Marketing Essay 印度制药行业

印度制药市场在某种意义上，是典型的药剂师在控制品牌的可用性。因此，印度制药市场由非处方药和处方药组成(OTX)。以对抗疗法（主要指化学性）为基础的医药制剂市场占据了全国有大约20000的厂家/销售商的一大部分。在这小小的领域就有70000 多个品牌，可见品牌是很杂乱无规则的。全国大约有20000位医药代表为约1000000名医生推广产品。医药零售商估计有500000人。

人均可支配收入不断上升，在2015年预计达到765美元。这是2700万个低收入人群向中等收入人群转变的巨大推动力，而中等收入人群也将见证这一巨大幅度的进步。
 

目前的市场主要包括1级市场（人口超过400万的8个城市）占了近60%的市场和2级市场（人口在100-400万之间的26个城市）占了近40%的市场。2级市场的所占市场的重要份额主要归功于强劲的批发分销系统。预计到2015年，二级市场所占份额将增长到44%，将增加4600万户高和中等水平购买力的家庭。而一级市场预计将增加1900万户有类似的购买力水平的家庭。
 

The Indian pharmaceuticals market is typical in the sense, that the pharmacist has a great control over brand availability. Hence, the market is a combination of over-the-counter and prescription (OTX). The allopathic (mainly chemical) based pharma formulations market is the largest segment in the country with an estimated 20,000 manufacturers/marketers. This crowded segment has over 70,000 brands, reflecting brand clutter. There are about 20000 medical representatives in the country promoting products to about 1,000,000 doctors. The number of pharmaceutical retailers is estimated to be 500,000.
 

The per capita disposable income is constantly on the rise and expected to be US$ 765 in 2015 with a huge movement of twenty seven million households from the low income category to the middle income category. The middle income category will witness the steepest rise, with the addition of fifty nine million households.
 

The current market is mainly from Tier 1 markets (8 cities with the population of over 4 million) which account for nearly 60% of the market with the Tier 2 market (26 cities with the population of over 1-4 million) accounting for the balance 40%. The significant share of the Tier 2 market is credited to the strong wholesale distribution system. It is expected that by the year 2015 the Tier 2 market would grow to 44% with an addition of 46 million households with high and medium levels of affordability, whereas the Tier 1 market is expected to add another 19 million with similar affordability levels. The rise of Tier 2 market has important implication in the pharmaceutical companies in terms of matching the sales force deployment (which is currently only 20~30%) with reference to the potential. However the two largest contributions, Delhi and Mumbai will continue to be the country’s biggest markets. Source: McKinsey Global Institute Report 2007.#p#分页标题#e#
 

Currently the Tier I markets that is cities with more than 4 million households account for nearly 60 percent of the market with the Tier II market accounting for the balance 40 percent market share. The Tier I market is very important due to the higher disposable incomes, the lifestyles prevalent, the opportunities for the general practioners particularly for special therapies and the steep rise of healthcare standards.
 

The Indian Packaging Industry is also growing at a fast pace of 14% annually with an expected turnover of around US$ 3 billion for the year 2010. With the cost of drug discovery running in several millions of dollars and a huge investment in R&D many pharmaceutical discoveries are now becoming high value and low volume based. In this context the pharmaceutical packaging assumes a very vital role in delivering a total value product to the customer.
 

Packaging has become a very important part of pharmaceutical companies as the innovation in drugs and the novel drug delivery system reach new heights. There is considerable focus being made by companies in providing total value proposition to the global pharmaceutical sector by using packaging as a functional tool and integrate it to a part of the pharmaceutical product. Due to the unique requirement of pharmaceutical products, the pharmaceutical packaging also has to ensure the quality of the drug at the time of delivery in terms of impact harmful reactions to natural conditions, and to preserve shelf life. Packaging not only provides protection to the drug but also decides the potency and the shelf life of the product. It is seen that inappropriate packaging leads to great losses of drugs in terms of loss of their critical activity profile over a period of time. That is why the need is felt to acknowledge packaging as an integral part of the medicine.
 

The third definition would include minimizing costs of reusing, recycling or disposing while maximizing sales. Research has shown that it is more effective to adapt the execution of advertising to local preferences as cultural dimensions influence the way in which people perceive (and accept) different advertising forms.
 

From this perspective it is likely that the same holds for packaging design, as it is a communication tool as well. The results of this research on the influence of culture on the communicative value of packaging design might help brand owners to make decisions on globalization and localization of their brand representatives.
 

