Health care marketing employs different approaches in selling pharmaceutical products. The four common methods used include the consultative selling, stimulus response approach, the need satisfaction method and problem-solving selling.
Consultative selling involves problem identification by the sales person who acts as a consultant to offer solution on varied issues regarding health care. Berkowitz argues that this approach best suits the healthcare industry because “…sales representative or consultant can analyze a business’s specific health needs and tailor a package of services to meet the unique requirements of each customer” (343).
After identifying the problem, sales representative through consultation with customer can give a viable proposal as a solution to the problem. The second approach is stimulus response selling which demands the sales person to use provoking questions or actions as stimuli to elicit customer responses. The questions or actions target possible problems that the sales person has solution for them. The responses of the customer can be favorable leading to the purchase of the healthcare products.
The third approach is the need satisfaction selling that involves uncovering the needs of the buyer by probing and offering for the satisfaction of the prevailing needs. This approach is the most flexible and approachable to customers as “the customer is an active participant in the sales process, but the sales person must know how to engage the customer and acquire the information necessary to ensure a match between the service being sold and the customer’s needs” (Berkowitz 242).
Since the customer is participating actively, the sales person can seize the opportunity to recognize the needs of the customer and eventually provides satisfaction to them. Problem solving is the fourth approach of selling and it is an extension of the need satisfaction. After identifying the needs of the customer by probing, some needs require alternative solutions or satisfaction. Problem solving involves going an extra mile to provide alternatives to satisfaction of certain needs.
Health care marketing can utilize different types of analysis to determine the effectiveness of their marketing strategies. Four main types of analysis are market analysis, sales analysis, profitability analysis, and variance analysis. Market analysis determines the competiveness of the organization in the market by indicating the extent of the market share in terms of overall market share, served market share and relative market share. “Market share has the advantage of signaling when an organization needs to make changes” (Rowitz 448).
Market analysis indicates the extent of competitiveness in the market. The second type of analysis is the sales analysis that relates target goals and the actual sales. The sales analysis gives detailed information about a given product, specific customers, or geographical region for the formulation of necessary marketing strategies
Profitability analysis is the third type of analysis that assesses the profitability of a given product, regions, customers, or sales representatives.
According to Berkowitz, “profitability analysis can help to refocus sales training efforts to encourage salespersons to sell more profitable items in the line or indicate whether a company needs to redesign sales strategies to reward selling more profitable products in the line” (371).
Profitability analysis requires assignment of costs to specific products and services. The fourth analysis is the variance analysis, which is a statistical comparison of the actual performance in marketing and the expected target performance. Variance analysis determines whether there is any significant variable in sales when there is change in sales strategies such as promotion, product mix, or specialization.
Works Cited
Berkowitz, Eric. Essentials of Health care marketing. New York: Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2006.
Rowitz, Louis. Public Health Leadership: Putting Principles into Practice. New York: Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2009.