The pandemic has taught us to make use of available resources to an optimal extent. In that context let us see how product sampling would give maximum results related to the pharma or nutraceutical or vaccine business. Product sampling has proved to produce sales by manifolds, if done wisely. It has to be done ethically and professionally.
Product sampling is mainly done when new customers are unfamiliar with the product. When sampling, representatives need to act professionally, diligently and in a responsible manner. Product sampling is not an activity that is carried out throughout the year.
The representatives should not heavily or solely depend on product samples to generate business.
I like to ask the following questions from managers and medical representatives.
«Do they need to increase product sampling to heavy users?» and “Do they need to do heavy product sampling to the customers in the awareness stage?». Though most of them would say «yes», the correct answer is «No» for both statements.
To justify my statement let us look at the «Prescribing Continum» in brief.
There are five stages in the Prescribing Continum. Those are: «Awareness Stage», «Interest stage», «Desiring or Trying stage», “Multiples prescriber» and «Exclusive Prescriber».
In the Awareness stage the doctors may have heard about the product from a colleague or may have seen an advertisement in the Medical journals or from the Medical Representative›s product detailing to him or her. Though most of the Medical Representatives provide product samples to the doctors, they should never give product samples to the doctors at this stage. Their fundamental job is to provide information on their product and ensure that they move the doctors along the prescribing continum to the next stage. i.e, Interest stage.
Hence, instead of sampling them they will have to detail their product and provide information since he or she may have many concerns about the product.
Hence, the representatives need to resolve those concerns, successfully. The next stage is the «Interest stage». Here too they will only «give information». The next stage is the «desiring or Trying stage». In this stage they will continue to provide information on their product, discuss the benefits, limitations, side effects and clinical studies of the product and may have to do product sampling for the doctor to try out but they should ask the doctors in this stage whether they are interested in using the product samples.
The next stage is «Multiples Prescriber». In this stage the doctor would use a particular brand as well as the competitor›s brand for a particular indication.He will select to use from both brands based on reliability of the brands.In this stage, the representatives will «seek information» from the doctors on the quality of the Brand, side effects ,how did the patient feel or well being of the patient.
They may consider giving product samples at this stage as well.
The final stage is « Exclusive Prescribers». In this stage the doctors would use «only one brand for the given condition». In this stage the representatives will not give any information rather they will have to «only seek information « on brand performance and well being of the
patient who benefited from the product samples. The representatives should not use product samples in this stage unless otherwise the doctor is keen to conduct a clinical trial for academic purposes or publish the study in the local Medical journals. Thereby ultimately passing the benefits of their brands and services to the well being of the suffering and needy patients to improve the patient›s quality of life. The above model could be used in other businesses as well under the classification of «Customer Continuum», keeping the first three names of the respective stages intact but with a slight modification to the names of the 4th and 5th stages. i.e, Instead of «Multiples Prescriber» they may consider to use the term, «Multiples User» and instead of «Exclusive Prescriber», they may consider to use the term, «Exclusive User».
As an ethical practice the Medical representatives must provide product samples «only for the use of the Medical Professionals».
Finally, words of advice to the aspiring leaders, managers and Medical Representatives. They should always depend on their Product and disease knowledge beside their abilities, capabilities and talents.
As the required standards, Ideally they must have hundred percentage knowledge on their brands, Company knowledge, procedure knowledge and technical knowledge and a minimum of eighty percentage knowledge on disease area as well as comprehensive customer, competitor, territory and industry knowledge. They need to «Focus on building brand loyalty» and «continuous improvement».
Last but not the least they must have the «right attitude» toward work and life in order to succeed. To be precise, they should have the «knowledge, skills, right attitude» and practice those aspects as a « habit» to achieve their sales targets and career goals and objectives.
They should always acquire and accumulate knowledge and skills from the discussions with the doctors, teachers and the management.
Experience will teach them as to how to detail their brands to the eminent Professors and doctors ethically without any promotional aids and materials including the literature and samples. Until such time they should keep on practicing to reach perfection and mastery in product detailing and sampling to doctors.
In conclusion, the responsible managers and medical representatives, should use product samples ethically, effectively efficiently for the right purpose and they should endeavour to meet the company›s qualitative and quantitative objectives in order to be victorious and endeavour in search of excellence in spite of the pandemic.
The writer is a professional pharma and medical devices marketeer.