, and Trends analysis (SWOTT). The SWOTT will allow the owner to view the business from an objective point of view and analysis any problem areas before it becomes an actual problem. Christina’s Unique Clothing Store will conduct an internal and external analysis using the SWOTT table giving explanations or an analysis on seven factors in the table and naming one factor to be considered the major factor for each category. The SWOTT identified location and creativity in fashion as the strength and opportunity for Christina’s Unique Clothing. The SWOTT identified locating a wholesaler for the merchandise as a weakness, and the legal and regulatory issues as a threat while identifying environmental conscience as a trend for the company to focus for the future. A major strength the company will have is location of the store. Location is an important factor in a business succeeding; therefore, finding the right location for Christina’s Unique Clothing Store is the company’s strength. The store’s location will be in area that the intended targeted clientele will frequent to shop, therefore presenting the business the opportunity to offer personalized tailored care in the clothing industry. As the store opens, offering creative and unique accessory items will allow Christina’s Unique Clothing to stand apart from the other boutiques in the area. Sorella Boutique is a high-end quality retail store that sells designer clothing such as â€Å"Seven For All Mankind, Vince, and Nicole Miller†, however, the boutique’s service stops there. Sorella Boutique does not offer its customers a personalized or tailored shopping experience (Sorella Boutique, 2011, p. 1). Locating the correct wholesaler for the merchandise to be displayed and sold in Christina’s Unique Clothing Store will be a challenge. The internet is littered with wholesale dealers posing a deal for all to have however; for a new business buying merchandise cheap is great on the budget but buying cheap merchandise will spell failure in the end. Legal and regulatory issues will need to be researched and followed through before the business can open its doors to the public. Skipping or ignoring the legalities can only bring disaster to the business quickly. For a retail clothing store the legal issues are few ensuring the local city or county license requirements are met before opening the business. Insuring the business for at fault accidents should be considered also, thus protecting the business from liability during an accident. Although to open a small business, it is not required to have any documentation other than a business license from the city in which the business will be operated within, it is recommended that the owner have knowledge of how to run a business. As a long-term goal and for future success, the company will want to move towards becoming environmental conscience with a designer that is reusing materials for the designers clothing line or accessories. Becoming environmental conscience is how Christina’s Unique Clothing Store will out-last the other boutiques in the area. Although, 51% new small business will survive the first five years, focusing early on what the company’s long-term goals can help the company stay focused on the future (Schaefer, 2011). Christina’s Unique Clothing clientele is targeted towards the higher income class, economic times are still rough and can be a threat for a new business, and must be weighed. As the economic status changes, the company can adapt as well. The fashion industry changes the design line each year; the company can adapt its inventory to include the latest fashion designs to attract its clientele. To produce an inventory that can be sold at reasonable prices the suppliers will need to be trustworthy. The clothing being offered will be obtained from designers, wholesalers, or online stores that carry the designer clothing at reasonable prices allowing the clothing to be re-merchandised for a profit. The accessories can be bought from wholesalers or online designers also, saving costs on travel and gas, although the supply chains will need to be organized and categorized by minimum purchase requirement, cost, and popularity. Wholesalers and discount online stores advertise designer clothing and accessories at a fraction of the cost when the consumer buys in bulk, the drawback is the merchandise can contain flaws that represents â€Å"seconds† or less quality merchandise. For example, discount stores such as Ross, Kohl’s, and Goody’s advertise designer merchandise for a fraction of the cost in other department stores such as Macys. The difference in the clothing between the discount stores and department stores are those in the discount stores have flaws such as the size of the pants is not a true size for the designer, or the blouse is unevenly hemmed. Finding a wholesaler that sales designer clothing that is of true quality is imperative for the success of Christina’s Unique Clothing Store, buying merchandise that is less quality than the original design will cause the business to fail. As the company begins to grow, looking towards the future should be towards the environmentally safe or conscience production of clothing and accessories. As an opportunity to investigate in the environmental side of retail clothing sales, finding a designer that designs clothing and accessories from other clothing or materials can lead the business into a different direction both environmentally and growth. There will always be that one or two patrons that are looking to save the environment and if the company can look to incorporate environmentally friendly designer clothing and accessories into the business, the business will be leading the future in clothing retail sales. For example, designer blue jeans become a designer purse; a designer silk shirt becomes a new designer pajama top. Reusing material is not a new idea however, creating new items from high-end designer clothing to create environmentally friendlier clothing or recycled designer clothing from the designer is, and if it is made exclusively for Christina’s Unique Clothing Store