| dc.description.abstract | The focus of this study was on which of the promotional elements evoked
the most positive response on the prescription habits of doctors. Despite
various studies having been done on the need to promote products and the
promotional tools in use in the local pharmaceutical industry, the author
could not find any local study to date that had shown which of these tools
evoked the most positive response from the doctors, consequently, the
justification for this study.
The study sought to achieve the following objectives;
(i) To determine the responsiveness each promotional element
evoked from the doctors.
(ii) To compare the responsiveness of each promotional element
used in the local pharmaceutical industry.
The study found out that the Kenyan pharmaceutical industry used, to
varying degrees, the various promotional techniques, as stipulated In -. marketing literature. These included advertising, personal selling, sales
promotion, direct marketing, and publicity and public relations. It was
revealed that a majority of the doctors (75.8%) experienced daily
promotion of prescription products. The most frequently experienced
promotional technique was personal selling (mean= 1.61), followed by
sales promotions (mean=2.34), whereby firms offered discounts, and
CMEs to try to induce the doctors to prescribe their products to patients.
It emerged from the study that sales promotions, (with 49.1 per cent,
mean= 1.96, of respondents preferring this type of promotion over others),
played a key role in influencing positive response from the doctors. The
doctors seemed to prefer some forms of inducements (e.g. free samples,
CMEs, etc) in order to prescribe products. However, it was also revealed
that the giveaways were mostly misused, as they were given to the wrong,
unqualified people, hence, defeating their purpose. Personal selling (by the
medical representatives) also played an influencing role on doctors'
prescription habits of products, even though the respondents felt that the
medical representatives needed to undergo thorough training on product
and sales presentations.
There was overwhelming agreement that generally, promotions evoked a
positive response on the doctors' prescription habits of products, with 88.7 -. per cent of respondents agreeing to this, hence, there was need to enhance
the standards of promotion. About 37.1 per cent of the respondents felt
that there should be a change the current legislation governing
promotions, in order to conform to the changing global trends where
industry also promotes its products!brands to the general public. In
conclusion respondents suggested to improve the promotional activities
firms should have better trained medical representatives, (16.2 per cent),
inputs from doctors on promotional activities, (19.3 per cent), and frequent
contact with senior managers, (17.8 per cent). | en |
