A Tribute to Philip Kotler – 300 Brands, but 1 Winning Strategy in Your Brand Plan

A Tribute to Philip Kotler

300 Brands, but 1 Winning Strategy

Building a Powerful Brand in Pharma India and Pharma Bangladesh  

A momentous occasion dawns on May 27th, 2024.

Not only is it a significant date, but it marks a cherished milestone for marketers across the world. On this day, the revered marketing guru, Philip Kotler, enters the 94th year of his illustrious life.

This article serves as a humble tribute from a student forever indebted to Professor Kotler’s teachings. It is a testament to the profound impact he has had on the marketing landscape and the countless individuals he has inspired.

A stepwise guide to write a brand plan for Brand Managers of India and Bangladesh

The Indian pharmaceutical industry is a giant, churning out a staggering number of brands every year. With over 300 brands vying for attention within each generic category, success hinges on a well-defined brand management strategy which starts with writing the brand plan. Strategic planning, innovative marketing, and diligent execution are the hallmarks of a brand plan.

This article delves into the complexities of pharma brand management in India, highlighting the critical importance of a comprehensive brand plan.

Leveraging this brand management framework, we will guide you through a step-by-step process to achieve brand success. This includes conducting a SWOT analysis to assess your internal strengths and weaknesses, as well as external opportunities and threats. We will then explore additional differentiation strategies to help you stand out in the competitive marketplace.

The framework of a brand plan

1.       Your WHY, Define Your Market, Brand Vision, Mission, and Insights

Start by writing your WHY, and the purpose of your brand.

Your brand’s WHY, the purpose of your brand, why your brand exists is its core reason for being, beyond just profit. It’s crucial because it:

–        Your brand now connects with patients and doctors on an emotional level, building trust and loyalty if it aligns with their values.

–        Sets your brand apart from competitors in a crowded marketplace.

–        Your WHY will motivate all stakeholders, more so the medical representatives and the first-line leaders who now feel their work, their slogging in the field contributes to something bigger.

Today’s patients and doctors expect brands to stand for something meaningful, making a strong purpose more important than ever.

Now define your market.

Defining your market in branding is finding your perfect target audience. It involves understanding who your ideal prescriber is: the pain points, interests, needs, and challenges.

This is crucial because it shapes everything your brand does. You tailor your message, design, and products to resonate with this specific target audience.

A well-defined market ensures you’re not shouting into a void, but having a targeted conversation that leads to loyal prescribers. This process is vital because it ensures that your branding efforts are tailored to attract and resonate with the right prescribers.

By clearly defining your market, you can create more effective marketing strategies, design products or patient-centered activities that meet specific demands, and allocate resources efficiently.

It helps in positioning your brand distinctively, fostering prescriber loyalty, and ultimately driving the business growth and profitability of your organization.

It is also crucial to mention who is not in your market definition.

Now create a vision for your brand. A vision is not a commercial goal or a target for your brand. It’s not what you will try to achieve this year, the next year, and so on.

A vision for a brand is a clear, aspirational statement that defines what the brand aims to achieve in the future.

It goes beyond the day-to-day operations and sets a long-term goal your brand strives to reach, often reflecting its core values and purpose. A brand vision helps to inspire and guide the organization, align the team, and communicate to customers what the brand stands for and where it is headed.

Consider it as your North Star which guides you in writing your brand plan. Your brand vision gives you:

· Direction: It sets the direction for the brands’s growth and strategy. Imagine a captain steering a ship; the vision is like the North Star, guiding them towards a specific destination.

· Inspiration: A strong vision should inspire both your internal and external customer – the field staff, the F&D, finance, your doctors, retail pharmacies and any stake-holder. It should make them believe in your brand’s purpose and feel a connection to it. It should answer your ‘WHY’.

A classic example of a Vision

Bill Gates’ vision of “a computer on every desk and in every home” was a defining force behind Microsoft’s creation and growth. Here’s a deeper dive into what it meant:

The Dream:

In the mid-1970s, personal computers were expensive, clunky machines not widely accessible. Gates envisioned a future where computers were commonplace household items, as essential as desks or phones.

The Impact:

This vision drove Microsoft’s focus on developing user-friendly and affordable software for personal computers. They aimed to make computers not just powerful tools but accessible to everyone, regardless of technical expertise.

The Outcome:

While the exact wording might be “desk and home,” the vision undeniably played a huge role in shaping the modern world. Today, computers (or their more portable cousins, laptops) are indeed present in countless homes, used for work, education, communication, and entertainment. And almost in every pocket – thanks to the Smartphone.

