A survey on the responsiveness of doctors to the different elements of the promotional mix used within the Kenya pharmaceutical industry

Abstract

The focus of this study was on which of the promotional elements evoked the most positive response on the prescription habits of doctors. Despite various studies having been done on the need to promote products and the promotional tools in use in the local pharmaceutical industry, the author could not find any local study to date that had shown which of these tools evoked the most positive response from the doctors, consequently, the justification for this study. The study sought to achieve the following objectives; (i) To determine the responsiveness each promotional element evoked from the doctors. (ii) To compare the responsiveness of each promotional element used in the local pharmaceutical industry. The study found out that the Kenyan pharmaceutical industry used, to varying degrees, the various promotional techniques, as stipulated In -. marketing literature. These included advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, direct marketing, and publicity and public relations. It was revealed that a majority of the doctors (75.8%) experienced daily promotion of prescription products. The most frequently experienced promotional technique was personal selling (mean= 1.61), followed by sales promotions (mean=2.34), whereby firms offered discounts, and CMEs to try to induce the doctors to prescribe their products to patients. It emerged from the study that sales promotions, (with 49.1 per cent, mean= 1.96, of respondents preferring this type of promotion over others), played a key role in influencing positive response from the doctors. The doctors seemed to prefer some forms of inducements (e.g. free samples, CMEs, etc) in order to prescribe products. However, it was also revealed that the giveaways were mostly misused, as they were given to the wrong, unqualified people, hence, defeating their purpose. Personal selling (by the medical representatives) also played an influencing role on doctors' prescription habits of products, even though the respondents felt that the medical representatives needed to undergo thorough training on product and sales presentations. There was overwhelming agreement that generally, promotions evoked a positive response on the doctors' prescription habits of products, with 88.7 -. per cent of respondents agreeing to this, hence, there was need to enhance the standards of promotion. About 37.1 per cent of the respondents felt that there should be a change the current legislation governing promotions, in order to conform to the changing global trends where industry also promotes its products!brands to the general public. In conclusion respondents suggested to improve the promotional activities firms should have better trained medical representatives, (16.2 per cent), inputs from doctors on promotional activities, (19.3 per cent), and frequent contact with senior managers, (17.8 per cent).