it takes a marketing database

in order to have an effective and established pRM platform, pharmaceutical consumer marketers first needs a database. A marketing database - not a sales database - not a financial or accounting database - a marketing database. You need a place where you can get the 360 degree around you customer:

• how many times have you contacted that individual
• how many times has he/she responded
• what were the questions/answers from that individual
• how often
• how recent

these and so much more...there are many things you can learn about your customer - you just need a place to hold it all in.

The best analogy for this is that of a local corner store owner back in the good ol' days...the store owner knew each of his customer's likes, preferences, and dislikes. His marketing database was in his head. In the pharmaceutical area, people are still just people and they have their preferences as well (consumers and health care professionals - yes doctors are people too).

There are marketing database providers out there. Which is the best one? It depends on what you're looking for. They all are comparable just make sure you deal with a vendor with pharmaceutical experience with consumer/patient marketing. I have worked with many if not most and for the most part they do a good job.

Here's a recommendation though: have an internal and or external expert manage them. Whoever it is, the expert must have expertise within this niche. This expert must represent you and manage the vendor according to marketing objectives. I'll talk more about the Marketing Database Manager role in the next post.