| Summary: | Measuring the Return on Marketing Investment (ROMI) and marketing's impact on sales has initiated a great deal of discussion in the field of healthcare marketing research, with some researchers identifying such measurements as a necessity and others seeing them as an impossible task due to the complex nature of marketing projects in the healthcare industry. The key objective of this research is to develop a systematic approach to guide pharmaceutical industry managers in deciding how and where to invest in the sales and marketing of their Over the Counter (OTC) products. This research aims to identify how to optimize sales and marketing investment decisions, with the goal of improving marketing's impact on sales and the Return on Marketing Investment (ROMI). Achieving this aim would help executives meet the challenges resulting from on-going changes in the healthcare sector. This research was conducted in an emerging market, looking at a range of pharmaceutical OTC products from the researcher's organization. A quantitative method of data collection was used, followed by an action research (AR) approach. The quantitative method consisted of a survey targeting pharmacists working in pharmacies in the Kuwaiti private sector. The AR methodology was used to analyse the research data and to develop the intervention plan. Results from the AR phase reveal that the ROMI achieved through indoor promotional activities was higher than the ROMI achieved through medical detailing. Reducing the amount of free-of-charge goods supplied to pharmacies had no significant impact. Pharmacists' recommendations were found to be the most influential sales driver. This was reinforced by additional findings in which the medical detailing of pharmacists at community pharmacies achieved a 7% ROMI, higher than the set target of 3%. The strong influence of pharmacists in polyclinic pharmacies was also considered, with polyclinic pharmacies achieving a 30% ROMI, greatly surpassing the set target of 4%. The use of action research in this project facilitated the learning process by generating innovative and creative solutions to real-life challenges.
|
|---|
