4 vital skills for Pharma Brand Managers

Dr Vikram A Munshi

India possesses an esteemed position in the global pharmaceuticals sector. The country’s pharmaceutical industry is expected to expand at a CAGR of 22.4 per cent over 2015-20 to reach $55 billion. The country also has a large pool of scientists and engineers with the potential to direct the industry ahead to an even higher level. No doubt, the industry has been a magnet for attracting young talent.

Those aspiring to be pharma marketing professionals the four key right-brained skills that can transform a good marketing professional to an excellent one are: 

Putting oneself in the consumer’s shoes: The operative word here is consumer; which means the patient. Unfortunately, because of the pharmaceutical industry’s excessive focus on health care practitioners (HCPs), pharma brand managers sometimes miss out on empathising with the consumer who can give powerful insights on how the patient is managing his/her illness. For example, a brand manager marketing a brand for osteoporosis should visualise what an osteoporosis patient goes through. This can be done by meeting these patients at their homes and see the challenges faced by them and their caregivers. Suddenly the brand’s ability “to reduce fractures by 22 per cent” acquires a new meaning for the Brand Manager.

The ability to communicate a story: We all love stories and have grown up hearing or reading them. We all have heard variations of the story of the demon being killed by the prince with his magic sword. The hero of the story is the Prince. Yet having interacted with many brand managers during marketing workshops, a tendency of the Brand Managers to make the Brand as the hero is observed. It is opined that great stories come when the consumer is the hero and the brand is the ‘magic’ wand that helps him to slay the demon. Just because science is being sold to a scientific customer (the doctor), it does not mean that science cannot be made interesting. Therefore, when preparing the communication, ask yourself that what is the story your brand has to tell? What story do you have to tell?

The Ability to use analogies: What are analogies? Simply put, analogies are parallel comparisons of two different situations or things. The prince and demon story is an example of an analogy. So how does using analogies help? They help in making a complex thing relatively simple and easy to register. The pharma brand manager should remember that the first target for their communication is the internal customer or the field force that will take it to the external customer or the doctor. Hence there is nothing better than using analogies to drive home a point. And as all of you know, simplicity works.

Like any skill, the four skills need time and effort. They are closely linked. But the good news is that once you start building them you will see the benefits coming, which is not reflected in those two tersely mentioned generic skills in the JD of Pharma Brand managers.

Listening to your intuition

While data and analyses are not wrong as they are a vital part of the brand managers' job and help crystallise pain points and opportunities, let it not drive your intuition. Your intuition to some extent comes from your subconscious observations and experiences that may tell you something more than data. Don’t ignore it.  

An icon known for his ‘analytical’ mind quoted “The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.”

Start Now. All the Best!

— The writer is Founder, WhiteSpace Consulting & Capability Building