PM360 Product Manager Survey August 2011

THE ECONOMY

The effect the economy has had on pharmaceutical sales, marketing budgets, and budget allocation.

The economic downturn has had its impact on pharmaceutical sales (Figure 9). A bare plurality (42%) report that market shares are down—either a little (36%) or considerably (6%)— against the 41% who say there has been no change, and a bare 17% who say that market shares are up.

Lower sales mean lower revenue. And lower revenue mean promotion cuts (Figure 10). Some 54% of respondents say that their budgets are down; 43% report that promotional budgets are static, and just 3% say that their budgets have gone up. The trend is slightly better than a year ago, however: in 2010, 66% of respondents reported that their budgets had been cut, and only 2% said that spending would increase.

So marketers have had to make tough decisions about where to cut spending, and nearly every sector has come under pressure (Figure 11). Nearly half of respondents say they are cutting back non-personal promotion, and 41% are trimming personal promotion expenses. DTC and CME spending are also frequent targets: 38% of respondents report that they are reducing outlays in both areas. Safest from the cuts, so far, are patient education (26%) and Phase IV studies (23%).

Write-in candidates (from 14% of respondents) include advertising, agency management, collateral materials, conventions, professional education programs, and headcount, but these are far less frequent targets. (For those happy, happy few who have been able to boost their spending, the most popular objectives are patient education and non-personal promotion.)

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