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 Tapping Nonrational Drivers in Health Care Marketing Research
The nonrational plays an important role in
the decision-making process whether the
decision is related to the selection of
medical and pharmaceutical products or
consumer goods. Marketing to health care
professionals has traditionally focused on
developing rational arguments based on the
product's attributes to persuade the health
care professional of that product's unique
benefits. However, the broader body of
research on persuasion has pointed to the
importance of nonrational aspects, such as
emotion and the values held by the individual
who is the target of persuasion.
In an article written for the Journal of
Medical Marketing, Donna Kelly, Ph.D.,
Executive Vice President, and Edwin Rupert,
Associate Vice President, GfK Healthcare, outline
the role of the nonrational in persuasion,
providing a review of some of the major
persuasion theories/research that have
examined the role of emotions and other
nonrational influences.
 Introducing Six Sigma
How does one go about breaking free from the
way things have always been done and creating
a "disruptive" solution for health care?
Accomplishing this goal will require a
monstrous effort, the who and how of which
are obviously very important. This month's
published article for The Orange Pages
focuses on the how by discussing the use
of a well-established, widely tested system
of organizational change, such as Six Sigma.
GfK Healthcare Showcases Innovation at the 2009 PBIRG Conference, May 17-20
We invite you to join GfK Healthcare May
17-20 in Phoenix at The Pharmaceutical
Business Intelligence Research Group's Annual
General Meeting. In line with the conference
theme Innovation, GfK Healthcare will
showcase its position as an industry leader
and talent for staying ahead of the curve by
unveiling four new products.
In addition, at 2 p.m., Sunday, May 17, John
Fracek, Associate Vice President, GfK
Healthcare, will discuss how to incorporate
innovation in marketing research during these
challenging times in a workshop titled,
"Uncovering Unmet Needs."
Did You Miss the April Issue of Topline?
Click
here to read the issue, which
includes:
Topline
archive is available. Skim the
directory and select
articles you missed. Access subscriber
opt-in/comment form.
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May 2009
 What Is One to Do? I received a phone call a few days ago from a senior marketing research professional at a major pharmaceutical company. This gentleman is probably in his late 40s or early 50s and theoretically has the most productive years of his career ahead of him. But he faces the nontrivial problem that his company is about to be acquired and his position eliminated. What, he asked plaintively, should he do? In the good old days, such a call would have led to an extended conversation about the advantages and disadvantages of continuing to work on the client side versus switching to the agency side of the table, the strengths, weaknesses and organizational climates of the various organizations on both sides of the table, and my offering to serve as a reference for a person of his caliber. On this occasion, however, no such discourse seemed appropriate. Pharmaceutical companies and marketing research agencies alike, as we both knew, are not only fully staffed but letting people go, imposing salary freezes and, if they have not already been acquired, making him a sitting duck to repeat his upcoming experience through another acquisition. This statement was largely true across the board in pharma, and thus nuances by company did not seem worthy of much discussion. Rather, I gave him several ideas that varied significantly from my usual counsel. First, I told him that, as I have previously written and spoken about, health care, health care manufacturers and agencies providing services to the health care area are wasting about one-third of the money they spend, and that they will be looking for "disruptive" ways to improve their effectiveness and efficiency...  Richard B. Vanderveer, Ph.D. CEO, GfK Healthcare   |
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