Presentation Abstract

In seeking to prepare a compelling topic for presentation to PMRG’s esteemed members, the three panelists asked sales and marketing executives from Abbot, Amgen, Cubist, Lilly, Merck, Pfizer, and others, “What keeps you up at night?” The overwhelming response was “physician access.” Accessing physicians in the current healthcare environment is a constant challenge. Physicians have less time to spend with sales representatives, and the regulatory environment is such that avenues through which a pharmaceutical or biotechnology organization can engage target physician audiences are becoming more and more limited. Given these realities, we scanned the current approaches to solving this challenge and discovered an unmet need.

In response to the absence of such an approach, we set about to fill that void. Simply put, an organization must understand holistically what matters to their target audience, who matters to their target audience, and how the audience wants to be engaged around the what and the who. This seems simple, yet every organization we spoke with indicated a strong frustration with physican access. While companies may be exploring aspects of the challenge within distinct projects, they are doing so in isolation and with no method for combining the findings into a comprehensive strategy for accessing their physician audiences effectively. This presentation presents both an overall approach to achieving physician access and provides specific examples and demonstrations of how to engage physicians within the context of the gastroenterology specialty.

Speaker Biographies

Named “One of Maryland’s Top Business Women” and President of a “Future 50 Company,” by SmartCEO magazine, Barbara Gassaway exemplifies Innovation through Discovery. Clients benefit from 15 years of creative market research experience in the healthcare industries. A differentiator is Barbara’s comprehensive understanding of strategic marketing principles, along with current trends in the qualitative sciences. A RIVA Trainer, Washington, DC chair for QRCA and lecturer on Best Qualitative Practices, Market Research Strategy, and Product Development Cycles. 

Myra Norton is a national thought leader on The Power of Human Networks®, the study of personal relationships and their impact on behavior change and idea adoption. She has served as a speaker/facilitator for the Network Roundtable, CMO Council, CASE, Business Marketing Association, Pharmaceutical Executive, and others. She collaborates with researchers from Harvard University, Babson College, University of Virginia, University of Maryland and the University of Chicago.

Hollis Thomases, Cornell University ~ Social Relations, CEO of WebAdvantage.net, a specialized agency providing strategic digital solutions to challenger brands. Hollis’s experience as a pragmatic online marketing and advertising practitioner has earned her a reputation as online marketing’s “Voice of Reason.”  Hollis advocates for tactics and airtight agency processes that generate qualified website traffic and measurements that optimize how traffic converts to actions, leads and sales. As a result, WebAdvantage.net has cultivated an impressive client roster of national healthcare clients.