The traditional packaging matrix model (Lockhardt Model in Table I) considered the packaging functions as protection, utility & communication operating in the human, physical and ambient environment. This would be the basis of our discussion in order to evolve the marketing strategy. In additional to the traditional roles of protection, utility in terms of product dispensation, and communication in terms of labeling, now the pharmaceutical manufacturers have incorporated several new technological innovations that are modifications to the existing attributes and several other technological innovations that are new to the Indian market. This has been identified in the literature and also tested by the author for the four major metro cities in India. These new innovations in the packaging are providing the valuable edge to the product giving the competitive advantage to manufacturers for incorporating it in their marketing strategy. From the research done by the author the valuable innovations in the packaging have been proved to increase the product sales as the physician and consumer identifies the value offer. These value innovations have become user friendlier to the administrator or user. Also the packaging has become more unique or different from the normal offer made by the competition thus making the total product offer unique therefore enhancing the core competencies of the pharmaceutical manufacture. This competitive advantage is helping the maker to take advantage of the growing market share in an intensively competitive market. The synergy that the unique package offers to the product is what the pharmaceutical maker is trying to establish. As packaging is not bound by IPR issues the advantages that the originator gets could be offset by the generic maker if the total product offer which includes the unique innovative packaging is really valuable in terms of utility and protection. It is therefore important to identify the winners in the innovative packaging of pharmaceutical products in order to get the first mover advantage in terms of the total product offer. In the growing market it is wise to find out which is the right segment to approach to get the good returns on the investments made. In the strategy it is therefore vital to find out the proper market segment to make the value offer in the right manner. Niche targeting would give the market strategy an edge over competition thus enhancing the product sales thus improving the efficiency of the targeting.#p#分页标题#e#
 

In the marketing game the consumers see the pack ultimately. This means the package is a vital differentiator of the product. The traditional marketing mix looked at the differentiation of the product; however the packaging has now emerged as a key differentiator (Arnold, 2003). The package is an extension of the product in several ways by contributing to the performance of the product in terms of the utility and shelf-life maintainance and final usage.
 

In terms of marketing strategy it is important to find a value proposition that is unique and that which works for the consumer. This value propostion would become more attactive in case the supplier finds an appropriate market niche. Rarely does a product be all things to all people. This means the producer has to carve out or develop the product which responds to a particular segment (Paul Green, 2000)
 

There are several gaps that exist in the packaging of pharmaceutical products with reference to Packaging functions. This research attempts to study under what conditions and through which the Packaging functions would create a competitive advantage in terms of evolving suitable marketing strategies. Very often the decision makers face the dilemma to justify their decision making related to packing as their analysis of the packaging functions are done individually and often without the full understanding of all the requirements needed by the customer. The result would be some companies would be blaming their failures on a certain part of the market mix which is not the case.
 

Lauterborn has suggested that McCarthy's 4 P marketing mix classification can be viewed by suppliers as the customers' four Cs, i.e. customer value, cost to satisfy, convenience and communication (the 4C perspective). (Olsson A., Györei M. 2002).
 

As the borders are growing vaguer and consumers are beginning to look more and more alike. Many products are marketed in a number of different countries — some even worldwide. Here some marketer would consider opt for a local or a global packaging design. In this sense there would be a possibility of a global packaging design (L van den Berg-Weitzel, G van de Laar 2001).
 

An under explored aspect of the package is its colors and pictures. We have to determine what, if any, impact these aspects have on consumer beliefs regarding important product characteristics.
 

Research on consumer products (Bone P.F., France K.R 2001) has found that even when very concrete verbal information is used, graphical representations have a significant and long-term effect on product beliefs and purchase intentions. This would be studied for pharmaceuticals product (liquid oral) in this study. Ethnography can also be used during the evaluation stage to study market acceptance of the new product or service and how the new product or service should be positioned in the market.#p#分页标题#e#
 

Creating the right branding for a new product or service requires the correct positioning of a product in the market. This can only be done if there is a deep understanding of customer behaviors, beliefs, desires and values and how they relate to the product offering. By the use of ethnography this deep customer understanding can be gained. Once this is known a marketing message can be created describing how the new product or service provides value and addresses the needs of customers. The marketing message can also be written so that it is in line with the beliefs, desires and values of the customers being targeted (www.lightminds.co.uk)
 

There appears to be little sustainable design or even eco design work, in either the product or packaging field, that has specifically involved the user, this is surprising given that consumption is a key driver for production. In a market economy, the main responsibility for environmental degradation lies with the consumer. However in reality, ordinary consumers have little knowledge of the links between consumption patterns and their consequences and have little power to affect the market place. In a highly industrialized society, knowledge and responsibility are so diffused throughout the supply chain that no one really feels responsible (Heiskanen, E. and M. Pantzar 1995). It is understood that value change is needed. However, values are embedded in culture and new values are neither quickly nor easily taken up. As this work involve consumers and their consumer feedback. It must ensure that no behavioral change from consumers is required to realize the sustainability benefits of any product/packaging outcomes.