Beyond Microsoft:

Gates’ vision wasn’t just about Microsoft’s success; it was about the potential of technology to empower people. It helped usher in the era of personal computing that changed how we work, learn, and connect.

Interesting Fact:

Back then, many thought Gates’ vision was crazy. But his belief in the transformative power of personal computers fuelled Microsoft’s journey and forever changed the technological landscape.

Mission:

A brand mission statement is like a short story about your brand. It tells you:

· Who are you: What kind of brand are you?

· What do you do: What benefits do you offer?

· Why they do it: What’s your purpose? What problem are you trying to solve?

Mission statement of Lux soap

Brand Lux soap’s mission is to empower women to confidently express their beauty, free from judgment. They want women to feel good about themselves and enjoy the pleasurable experience of using Lux. (HUL website)

Generate insights.

A brand insight is a deep understanding of what makes a brand important to its customers. It’s a valuable nugget of information that reveals what people truly feel, think, and want regarding a brand. It helps companies connect with their audience on a more meaningful level.

Generating brand insights involves a few key steps:

1. Research: Gather information about your doctors and patients by meeting them. Although this can be done through online surveys, interviews, focus groups, and by analyzing social media and customer reviews, the best way is through one-on-one interviews.

2. Observe: Look at doctors and patients’ behaviors and trends. Notice what doctors are prescribing, how they are using products, and what problems patients are facing.

3. Analyze Data: Examine the data collected to identify patterns and trends. Look for recurring themes or surprising findings that reveal something new about your customers’ needs and desires.

4. Ask ‘Why’: Go beyond surface-level observations. Ask why doctors behave a certain way or why they prefer certain products. This helps to uncover deeper motivations and emotions.

5. Synthesize Findings: Combine all the information to form a clear picture. Identify the key insights that can guide your brand strategy and communication.

Benefits of generating insights:

1. Understand doctors and patients better: Insights help you really know what your customers want, think, and feel. This means you can give them exactly what they need.

2. Improve and upgrade your products: When you know what doctors like or dislike, you can make your services better to match their needs.

3. Stand out from competitors: understanding what makes your brand special, you can show customers why they should choose you over others

Integrating these three, you can create a competitive edge.

2.       Situational Analysis

– Where Are We Today?: This involves understanding the current market position, market share, growth, sales performance, and brand perception. Data collection through sales reports, market research, and customer feedback is crucial.

– Why Are We Here Today?: This is more important than ‘where are we today’. Analyze your own historical data to understand past strategies and their outcomes. This will help you in identifying successful tactics and areas needing improvement. Understanding competition, their strengths and their strategies will further help you know why you are where you are.

– Insights from Customer Interviews: Direct feedback from doctors and patients provides valuable insights into brand strengths, weaknesses, and market needs.

3.       Where do I want to go?

– Set clear, achievable goals for your brand and align with your organization’s vision and market potential. Goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). Considering the frequent changes in price, set your goals both in value and units. You may even break down these goals and objectives up to the level of a first-line manager.

4.       Competition Analysis

Do a SWOT-AP analysis of your brand and a SWOT-AP analysis of your competing brand.

A SWOT-AP analysis provides you a structured framework to understand your brand’s internal capabilities and external environment. This understanding is crucial for strategic planning, decision-making, and maintaining a competitive advantage.

No SWOT analysis is complete without an action plan (AP)

Next wear the thinking cap of the brand manager of the competing brand do a SWOT-AP analysis of you competing brand. Dissect their Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

You are now like a chess grandmaster who anticipates the move of the opponent and makes his moves accordingly. Like a chess grandmaster, think 10 moves ahead.

5.       Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning (STP)

– Segmentation: Organize the market into distinct groups based on demographics, geographic location, psychographics, and behavioral factors.

– Targeting: Select the most viable segments to focus on.

– Positioning: Craft a unique value proposition and brand messaging that resonates with the targeted segments, differentiating the brand from competitors.

6.       Strategy and Built-in Strategy Execution

The strategy for your brand is a plan to achieve your specific goal. It involves deciding what actions to take and how to use resources effectively to reach that goal. Think of it like a roadmap that guides you from where you are now to where you want to be. Think of a patient-centered strategy which is a natural outgrowth of Human-to-Human Marketing (H2H Marketing).

