Most of such market research studies are focused on the effectiveness of promotion campaigns directed at physicians - usually detailing, though other types of promotions to physicians are also covered under this category. Sometimes, these also involve DTC advertising.
Typical MR objectives for promotion assessment are:
Obtain feedback on new message/POA for sales force
Track competitor's launch or new message
Monitor impact of market events (e.g. clinical data, change in treatment patterns, generics, safety concerns)
Detect differences in performance of different sales areas (i.e. territory, regional)
Identify potential sales force productivity issues
Implement general tracking of sales force and message effectiveness
Obtain a periodic evaluation and refinement of the client's DTC campaign
Identify patient messaging and positioning opportunities pre- and post-launch
Monitor the impact of a drug withdrawal on the client's brand
Case Study: Impact of a
market event (generic entrant)
Objectives
A top 10 global pharmaceutical firm was facing the competitive threat of a generic entrant, though it had a possible competitive advantage over the generic due to a different delivery method. The study objectives were to:
Identify physicians' attitudes regarding generics and delivery methods
Determine expected behaviors in the presence of generic
Key Points
marketRx conducted quantitative online research with different content to each of the three study arms:
One third of the physicians were exposed to a product profile of a generic
One third were exposed to the product profile of the generic competitor and a technical comparison promotion highlighting the differences between the technologies
One third were exposed to the product profile of the generic product and a therapeutic control promotion discussing the safety of the client's product
Additionally, marketRx utilized client's physician prescription data and promotion response models on file to provide incremental sales forecasts based on the study results.
Key Outcome
Understanding of the promotion effectiveness: The analysis showed that the two promotional strategies could return $100 - $200 million in first year incremental sales compared to no promotion.
Forecasted pattern of physician prescriptions based on the promotion response
Determined the optimal sales force promotional strategy
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