Marketing mix strategies adopted by pharmaceutical companies in Kenya

Abstract

In order to keep up with the competition and changing consumer needs and wants in the competitive business environment, pharmaceutical companies need to use effective marketing mix strategies in managing for them to survive. Changing consumer needs and business environment has necessitated pharmaceutical companies to adopt marketing mix strategies to gain competitive edge hence attracting and retaining customers. Product, price, place, promotion, People, process and physical evidence strategies have remained key roadmap of any successful pharmaceutical company. Adoption of effective marketing mix strategies promotes customer loyalty hence social economic developments in Kenya. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. The target population for this study was the staff at the marketing departments of the 43 pharmaceutical companies operating in Kenya. The study carried out a census of all the staff within the department of marketing in 43 pharmaceutical companies. This study utilized a questionnaire as the data collection tool. Data collected was analyzed through descriptive statistics with the help of SPSS. It was established that quite a number of pharmaceutical companies use marketing mix strategies but on a little extent due to internal and external challenges in the business environment like high costs associated with marketing the pharmaceutical products, inadequate training of staff on customers care relations by the pharmaceutical firms and ineffective policies formulated by the Government and relevant authorities to promote the pharmaceutical industry. Therefore, the study recommends that pharmaceutical companies should embrace strategic marketing practices for their survival in the dynamic and competitive business environment through embracing information technology.