More than digitalizing your product promotions, the case calls for building and engaging your brand community through digital solutions that create memorable customer experiences. With the new normal emerging, the traditional Pharma commercial model needs to be relooked by exploring alternative channels of engagement, which offer opportunities to create value for customers. Company-specific digital adoption workshops to experience how a brand can be promoted using the omnichannel approach with field force involvement.

Today's Brand Equity cover — a woman lost in...

Going digital is not about Social media or Omni channels. Is it about asking simple questions. Best Buy is one of the largest electronic good retailers in USA. Few years ago Best Buy was threatened by what is now known as Showrooming effect. Basically customers would walk into its showrooms get benefitted by the advice of the salesperson, decide on the model and then go online to buy the product on Amazon because of low prices. Despite having one the best footfalls in the decade Best Buy recorded reduced profits. Although it did try to Price match Amazon they knew it was not a long-term solution because of its cost structure (Physical showrooms, salespeople etc). They couldn’t block the customers from checking price of product on Amazon. Future looked uncertain, everyone thought game over for Best Buy which was the case with many other retailing giants. No amount of investing new technology would have helped Best Buy . Best Buy relearned how to make profits. Best Buy proposed to the manufacturers that they compensate Best Buy for exclusive showcasing of manufacturers new products. Manufacturers also could  launch specific brand kiosks within Best Buy showroom for a fee. This new model which had zero investment for Best Buy dramatically increased its profitability. Is this a ground breaking innovation? Of course NO. This has already been  practiced in other industries but for the first time tried in Electronic good Retail. Best Buy realized apart from consumers it created lot of value for manufacturers therefore it captured the value lost from consumers from manufacturers. What is my business? What is my business ecosystem? How do I currently make money? How changing one thing impacts my ecosystem? What are the options available?

Key Point from the Q &A with Dr. Mandar...

Q 1. Tell us about your journey as a pharma entrepreneur and what made you venture into pharma and stay on in pharma? My journey started with two good decisions, one- to be a Medical Representative (MR) in Mumbai, which built a strong foundation and the other, to join Helios, a new pharma company, which was like a baptism of fire. Together, they molded me well. I was promoted as a Front Line Manager (FLM) within a year. And after spending four excellent years in Helios, I joined Group Pharma as Product Manager (PM) and ever since, it’s been an exciting learning experience.  I was exposed to Pharma very early in life as my dad was in J L Morison, as part of the promoter-team of Warren Pharma. At home, I was the designated telephone operator and order processing clerk. Those were the days of trunk-calls - calling managers and distributors to note down orders. Hence, I was exposed to the excitement of targets, achievements, deficits and campaigns very early in my life. The idea of ‘work-life balance’ was not in vogue. One would look to their parents who worked long hours with pride making it something you wanted to emulate. Things have changed a lot but I would not trade the decision I made, to get into and stay in Pharma.

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