e-marketing: the demise of the sales rep?
There's something about a new beginning that makes us want to take stock to shrug off our old bad habits and renew commitments to good ones. We certainly hope that you'sll continue to make a habit of relying on our newsletter to keep you up-to-date and informed on all of the latest e-business happenings in the pharmaceutical industry. We'sre certainly committed to continuing to provide you with the high-quality news you'sve come to expect.
One old habit the pharma industry appears solidly committed to is employing mega-sized staffs of sales representatives. And in spite of an industry-wide push toward the increased use of e-sales and marketing technologies, the role of the traditional sales rep seems well entrenched.
A recent study by Scott-Levin revealed that U.S. physicians ranked Pfizer's sales force as the most valued for the sixth consecutive year. Since its merger with Warner-Lambert, the Pfizer sales force is 8,000 reps strong, a good deal larger than most of its competition.
Merck, who ranked fourth in the survey, said it has plans to increase its sales team by 1,500 reps over the next 18 months, bringing its total to 6,500. The SmithKline Beecham group, which ranked second among the 12,000 physicians surveyed, is now undoubtedly much larger as part of the new GlaxoSmithKline.
So for all the sales reps who worried that the adoption of e-marketing approaches spelled the demise of the traditional pharmaceutical sales force, take heart. It seems there's still a place for the personal touch that only a familiar face can bring to customer relationship management. Perhaps new e-marketing approaches will eliminate some of the more mundane tasks of the pharmaceutical sales rep, but it doesn'st look like it will be replacing them anytime soon.