What You Need To Know About Pharmaceutical Marketing Job Before You Apply For One

What's the difference between selling and marketing?

In a glace, there seem to be very minimal differences between them regarding application and function. A closer look, however, opens up to a whole different story altogether.

Previously, we've looked at what you need to know to build a pharmaceutical sales career. The post focus on the single aspect of the pharmaceutical industry and that is selling pharma products.

Again, if we look deeply into the pharma industry, the marketing aspect of it is what makes the industry dynamic, as with marketing practice itself. Marketing practice needs to address the classical 4Ps of marketing: Place, Product, Price, Promotion.

I started off in the pharmaceutical industry not in pharmaceutical marketing job but as a pharmaceutical sales representative. Then, most salespeople hate marketing people. Marketing people are seen as slow to respond to customers’ need, extra prudent with budget and feminist (well, at least in the companies I used to work for).

As I mature into the industry, a new picture emerges. Personally, I don’t see marketing jobs as annoying as before. In fact, my current conscious says, “There are only one simple rule and marketing rules!”

The Difference Between Pharma Marketing and Sales

Obviously, my view has the tendency to skew towards sales bias because that is where I begin. I recalled clearly what my National Sales Manager said right after he was handed his marketing budget in a particular year, “These marketing people don’t understand our importance. Without us, no products will turn to revenue!”

And he is ‘partially’ correct. Sales peoples turn products to profits. That is what they do.

But marketing people determine the ‘sales.’ They are the driving force, the engines that move the vehicle. Without taking this confusion further, let’s just say marketing people determine the products and profits.

If you understand this, then you knew how important marketing job is.

Pharmaceutical Company Careers – Not About Sales Exclusively

There is a common misconception that people have when it comes to the pharmaceutical industry, and that is: The only viable job in a pharmaceutical company is the sales job. Having been in the industry for slightly over 10 years, I knew how ‘untrue’ this is.

Moving products from the manufacturer (local or multinational) to the public is one of the functions but there are also research and development, recruiting, training, and other community-related functions which can only be realized through a well thought out marketing strategy.

I am not saying that the public is the object for generating-profit through marketing activities but the public will respond accordingly to such events, and the profit will follow suit. The equation I am suggesting put people first, profit second.

That is the reason why pharmaceutical company careers are not only limited to sales.

What Marketing Sow, Sales Reap

When I asked my counterpart in the Marketing Department, “How much are you making this quarter? It should be good right because everyone is hitting their quota,” I always get that fuzzy look with a sad smile on their face. “Nah! We are not even close to the standard we have set earlier on.”

I pity the souls of our marketing boys and girls. The thing is, if the sales force did not bring in the figure, marketing people would not see a single cent. But even if the salespeople hit the mark, they might not be happily basking under the sun yet simply because ‘hitting target’ means a different thing to the marketing team.

What Exactly is The Job For Pharmaceutical Marketing?

Here are some of the job specs that a marketing team looks into:

Getting Into the Right Market. It means more than just churning statistical data and analysis. It is about getting into the mind of the people who make the market and deliver what they expect. It can be produced exclusively, or it can be a mixture of both – product and service.

Choosing The Right Pharma Product. This can quickly be done if they understood the mindset of the market. But this is a grey area though because I have seen a product being introduced and a market somehow emerges after that, but this is rare, and the chance to make a killing could be slim (a ‘poly-pill’ which combines anticholesterol and antihypertensive comes to mind – sounds feasible but have a minimal impact).

Using the Right Channels. It is always the case of ‘what’s the message and how you deliver it’ then the product per se. There is the easy route to a product success but if the marketing team persists on the right track, big profit just lurking nearby.

Optimizing Profit. This is the primary aim, and marketing can deliver this without taking the shortcuts through ‘price cutting’ it is even better. Starting a price war might be an alternative to win a market, but it might cause a company premature death.