The importance of market research is not just well known and accepted but also widely used in a majority of B2B and B2C industries which have direct interface with the end customer / consumer. Be it Banking, FMCG, Financial Services, Retail, Food, Consumer Durables, Consumer Non-Durables etc., Market Research is serious business. No investment decision or deployment of resources is ever done without a deep and thorough understanding of the end consumer behaviours, attitudes, beliefs and emotions. It is these insights that qualify as deep understanding that can be made relevant to the company brand and that resonates or rings a bell in the mind of the target customer. Since millions of dollars are at stake, it is only prudent to deploy meaningful market research to get an understanding of the business situation at hand and then develop appropriate strategies based on the research outcomes. However, this methodical approach is seen in less than 10% of even the best managed companies. Over reliance on gut feel, presumed understanding of markets and customers accumulated through so called years of experience and presumptive hunch or scenarios have replaced the true market research. While there is no denying a certain degree of value on gut-feel or “going with the flow”, it must be understood that there is no substitution for real insights that come only through real world research. Real insights give the marketer a real understanding of the market situation, consumer preferences, reasons for shift and competitive dynamics. It eliminates all preconceived notions, biases and subjective feels however strong or rational they may seem. It brings to the table the truth however unpalatable or contrarian it may seem to our business. This is the beauty of market research that needs to get appreciated if we are to create and build meaningful value to our organizations and businesses.

So how does our pharmaceutical industry fare in this area? Globally, the field of market research and competitive intelligence is highly revered and respected one. Millions of dollars get spent on market research every year by big pharma. Developing key insights of physicians, patients, payors, and other key stakeholders is a full time function in global pharma. Hundreds of employees with market research background get to work on every aspect of the market research process across all stages of the life cycle – right from product concept, Phase 1 upto pre-commercialization, pre-launch, launch and post launch. Different tools and techniques get extensively used for getting the right information which then get crystallized into insights.

In India, our study has shown that not more than 5% of all pharmaceutical companies do any form of market research, leave alone meaningful research. Field surveys get routinely done by many companies if the Product Management needs information on own brand or competitor brands or a disease area. However, these field surveys have limited or perhaps no value. For one, a high degree of responder bias (usually in favor) is likely to creep in since the respondent knows that it is the company rep who does the survey. Secondly, accuracy of information can be severely compromised. Third, you may not get the right information that you are looking for. Hence surveys cannot substitute market research which is the professional, unbiased and real way to get information. Companies sometimes prefer surveys through field force as a substitute to market research due to cost considerations – it is virtually free to do a survey than spend lakhs on expensive research. But this is certainly fraught with risk since you decide to deploy big investments based on findings that emerge from rudimentary surveys that have little or diminished value. Placing investment bets on field surveys may not always be the wise thing to do. It may become a case of penny wise, pound foolish.

Perhaps the most important decision even after a company decides to employ market research to find answers to problems, is the choice of the market research partner. The above 2×2 diagram (reproduced from the book The Customer in the Boardroom, Prof. Rama Bijapurkar, IIM Ahmedabad) is very helpful in understanding the nuances of Business vs. Customer Understanding in Business. It is evident from the above diagram that Management Consulting firms and Market Research firms are opposite sides of the spectrum. While Management Consulting firms possess very high business understanding, they may not always possess a deep and granular end customer understanding. Diametrically opposite are Market Research firms which possess high end customer understanding but may not possess any or very little business understanding. So obviously, there is a gap that exists in terms of trying to meet the requirement of High Business and Customer Understanding at the same time. This is especially critical in our life sciences and pharmaceutical industries when companies need a very high level of both dimensions from any research exercise. It is imperative to get deep insights of physicians, patients, pharmacists and other stakeholders who are critical to our business. Hence you would need a firm that brings in outstanding commercial acumen and wealth of experience (high domain knowledge of business processes, therapy areas, industry enablers and barriers, business models in specialty and mass therapy areas, regulatory frameworks, sales management function and overall business P&L) along with rich market research background and/or expertise. This Holy Grail will be most welcome since the real world market research findings will power the final commercial and strategic recommendations made to companies as a result of the deep understanding of both domains. The quality of recommendations would be of highest order, detailed, acutely focused on the problem, real time and outcomes driven.

Intellectus Consulting has built the consulting services line for the past year and aims to be the preferred and chosen partner in what we call Consultative and Insightful Market Research. We aim to create highest value for our clients through most meaningful and impactful research outcomes. With a highly qualified and experienced Market Research Team, we create the the right research outcomes which then get translated into highest quality, strategic business recommendations due to the rich and varied commercial experience of its Partners. We have delivered high quality projects for both MNC Innovator companies and top notch Indian companies who truly believe in the power of Market Research and desire meaningful business outcomes. More projects are currently underway and in the pipeline as this post is being written.

For more information and interest, please free to call Shailesh Rau on +91 9008930920 or drop in a line at shailesh@intellectus-consulting.com or sprau71@gmail.com