What to Look for in Pharmaceutical Marketing Companies
When looking for pharmaceutical marketing companies, consider the following…
The start of the calendar year will see marketers looking ahead to plan their 2020 media strategies. Some may be looking to use the services of a marketing company to take the heavy lifting whilst others are happy to go it alone.
If you are deciding on enlisting the help of a marketing company, what should the pharmaceutical marketer be looking for when selecting a marketing company? This post outlines a few basic points that may be worth bearing in mind when selecting a pharmaceutical company.
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THE ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS
EXPERIENCE
It’s an obvious one, but ask yourself does the marketing company have a proven track record in the industry? Have they worked on multi-layered campaigns for a variety of clients and in different verticals in the pharma industry? Have they got pedigree and background? Looking for this experience and asking the marketing company to prove this is crucial.
There are possibly thousands of media buying and marketing companies. Many of them choose to concentrate on a particular sector such as pharmaceutical or banking, finance, consumer, retail, etc. Establishing their experience in your sector is a fundamental first step in the selection process. If they don’t have the experience or their team members don’t have previous industry experience, then you may be taking a risk.
KNOWLEDGE
Following on from experience… always find out if the pharmaceutical marketing company has the knowledge. Ours is a very knowledge-intense industry and having this is critical for marketing departments to plan a detailed and successful campaign. The marketing company will need to have an equally detailed understanding of the industry. You can find this out by reading their output, such as blog posts or LinkedIn updates. Check them out, and see what they have written. Do they contribute? How many followers do they have? All good questions to ask.
What are the backgrounds of the individuals and the account managers you will be working with? Do they understand the market and are they well versed in the fundamentals of pharmaceutical marketing?
Understanding all of this provides a picture of what the pharmaceutical marketing company knows. Best still, get them in for a beauty parade, this is (in my opinion), the very best way of selecting any marketing company. If you like the vibe you are getting, they will likely do a good job for you.
IDEAS
Can the pharmaceutical marketing company think creatively? Are they going to bring new ideas to the table or will they just put on the table a plan that lacks any lateral thinking? A good look through the portfolio section of their website is a good start. Ask for case studies from the company. Although they will not give you a full campaign in the pitch (that’s giving away their edge), they should be able to provide you with an outline of ideas that you may not have tried before.
PROCESS
Understanding the process which the marketing company will go through to develop your campaign is critical. It’s a great question to ask of them. How exactly will they work with you to put the campaigns together? What information are they going to need from you? What commitments are they going to need to ask you to sign up for?
Knowing the process and agreeing what that process works for you is critical. Some companies want to get involved very little and let the company run the entire campaign for them. Some clients want much more hand-holding, daily calls and so forth, they are happy to put the effort into creating content and organising interview or thought leadership pieces etc. Which of these approaches suits you? Whatever it is ensure that the marketing company approach matches yours.
PRICING
Crucial again. Do they work on retainer models or commission, or both? Are they flexible? How does there billing work? Is there a model that suits you best? All crucial questions for the pharmaceutical marketing company to go through with you. A good question to ask, is do they use timekeeping software to calculate billable hours?
Some providers don’t and rely on estimates at the beginning of the contact. It could be a good idea to ask for a submission of hours on a monthly basis and with regular adjustments in the retain. Bear in mind though that these fees may go up as well as down.
GETTING THE BEST OUT OF THE RELATIONSHIP
SET KPIS
Don’t be afraid right from the outset to talk KPIs (and timelines). This is a good opportunity for you both to outline what you can expect as the client, and what the marketing company can deliver for you. For instance, if it’s an inbound campaign you require to promote new high-value products that have very complex procurement processes, then you can’t expect sales in the first quarter. So having these conversations can be crucial in managing expectations from both parties and help you when reporting to the sales director and FD about when the marketing campaigns will start bringing tangible results.
ASK FOR THE RESULTS
The company should as a matter, of course, be sending the results of each campaign where and when they can. Also, any marketing company worth their salt should be able to benchmark the results against the industry averages. That’s where point 1 and 2 (knowledge and experience) comes in. If they have both of these, they will be able to benchmark your results against the industry results. Crucial information for you in evaluating the success of your marketing.
DO YOU GET ON?
I think you can only know this one if you meet with the marketing company. But feeling like you can’ get on’ is a really big part of the relationship. Through the year you will be both working on the same goal – to promote your business and there may be times when deadlines are tight and you both need to have blunt calls and conversations to deliver the results.
Knowing you fundamentally get along with the marketing company and that they are on your side is crucial to any success. You can’t dust for this in any other way than meeting them in person I believe. Formal briefs submitted electronically and a quick chat on the phone does not give you the full picture, so get them in, have the meeting, coffee, lunch, whatever. When you walk away, did you get a good feeling about them? If so, that’s the best start you can ask for.
This post offers practical advice when looking for pharmaceutical marketing companies. Getting to know them is key. If you’d like to get to know Orientation Marketing, why not sign up to our monthly marketing insights newsletter.
