By Eric Janvier and Wendy van der Lubbe
Communicating directly with customers may be simultaneously the most
important and challenging task for pharma. For the ‘traditional’ sales force,
having a conversation that is of genuine mutual interest and benefit to both
parties is beset with difficulties, simply because of the fundamentally
transactional nature of their meetings. After all, a sales force is there first
and foremost to sell.
In recent years pharma companies have acknowledged a growing need to engage
their customers in new and more meaningful ways, not always necessarily linked
to the direct benefits of their products.