1. INTRODUCTION:

Indian Pharmaceutical Industry- Prologue:

The Pharmaceutical industry in India is ranking third in the globe by its value by the year 2020 India will reach the top three in its size among the global markets. This status of competitive advantage is mainly reached by the Indian pharmaceutical sector by mean of its cost effectiveness. This sector has also attracted FDI inflows of US$ 13.45 billion between the months April 2000 and December 2015, as per the data provided by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP). The Government of India has revealed the “Pharma VISION 2020” to make India as a global leader in the pharmaceutical industry. The cost of production in India is less than that of the United States and that of Europe. So India is having an edge in this. The Indian Pharma market is the third biggest in quantity and thirteenth largest in worth or value

The demographic change of Indian population with more consumer spending, urbanization, an increase in health consciousness and health insurance can facilitate the Pharma companies to align their overall strategies with digital strategies (i.e) digital innovation through its blue ocean strategies.

DIGITAL BOOM IN INDIA:

The Digital era has boomed into India with a rapid speed and it is considered to be an integral part of growth strategy and almost all Pharma companies feel the changing pace, slowly and steadily started accepting digital culture. By formulating right strategy and initiatives. Pharma companies can make use of the global market potential. As per the Key statistics of “The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI)” The population of the Internet users in India is likely to cross 500 million by 2016 figure 1. of which 70% are male, Active mobile internet users are 303 million, the digital buyer penetration is 37.3% .The urban-rural penetration of internet with regard to male :female ratio is 62:38 and 88:12 respectively.

E-DETAILING IN PHARMA:

The increased utilization of the internet and other supplementary Information technology related tools among the people create a more convenience space for health care facilities by a number of contact points between physician, sales rep, hospitals and Pharma companies called as e-Detailing. E-detailing is an important strategy for the pharmaceutical industry which is defined as a continuous and interactive mode to facilitate customer relationship marketing[9].This placates even the physician to meet Pharma Representatives comfortably rather than dash hours of business. This helps to gather medical based information, to communicate needed information and to maintain a long-lasting relationship across different groups and communities. This sort of knowledge based relationship is possible to develop through e-Detailing.

FORMS OF E-DETAILING:

· Virtual Live E-Detailing:

In this the doctor is provided with a PC with necessary software and a webcam. The doctor is required to contact the pharma company’s sales representative at pre determined period during the month. This method ensures a long term relationship with the doctor and it is also cost effective.

· Scripted E-Detailing:

In this the doctors do not have a one to one interaction with the medical rep’s but he views a series of interactive screens. This is usually done by internet or intranet. If the doctor needs he can mail or telephone the rep if required.

· E-Detailing by a portal for doctors:

This method is currently visible in UK. There are portals which are available for doctors and these can be used to specify the details of the product to the doctors and also provides sponsorship marketing of the product. Examples of such portals are Doctors.net.uk, detaildirect.com and ommedica.net.

PENETRATION TO DIGITAL MARKETING:

Across the globe different complex Pharma regulation and uncertainties of regulation had made delayed penetration of digital in Pharma sector. By developing good digital marketing practices the company can

• Enhance relationship

• Effective sales and cost reduction

• speedy feedback

• Priority channel

• Audit efficiency

The McKinsey Report Fig:3 says that Pharma Industry can improve their core competencies and competitive advance through digital marketing

RIGHT INITIATIVES AND STRATEGIES:

Pharma industries can enjoy the digital revolution by formulating right strategies with varied tools like Mobile communications, the cloud, advanced analytics, and the Internet. In the digital era patients are empowered with information, connected, less dependent on physician and more health conscious. premier MNC companies like Apple, IBM, TCS provide rich sources of data and Information. Various Data and information can be processed speedily and accurately and used to respond to business through digital marketing strategies. This creates value-added service to customers. Pharma companies and other healthcare players can also make use of the data like insurance claims, clinics details, laboratories results, apps, social media, etc. to their business decisions. The Pharma companies can formulate various digital strategies that promote strategic shift, .Some of the issues that need digital aroma are:

· Generic Health tips and health related information

· Health reports and caution advice/reports

· Drug-related information

· Treatment related information

· Diagnostic reports

· Networking of physicians, hospitals, drug manufacturer, and Pharma companies

· Health cares legal and regulatory information

It is essential to reduce ambiguity and create a clear strategy with trust and integrity. This develops the future of Pharma through digital strategies. A number of previous studies conclude that on an average and American spent 52 hours in searching health care related information. Since the Millennials and Gen y are tech savvy it is the right time for the pharmaceutical companies to explore e-detailing. Social media Connect, emails, content development are some of the common e-detailing tools. Figure.3.

A number of studies have concluded that e-detail was superior to paper-based details where information is available 24/7 through web-based tools, which is very useful to gather information from both physicians and patients.

VALUE OF COMBINED E-DETAILING:

In the past years, contraction in sales field of sales is coming down as they enter in FDI approved products. At the same time CSOs are suffering because of lowered impact on face –to –face selling and they had the advantage of the companies which lessen the cost in order to replace in house dsale with outsourced teams.

“US have outsourced 8% of its sales three years ago. Butthey had about 100,000 representatives with them and the growth rate were about 11%,but today there are only 60,000 to 65,000 representatives only” says-Paul Mignon.

DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS CAN DRIVE SALES- IT IS A BLUE OCEAN STRATEGY:

Going digital also promote the sale, so it considered to be a blue ocean strategy, transformation, strategic shift and it should not be viewed as a technology. A number of studies have concluded about the revenue growth due to digital marketing strategies and the top three channel proposed are e-marketing, e-presentations and point-of-care apps[18]. Change of generation from baby boomers to Millennials have made a digital evolution in Pharma sector, the only thing is the formulation of “CLEAR” Strategy to ensure success.. The real challenge in e-detailing strategies may be due to various reasons like Unclear strategy(30%), Overly-restrictive external regulations(20.7%), Gaining internal buy-in(17.2%), Working within internal rules(15.5%), Recruiting/retaining suitable staff(6.9%), Lack of budget(6.3%). The e-detailing strategies for overall life sciences may deliver lots of value to Pharma companies .

CONCLUSION:

The stakeholders of Pharma companies can derive benefit consistently which end with personalized care and engaged stakeholders. If the strategy developed is clear with integrity consumers will be more willing to share their information. This is the results of Blue Ocean in Pharma companies. avilable from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3149409/[Last accessed on 2017 January 18]

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Received on 03.07.2017 Modified on 29.07.2017

Research J. Pharm. and Tech. 2018; 11(3): 1255-1258.

DOI: 10.5958/0974-360X.2018.00234.2