Comments on MY PHARMA REVIEWS: Importance of Relation Building

Build Repeat Business will help a new business loo...

2009-07-27T19:51:21.987+05:30

Build Repeat Business will help a new business look ahead and prepare for success, and it will help an existing business assess their past and plan their future.

As a trainer myself I truly believe that relations...

2009-01-08T22:33:00.000+05:30

As a trainer myself I truly believe that relationship building as a skill is increasingly becoming an imperative to success not only in the pharma sector but also in most others..... understandably as most of those whom we do business with, are humans and its quite human to value relations...sometimes even ecclipsing the tangible benefits of a competitor product. More so when the differential between products and companies is becoming thinner.

Pharma marketing and relationship building are syn...

2008-11-16T21:51:00.000+05:30

Pharma marketing and relationship building are synonymous and in my opinion, also also complimentary to each other, probably because its based on a mutual respect for knowledge and a common goal. "Inducement" , thou it exists in all kinds of businees relations , its more pronounced in Pharma marketing and then probably industrial marketing, due to its long term nature of association and the business potential and impact. I have been many years in Pharma and now also in FMCG and there is definetly a big difference in the understanding of the term " Relation Building" in both these industries , the final objective is to increase sales.... the "inducement" is different. In Pharma it is more towards strategic and knowledge based where as in FMCG it is more transactional and tactical. If the trend in pharma moves towards tactical (iPods etc...) then the relationship also tends to be transactional and not really "relation Building".

Hi Rashmi, thank you for your comment. I cannot ag...

2008-10-22T19:05:52.664+05:30

Hi Rashmi, thank you for your comment. I cannot agree more with you that relationship building is not a short term goal. Most often for this reason, it is not seen as a tangible goal. While sales people do not differ with the opinion that relationship building with key customers is important, they find it very difficult to quantify returns.
I am not sure if you are from the pharma industry, so let me tell you that this is one of the most regulated industries in the world. I am not saying that this stops the industry from trying to "induce" doctors, but most large pharmacos shy away from it explicitly. So, while pharmacos may not "gift" iPods to doctors, they would try and involve them in scientific research and presentation of data which directly or indirectly benefits the company's commercial interests. Definitely relationship building if not veiled "inducement"!

Absolutely. Relationship building is an important ...

2008-10-21T18:52:00.000+05:30

Absolutely. Relationship building is an important step. No trickery. No magic. just open trust based discussions with clients because for me, I'm interested, truly interested in them and what they are doing. What do I get from it? Very often I get the call from them first when they need assistance. A salespeson should be allowed to build a relationship and not go for a one time sale. A culture of giving away gifts and genuine research updates etc can create a space for discussions. A recent decision to gift Apple iPods (www.ipodyourlife.co.in?channel=blog2) to the customers created an interest among the most hard nosed clients and opened an opportunity to discuss their concerns and slowly help build trust. Gifting iPods to the doctors as a gesture of goodwill will definitely count. Relationship building can never be a short term goal.