Healthy Skepticism Library item: 14164

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: news

National Study by PeopleMetrics Rx Confirms Importance of Emotional Connection Between Pharmaceutical Sales Reps and Physicians
Pharmalive 2008 Aug 11
http://pharmalive.com/news/index.cfm?articleID=563119&categoryid=9&newsletter=1

Full text:

PeopleMetrics Rx, a division of leading research firm PeopleMetrics, announced today the results of its 2008 national Physician Engagement study measuring the effectiveness of sales forces from five leading US-based pharmaceutical companies. The companies in the study were AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, Janssen, Lilly and Pfizer.

The study by PeopleMetrics Rx (www.pm-rx.com) included 500 regularly prescribing Psychiatrists and Primary Care Physicians in the atypical antipsychotics market. The research measured key functional and emotional dimensions of the physician interaction with the pharmaceutical sales representatives.

The study identified four segments of physicians: Fully Engaged, Engaged, On The Fence and Disengaged. Overall, 31% of physicians were Fully Engaged or Engaged, while the largest proportion of physicians (53%) were On The Fence.

Analysis reveals that sales representatives must develop personal relationships with their physicians to achieve the highest levels of engagement. In fact, emotional components such as friendship with the reps are the strongest indicators of Fully Engaged physicians. In turn, this has a positive impact on the duration and frequency of meetings and physician prescribing patterns.

“Our findings will be important for sales forces in pharmaceutical companies,” noted Gary White, Executive Vice President of PeopleMetrics Rx and lead researcher on the Physician Engagement study. “Measuring the emotional connection sales reps develop with their physicians is not typically monitored in standard sales force effectiveness research….yet we find that this emotional dimension is key in understanding physicians’ perceptions toward their reps and the pharmaceutical company as a whole.”

White believes pharmaceutical companies can use the Physician Engagement measurement model as a “next generation” alternative to traditional Sales Force Effectiveness evaluations. Conducting Physician Engagement research, according to White, means pharmaceutical companies will be “measuring what really matters” in understanding and responding to the most impactful drivers of physicians’ prescribing behaviors.