They
say books are a man’s best friend. Correct. But often the need for an effective
orator who not just explains what literature propounds but adds the
unmistakable flavor of personal experience is felt. Experience yet fresh. We,
the students of PUMBA, had such an opportunity on the 12^-Nov-2009
when our alumna, Mrs. Mayuri Bhan, batch 2007, came down to campus to share her
experiences with us.

Mrs.
Mayuri Bhan, presently the group product manager with Abbott India Ltd. graced the
dais to demystify and deglamourize the world of brand management in the pharmaceutical sector, which came as a
surprise to us as a majority of the students were planning to take up marketing
in the future course of their careers. However as we cruised through the
lecture, the basics of brand management starting right from what a brand is
fell into register within our minds. One of the major reasons for this was the
generous use of easy examples that aptly highlighted the point in discussion.

The
lecture began from the basics which meant not only the senior students but the
juniors too could actively participate in the discussions. The one thing that
she made clear at the beginning of the session was that medical representatives
are not sales personnel but are more of the nature of advertising professionals
who don’t directly affect a sale transaction. They at best influence the
middlemen who in turn generate sales.

Quoting
her, “the primary job of a brand manager is to build an atmosphere to enthuse
and empower the sales representative so that he can perform his duties at his
best.” Especially in the case of super-specialty drugs the representative has
to be a discussant at par with the knowledgeable doctor who becomes very difficult
to comprehend and convince otherwise.

She
stressed on how crucial the work done by sales representatives is for the
organization to meet its targets as well as achieve newer goals. It’s a sad
scenario that often a sales representative is not given due respect. However it
is high time that this perception changed because it’s imperative for a brand
manager to know what situations the representative faces on field so as to come
up with innovative yet practical ways of positioning his brand in the face of
fierce competition. What better ways to learn than to have done that work oneself?

She
took out time to separate the ambiguity from terms like branding strategy and delivery
of value, among others. She touched on the importance of an excellent and
not very copy-heavy visual aid that
could work wonders for a product while it had its share of 30 seconds of fame.
If the representative succeeds in breaking the pen-habit of his potential customer, half the battle is won.

She
efficiently differentiated the threads between MNCs and Indian companies. She
stressed on how the Indian pharmaceutical sector awaits a sea change in its
functioning with the product patent law
threatening to touch Indian shores anytime.

Later,
the functions of a brand manager which included gauging the market pulse about
the product as well as its customer perception while struggling to deliver
value as a brand and not as a product were enumerated.

It
becomes essential to validate a potential customer in the field of pharmaceutical
marketing as to adhere to the need-feature-benefit
model of branding. One sure method to determine if a product has succeeded
as a brand or not would be to see if it has reserved for itself “a top-of-mind recall slot” in the minds
of the consumers.

While
quoting the bible for most marketing professional aka KOTLER she took us through
product extension (eg: Paras Pharmaceuticals), product collaterals, niche
markets operation (eg: McDonalds), the entire media planning protocol that lies
at the crux of efficient brand management of every organization among heaps of
other things. But while she never left an aspect untouched she took care that
the students came up with what they knew at the same time busting every myth in
their mind about brand management.

It was therefore an out and out interactive session.