Strengths and Weaknesses of Direct-to-Consumer Marketing - Research Paper Example

DTC marketing: Strengths and weaknesses and the importance of marketing done well al Affiliation Direct-to-Consumer Marketing isthe advertising of products in the pharmaceutical industry and all other areas of business that require marketing and sales of products. In healthcare, this form of marketing usually aims the patients directly from the producer instead of going through the health care professionals than to the consumer (Blackett & Robins,2001). The primary ways of this mode of advertising include the social media and mass media including radio and television. Other methods that are more direct to the consumers include face to face, door to door or even speaking on the telephone to the customers, giving out handouts and pamphlets and also through emails. (Donohue, et al. 2007) In the United States, this form of advertising is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. This agency must make sure that the information passed to the consumers is real, has been researched thoroughly and that all information has been given accurately. This is done by detailed research, provision of education programs and ensuring that proper communication has been practised through labelling to both the health practitioners and the consumers. Other than the United States of America, only New Zealand has allowed the practice of this form of advertising in the Western countries; the rest of the nations banned this forms. (Arnold, 2006) There are strengths/ benefits to direct to consumer marketing. One of the benefits is that the DTC marketing passes very relevant information about health issues like diseases and treatments by creating a conversation between the patients and the healthcare givers. Also, it increases awareness of a disease to the patient, gives treatment option for treatment for the disease in question thus communicating to the public on medicine prescriptions. Another advantage is that DTC can ensure that the sellers can get feedback from the consumers. This will make sure the marketing is effective enough to increase the returns to the sellers. The consumers and doctors also get up to date information on a pharmaceutical products and trends in the market. Public concerns However, there have been concerns about this form of marketing from the public and the regulatory body in general. It has been observed that there are some companies that use this form of marketing for their good and not for the right reasons. It is believed that these companies use the members of the public just to make money. This is because some of their adverts are misleading; either by passing wrong information or by not doing proper research about the product (drug), or for any other reason that makes the drug not helpful to the consumer. (Smith, 2002) The physicians also waste a lot of time convincing a patient on the advantages or disadvantages of a particular product thus decreasing their productivity. Also, it is becoming a concern that not all adverts incorporate every detail about the products that the members of the public need to be aware of. This has lead to a rift in the relationship between physicians and their patients and these adverts affect the state of minds both the physicians and patients. It has also been noted that the advertisements are causing a rise in the cost of the drugs due to covering the cost of the advertisement. The adverts may also influence the prescription of a drug unduly based on the demands of the consumers even if they do not need that particular drug. All these, therefore, reduce the effectiveness of this mode of marketing despite its strengths. Stakeholders involved The stakeholders here are the healthcare providers, the consumers (patients), the manufacturers and the insurers. Insurers include the government, insurance companies and so on. Therefore, DTC marketing has a significant impact on the behaviour and attitude of these stakeholders. The key stakeholders, however, are the consumers and the physicians (American Marketing Association, 1997). The customers have for a long time appreciated the DTC marketing as a way of getting information despite the constant scepticism and criticism by researchers and other concerned people on this issue. The patients have started even doubting their doctors if they go to the doctors and not get a prescription for a particular drug they wanted. They go to doctors after viewing the adverts with a particular drug in mind. If they do not prescribe the particular drug, the patient may go to another doctor, and this weakens the relationship between a physician and a patient. Therefore, after much study, it has been proved that DTC marketing changes patients’ behaviour (especially towards their doctors) and thus most support the DTC marketing. The physicians in contrast to the patients are believed to accept the idea of DTC marketing less. The drug companies had for a long time aimed at doctors who only relied on information about the drugs from those companies. This mostly made them prescribe some drugs wrongly because of the little information about the medicine. Upon introduction of this mode of marketing, the doctors have been prompted to research more about a particular drug. Due to the impact on the patients, the doctors believe that DTC makes patients ask for prescriptions that are not effective to solve their problems. (Smith, 2002). This force them to prescribe the drugs even if the doctor feels the drug will not be as effective. Thus, some even believe that DTC marketing should be decreased or abolished at once. Media relations The media can be classified into two the traditional media (radio, newspaper, magazines and television) and digital media (social media, web pages, online advertising and engine search markets). The internet has been realised to be of great potential since it can thousands of consumers worldwide. Though the traditional media is still used the marketers are now moving towards the digital media and shifting funds there. Spending on digital media has increased over the years since it started, and this channel has proved to be highly effective due to the returns it brings. (Donohue et al., 2007) The Food & Drug Administration does not have guidelines regulating the online DTC marketing, but in 2009, it sent letters to warn some of the manufacturers who had search engines that did not give proper information on the drugs. The letters insisted that full and proper information should be incorporated in the advert, and nothing of importance should be left out (Blackett & Robins,2001). The media has been successful in achieving the goal of the Direct to Consumer marketing. Since the Food & Drug Administration relaxed its rules and guidelines on DTC marketing, the growth of DTC marketing has increased rapidly. This increase has also increased the sale of the drugs advertised by the Direct to Consumer marketing. Recommendation There are measures that can be implemented to maximize the advantages of using DTC marketing while reducing the risks associated with it. Some of the measures include; delaying the advertisement of the new products. This will ensure that the drug will be properly studied, and safety of the drug will be optimal by the time the drug is released to the market. Another way is by banning adverts that are specific for a product. This will ensure that a patient will go and get a prescription from a doctor even after learning about the product that has been revised. Another way is by the FDA requiring clearance before a product is advertised through DTC marketing. These can ensure the FDA has full knowledge of a product in recommending it to be safe for consumers. Also, there should be regulations for the advertising made online. Another way is to recommend quantifying information along with the normal way of qualifying information (Srivastava, et al. 2008). Also the inclusion of the cost of the drug advertised would be important in giving full information on a drug to help the consumer know the budget required and also to get a comparison of different medicines from different companies. Conclusion Through research and the facts surrounding Direct to Consumer marketing, it all shows that its effects are both positive and negative. This mode of advertisement has grown very fast over the years and currently it has become a very common mode of communication in health. Though the Food and Drug Administration governs it, a lot has to be done to enforce the rules and streamline it to increase its effectiveness . References Alexander GC, Zhang J, Basu A.( 2008) "Characteristics of patients receiving pharmaceutical samples and association between sample receipt and out-of-pocket prescription costs", Medical Care ;46:394-402. Donohue, J. M., Cevasco, M., & Rosenthal, M. B. (2007). A Decade of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising of Prescription Drugs. New England Journal of Medicine, 357(7), 673-681. Smith, M. C. (2002). Pharmaceutical marketing: Principles, environment, and practice. New York: Pharmaceutical Products Press. Blackett, T., & Robins, R. (2001). Brand medicine: The role of branding in the pharmaceutical industry. Basingstoke: Palgrave. Srivastava, R. K., De, R. E. C., & Fam, K. (2008). Sales management. New Delhi: Excel Books. American Marketing Association. (1997). Marketing health services. Chicago, Ill: American Marketing Association. Arnold, Matthew (2006). 40 years of DTC. MMM, 1 October 2006. Retrieved from http://www.mmm-online.com/40-years-of-DTC/article/35502/ Read More