The Tarun Gupta Algorithm

The Tarun Gupta Algorithm

Brand Challenge to Brand Insights to Brand Strategy and Execution (Part 1)

Pharma brands in India face a myriad of challenges, stemming from UCPMP-2024, stiff competition, regulatory complexities, market dynamics, and socio-economic factors and more.  The Tarun Gupta Algorithm can be a panacea for this dilemma.

Part 2, B – Black Belt Brand Builders will present a case study illustrating the real-world application of the Tarun Gupta Algorithm.

The Challenges and the Dilemma

Price control pressures: The government’s Drug Price Control Order (DPCO) regulates drug prices, limiting profit margins for branded drugs. This limits the investments in product innovation, packaging, attracting the right talent into the organization, F & D, investment in AI and Generative AI and even in the vital learning and development activities.

Fierce competition: The market is crowded with both domestic and multinational brands, leading to intense competition for market share and doctor prescriptions. This means maintaining a competitive edge demands continuous innovation, aggressive marketing strategies, and efficient distribution networks.

Patent limitations: Strong patent laws can restrict opportunities to develop new drugs based on existing discoveries. The days of reverse engineering have come to an end.

The Context

You can face several challenges concerning the perception of your brand by doctors, patients, and internal field sales staff.

First, there is information overload. Doctors are bombarded with information from hundreds of brands. The same information again and again and again! Many brand managers seldom promote brands – they promote the antes (the generic molecule). Standing out and effectively communicating the value proposition of the brand can be challenging for you.

Second, doctors and patients often hear news of counterfeit drugs. This can create general distrust towards all brands, impacting brand image and distrust in the industry itself.

Third, medical representatives and field sales managers may be inclined to rely more on pushing brands rather than drawing them towards their target audience through scientific knowledge and effective communication. In some cases, a few sales managers with an unethical mindset may encourage medical representatives to prioritize comfort over diligence.

In this scenario, there’s a risk that medical representatives could become complacent and rely solely on transactional selling or traditional sales tactics rather than engaging in meaningful discussions based on scientific evidence and understanding the unique needs of healthcare professionals. This shift towards a comfort zone may hinder their ability to effectively convey the value proposition of the brand and address any concerns or objections raised by doctors.

Next, let us delve into the insights.

Insights

Insights in pharma marketing often stem from thorough market research, data analysis, padocumer’s (patients and doctors as consumers and customers) feedback, and observation. They reveal hidden patterns, trends, or customer preferences that can significantly impact brand success. An insight isn’t just a random data point. It’s a deep padocumer understanding or the revelation that emerges from analyzing various sources.

Patient needs and challenges: What are the unmet needs or frustrations patients experience with the condition the drug treats?

Physician preferences: How do doctors typically diagnose and treat the condition? What are their prescribing habits and patterns?

Market trends: Are there any emerging treatment options or competitor activity to consider?

How can you as a brand manager use these insights?

You can leverage these insights to create strategic plans and define their brand’s direction.

• Positioning the brand: Insights help identify the unique value proposition of your brand compared to competitors. This could be a specific benefit, patient focus, or treatment approach.
• Developing marketing messages: By understanding patient needs and physician preferences. You can craft targeted messages that resonate with each audience.
• Campaign development: Insights inform can give you valuable leads to create
•  marketing campaigns that address patient anxieties, educate doctors, and ultimately drive product adoption.
• Competitive Analysis: Insights provide you with valuable information about the competitive landscape, including competitor strategies, strengths, weaknesses, and market positioning. This knowledge enables you to identify gaps in the market and opportunities for differentiation.
• Product Development: Insights can inform product development by uncovering unmet needs or areas for improvement in existing products. Brand managers can use these insights to guide the development of new products or enhancements to existing ones, ensuring they address the specific needs of their target audience. Do you recall the principles of H2H Marketing? Co-create a brand along with the padocumer’s.   
• Brand Positioning: Insights help you in defining and refining your brand’s positioning. By understanding the competitive landscape and the needs of the target audience, you can position your brand in a way that sets it apart from competitors and resonates with padocumer’s.
• Messaging and Communication: Insights help you in crafting compelling messaging that resonates with the target audience. By understanding the motivations and pain points of padocumer’s, you can develop messaging that speaks directly to your needs and aspirations.

Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning (STP)

When you crack the code on valuable customer insights, it becomes a powerful tool for Segmentation, Targeting, And Positioning (STP).

Segmentation

• Unearthing Distinct Needs: Insights reveal different needs, motivations, and challenges faced by various patient groups or physician types. This allows the brand manager to segment the market into distinct groups with similar characteristics. For example, an insomnia drug might segment patients based on the severity of their condition or the cause (stress-related vs. shift work).

Targeting

• Prioritizing High-Value Segments: Not all segments are created equal. Insights help identify which segments hold the most potential for the brand. This could be based on factors like patient volume, treatment needs not met by competitors, or physician prescribing patterns. By understanding these factors, the brand manager can prioritize which segments to target with their marketing efforts.

Positioning

Crafting a Compelling Message: Insights about each target segment’s needs and preferences informs you how the brand positions itself. You can develop a message that highlights the drug’s specific benefits relevant to each segment’s unique challenges. For instance, the insomnia drug might emphasize its fast-but short acting properties for frequent air travellers to overcome jet lag. Or its low habit-forming potential, which is particularly attractive to patients concerned about long-term use.

In essence, insights are the bridge between understanding the market and crafting a targeted brand message. This allows you to avoid a generic approach and speak directly to the specific needs of each segment, ultimately leading to a more effective brand strategy.

Once you generate insights, and do the segmentation, targeting, and positioning, how do you craft a strategy and integrate strategy execution in the strategy?

Forging a robust strategy and seamlessly integrating its execution necessitates traversing through ten key steps.

1. Define Clear Objectives: Start by defining specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) objectives for your brand. These objectives should align with the overall goals of your organization and be derived from the insights gained from your market research and segmentation.

2. Develop a Value Proposition: Based on the insights gathered and segmentation performed, create a compelling value proposition that addresses the needs and desires of the target segments. This proposition should highlight the unique benefits and advantages of the brand over competitors.

3. Select Target Segments: Identify the most attractive target segments based on the size, growth potential, and fit with the brand’s capabilities. Prioritize segments that align with the brand’s positioning and offer the greatest opportunity for success.

4. Position the Brand: Develop a clear positioning strategy that differentiates your brand in the minds of consumers within the target segments. This positioning should emphasize the unique value proposition and resonate with the needs and preferences of the target audience.

5. Craft a Marketing Mix: Develop a comprehensive marketing mix that includes product, price, place, and promotion strategies tailored to each target segment. Consider how to effectively reach and engage with each segment through various channels and touchpoints.

6. Allocate Resources: Determine the budget and resources required to execute the strategy effectively. Allocate resources based on the potential impact on achieving strategic objectives and prioritize initiatives that offer the highest return on investment.

7. Develop an Implementation Plan: Create a detailed implementation plan that outlines the specific actions, timelines, responsibilities, and milestones for executing the strategy. Ensure that the plan is realistic and achievable within the constraints of available resources and market conditions.

8. Monitor and Measure Performance: Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) to track progress toward strategic objectives and regularly monitor performance against these metrics. Adjust tactics and initiatives as needed based on ongoing evaluation and feedback.

9. Build Organizational Alignment: Foster alignment and buy-in across the organization by communicating the strategy effectively and engaging stakeholders at all levels. Ensure that everyone understands their role in executing the strategy and is motivated to contribute to its success.

10. Adapt and Iterate: Continuously evaluate market dynamics, consumer preferences, and competitive pressures to adapt the strategy as needed. Be prepared to iterate and refine tactics based on feedback and insights gained from on-going monitoring and analysis.

By following these steps, you can craft a robust strategy and effectively integrate its execution to drive sustainable growth and success for the brand.

This is the Tarun Gupta Algorithm – from challenges to crafting a brand strategy and its execution.