the company’s future is secured. In conclusion, Christina’s Unique Clothing Store conducted an internal and external analysis using the SWOTT table (Fig 1. ), giving explanations on seven factors and named one factor to be considered as the major focus for each category. The SWOTT identified location and creativity in fashion as the strength and opportunity for Christina’s Unique Clothing Store and identified locating a wholesaler for the merchandise as a weakness, and legal and regulatory issues as a threat while identifying environmental conscience as a trend for the company to focus f or the future. As the strengths and weakness are examined it is evident for Christina’s Unique Clothing to succeed finding a wholesale dealer that delivers designer clothing that are true high-end quality is vital to the company’s success. The future success for the company is reliant on a designer convinced in saving the environment and the designer reusing materials from the designer’s line to create new items exclusively for Christina’s Unique Clothing Store. SWOT Analysis Situation being analysed: Christina’s Unique Clothing Store * * S1-Strategy * * * * * * * * S2-Structures * * * S3-Processes-and systems * * * * S4-Resources * * * S5-Goals * * * * * S6-Technologies * * * * S7-Innovations * * * * S8-Leadership| StrengthsS1 Locating the right place for business is paramount; understanding the costs in obtaining the perfect location will need to be strategically worked in order to maximize customer exposure. S2 Location of building is important to ensure optimum exposureS3 Understanding how a business is ran and the process of a business financial statement is vital to running one’s own business. S4 Internet and high quality stores for resale of clothingS5 Setting of goals to meet each quarter, the goals must be attainable and reviewed each quarter and new goals set. S6 Website, creating and updating important to successful follow-up and repeat businessS7 Long term goals for innovations such as new designer clothing locally madeS8 Leadership is important and can be a strength when applied correctly, management will need training| WeaknessesW1 Cost of building or rent may be too high in the beginning; strategies will need to be in place to overcome this weakness to be successful. Location is necessary. W2 Resources for unique and high quality clothing and accessories at affordable prices that can be re-merchandised may become a problem if not handled correctly. W3 Goals not planned or met become weaknesses. W4 Poor planning, and managing, leads to failure. Strategies must be planned and followed through. W5 Creating a business on a culture that is not represented in the area will cause the company to fail. W6 Not recognizing an idea that can be legally protected can lead the business potentially to lose money-causing failure. W7 Leadership is important and without proper training and supervision can become a weakness. * * W1-Structures * * * * * * * W2-Resources * * * * * * * W3-Goals * * * W4-Strategic Capabilities * * * * W5-Culture * * * * * W6-Intellectual property * * * * W7-Leadership| * * O1-Global * * * * * * O2-Technological * * * * * * * O3-Innovation * * * * * O4-Social * | OpportunitiesO1-Internet sales will reach globally, giving the company an early opportunity to establish clientele outside of the United States. O2-Technology is important for the company to stay abreast of the latest fashions and accessories and where to find those â€Å"unique† items for the company’s storefront. O3- Being creative with fashion is what the clientele is looking for and what Christina’s Unique Clothing Store is offering. O4-Interacting with clients and employees while creating relationships and bonds with the clients that will create repeat business. | ThreatsT1-Legal and regulatory rules must be known and followed before the business can be opened and started. T2-Although the clientele is targeted towards the higher income class, economic times are still rough, can be a threat for a new business, and must be weighed. T3-Local stores analysis is needed to ensure the business success, targeting a specific income bracket limits the clientele however, the competitive stores in the area may offer something similar. T4-Most high-end clothing is not made of recycled clothing, environmental issues are becoming an important part of commerce, this can be an area that may need more research, and development as the store grows. * * T1-Legal and regulatory * * * * T2-Economic * * * * * * * T3-Competitive analysis * * * * * * * T4-Environmental| * Figure 1. 1 SWOT Analysis (Thompson, 2006) References Schaefer, P. (2011). The Seven Pitfalls of Business Failure. Retrieved from http://www. businessknowhow. com/StartUp/business-failure. htm Sorella Boutique. (2011). Retrieved from http://collegetownmacon. com/? p=1681 Thompson, A. A. , Gamble, J. E. , & Str ickland, A. J. (2006). Strategy: Winning in the marketplace: Core concepts, analytical tools, cases (2nd ed. ). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Behavior, Control, And Being Nice Aggression And...

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The article begins by explaining, like Wiseman, the idea that females sense of self are intimately related to their relationships and acceptance by others. The article presents a similar concept to Wisemans’ â€Å"Act like a Woman/Man Box† when suggesting that girls use their emotional and social intelligence when it comes to conflict and relationships as opposed to males more physical and less intimate approach. Laura. M Crothers, the author of Navigating Power, Control, and Being Nice: Aggression in Adolescent Girls’ Friendships, defines girls use of socially aggressiveShow MoreRelatedWhy Cyberbullying Is on the Rise Essay1384 Words   |  6 PagesYoung girls are sweet , nice, fragile little creatures that come from above. Never categorized as malicious, conniving, secretive or mean but in this paper I will touch upon the truth to this statement. Young girls are mean and in this society anything can go. 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