For Pharma Companies, Launching Multiple Similar Products Can Be a "Good Problem" but Requires Smart Resourcing

CHAPEL HILL, N.C., May 3, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- In a healthcare market where even the largest pharma manufacturers must squeeze revenue from every product in the portfolio, some companies are confronted with the "good problem" of having a rich pipeline featuring multiple new products. 

But launching and promoting each new product is both costly (hiring and training new "people resources" such as field sales reps) and strategically challenging (effectively positioning similar products).  To succeed in this critical task, healthcare commercial leaders and brand managers have in many cases begun to embrace a franchise approach to promoting similar products.

According to new research from Best Practices, LLC, a franchise approach is paying tangible dividends for many companies, enabling franchise users to cut overall promotional costs, boost efficiencies across product support teams, and accrue the reputational benefits of being seen as a treatment leader in a given therapeutic area.

For example, our latest research reveals that:

• The highest net franchise cost savings come in reducing average sales force size & training (58% of franchises), increasing sales force effectiveness (57%), and enhanced customer targeting (57%).
• 74% of franchises effectively removed redundancies in customer targeting, enabling greater rep effectiveness during key lifecycle stages – keeping territories smaller and shrinking rep-to-customer ratios during launch.
• From a risk perspective, the chances for launch failure within a franchise expand exponentially when multiple launches occur within a short window (i.e., less than 6 months).  Poor rep execution in messaging and product differentiation is the greatest liability in rapid multiple launches.

To help equip healthcare Sales, Marketing, and Commercial leaders with the tools and insights needed to effectively and efficiently launch and promote multiple products, Best Practices, LLC conducted this critical research, which is now available in the new primary research report "Best Practices in Launch Optimization: How Promotional Efficiency can be Leveraged to Support Multiple Products & Indications".  

Key study topics examined include:

• Managing Similar Products or an Integrated Product Portfolio
• Optimizing Sales Resources within Franchise Operations
• Combining Resources for Efficiently Marketing Multiple Products with Similar Indication
• Optimal Brand Team Approaches for Product Franchise

To learn more about this report, download a complimentary report excerpt by clicking here. For more information on other recent primary research studies, contact us at 919.403.0251, or visit our website at [email protected]. Check out our new blog at http://whybenchmarking.com/ for more benchmark studies.

ABOUT BEST PRACTICES, LLC
Best Practices, LLC is a leading benchmarking, consulting and advisory services firm serving biopharmaceutical and medical device companies worldwide.  Our clients include 48 of the top 50 leading global healthcare companies. We conduct primary research and consulting using comprehensive proprietary benchmarking tools and analysis. The operational insights, findings and analysis form the basis of our Benchmarking Reports, databases and advisory services to support executives in commercial and R&D operations.

SOURCE Best Practices, LLC