Articles

RSS

Web strategies demand huge investments, but promise higher profits

Everybody is on the web, right? At one time that wasn't the case. In fact, pharmaceutical companies were slow to develop websites with serious content. Today, according to research by pharmaceutical benchmarking researchers Best Practices LLC, just about every leading pharmaceutical company now develops sophisticated websites to support newly launched products. Big pharmaceutical companies have discovered that great websites promote successful product launches by working as marketing tools that drive customer acquisition and retention.

Best Practices' latest survey, Best Practices in Global Pharmaceutical Launches, reveals that marketing executives consistently allocate a portion of their $100–500 million marketing budgets to crafting Web strategies. The most successful companies spend an average of 13% of this marketing budget on direct-to-consumer marketing, an area where strong Web support has repeatedly proven its worth.

Information from the report was drawn from interviews with 11 companies covering twelve product launches. Project analysts identified the following key drivers to link corporate vision with Internet strategy:

• Develop and manage an integrated plan for Internet presence, including rationale, goals, measurements, actions, and periodic reviews.
  
• Ensure corporate buy-in throughout the Internet strategy implementation cycle to ensure senior management's continuous support of web activities.
  
• Formulate strategies to manage Internet vendors and partners.
  
• Plan for continuous improvement and innovation.

"The Internet has emerged as a premier customer communication channel—enabling a cost-effective method of distributing product literature and education programs," notes Chris Bogan, CEO of Best Practices. "Consequently, the practices used by leading pharmaceutical companies to build a cohesive brand identity on the Web have increased greatly in value."

Other topics covered in the report:

• Analysis of the multi-year marketing launch investment and expense patterns of successful products.
  
• Profiles of leading pharmaceutical companies' approaches to structuring global marketing organization.
  
• Identification of best management practices employed during key launch activities.
  
• Key Lessons Learned in planning and coordinating successful global product launches.

Companies interviewed were Merck, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Glaxo Wellcome, Parke Davis, Novartis, SmithKline Beecham, Johnson & Johnson, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Hoechst Marion Roussel, Pharmacia & Upjohn. Product launches examined were for Cozaar, Fosamax, Zyprexa, Lescol, Lipitor, Xalatan, Imitrex / Imigran, Zoloft, Ceftin, Paxil, Cardizem, Zofran.

Best Practices in Global Pharmaceutical Launches (121 pages) sells for $6,000.

For more information, call Best Practices LLC at 919-403-0251.

Edited by Angelo DePalma
Managing Editor, Pharmaceutical Online and Drug Discovery Online
adepalma@vertical.net