Articulate your communication strategy. Developing a comprehensive communication plan to effectively convey the brand’s message to the target audience. This includes choosing the right mix of marketing channels (digital, print, in-person, etc.) and creating engaging content.

Strategy execution is an integral part of the strategy. Use the 3 E process for a superior strategy execution.

7.       Budgeting, forecasting and financial statement.

Brand Budgeting and Forecasting: A Compass for Success

Financial health is vital for any brand. Budgeting and forecasting provide a roadmap to navigate. Budgeting sets financial goals, allocating resources for revenue generation and planned expenses. It’s your brand’s spending plan.

Forecasting takes it a step further. It uses historical data, market trends, and potential risks to predict future performance. This helps identify areas for improvement and course-correct before issues arise.

Think of budgeting as the map and forecasting as the compass. Together, they guide your brand towards achieving financial objectives and long-term success.

You should also include your anticipated profit and loss here.

8.       Monitoring and Control

Brand monitoring and control is like having a brand spotlight. You track key metrics like brand sentiment online and sales figures. This constant check-up reveals what’s working and what’s not. Control allows you to adjust strategies based on this data. Did a campaign spark negativity? Course-correct with positive messaging. Are sales lagging? Adapt your marketing or product offerings. By monitoring and controlling, you ensure your brand stays on the right track.

By continuously monitoring actual performance against projections, your brand can adapt strategies in real-time, enhancing your brands competitiveness and resilience in dynamic markets. In essence, these practices are indispensable tools for navigating uncertainties and driving sustainable success.

9.       Executive Summary

The executive summary is a crucial component of a brand plan for several reasons, and its strategic placement—written last but presented first—serves a distinct purpose. Here’s why the executive summary is important and why it’s approached in this manner:

Importance of the Executive Summary in a Brand Plan

Provides a Snapshot: The executive summary offers a concise overview of the entire brand plan, highlighting key points such as objectives, strategies, STP , and expected outcomes. This allows C-suite executives to quickly grasp the essence of the plan without delving into the details immediately.

Engages Stakeholders: It sets the tone and context for the detailed content that follows.

Facilitates Decision-Making: Decision-makers often have limited time. They have so many brand plans to read. The executive summary distills the critical information they need to understand the brand strategy, assess its viability, and make informed decisions without reading the entire document initially.

Ensures Clarity and Focus: Writing the executive summary last ensures that it accurately reflects the content of the entire brand plan. This practice ensures coherence and alignment between the summary and the detailed sections, providing a clear and focused overview.

Sets Priorities: It outlines the main goals and priorities of the brand plan, helping to align all stakeholders on the key objectives and strategies. This is especially important in complex organizations where different departments need to coordinate their efforts.

Why Written Last but Presented First

a. Reflects Comprehensive Understanding: Writing the executive summary last ensures that the writer has a full understanding of the brand plan’s details and nuances. This comprehensive understanding allows for a more accurate and impactful summary.

b. Ensures Alignment: By drafting the executive summary after completing the entire plan, you can ensure that all the important points and insights from the detailed sections are included. This helps prevent omissions and misrepresentations.

c. Highlights Key Elements: After writing the full plan, it’s easier to identify and extract the most critical elements that should be emphasized in the executive summary. This ensures that the summary effectively captures the essence and strengths of the brand plan.

d. Streamlines Review Process: Presenting the executive summary first helps stakeholders quickly understand the main points, making it easier for them to navigate and review the detailed sections with a clear context in mind.

In essence, the executive summary is pivotal for efficiently communicating the core aspects of a brand plan to time-constrained stakeholders. Writing it last but presenting it first ensures that it is comprehensive, aligned with the detailed content, and impactful in conveying the strategic direction and significance of the brand plan. In conclusion, in today’s competitive landscape, a well-defined brand plan isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity.

In conclusion, a well-crafted brand plan is an indispensable tool in the marketing arsenal of any brand. It serves as a strategic roadmap, guiding all branding efforts to ensure consistency and coherence in messaging across all platforms.

By clearly defining the brand’s mission, vision, values, and STP, a brand plan aligns the organization toward common goals and facilitates effective communication with stakeholders.

Additionally, it provides a framework for measuring the success of branding initiatives and allows for adaptive strategies in response to market changes.

Ultimately, investing time and resources into developing a comprehensive brand plan not only strengthens brand identity and loyalty but also enhances competitive advantage and drives sustainable growth. In the dynamic landscape of modern marketing, a brand plan is not just beneficial—it’s essential for long-term success.

Vivek Hattangadi

27^th May 2024