What the first-line manager should know about the brand manager
Dear Friends,
Many of the successful general managers and vice presidents in the Indian Pharmaceutical Market (IPM) have started their career as medical representatives and from there developed themselves into brand managers and later marketing chiefs.
Brand managers have many nomenclatures – ‘Product Manager’, ‘Therapy Manager’, ‘Product Sales Manager’, and in the good old days, they were even called as Sales Promotion Managers. However, the correct title should be ‘Brand Manager’ and as you read the issue, you will know the reasons.
This and the following issue of ‘The Enablers’ deals with brand management.
In Volume II, Issue III, September 2011, an overview of the role of a brand manager in the IPI has been outlined. Many misconceptions of his role have been cleared. What does a brand manager do? Just prepare promotional material, choose gifts or design brand campaigns? These tasks are just the tip of the iceberg.
While the sales management is accountable for the top line, the brand manager is accountable for the bottom line, the profits, and the market share among other tasks.
Read this issue for a deep understanding of the role of a brand manager.
Do let me have your feedback.
Vivek Hattangadi
| P.S. Here is a unique opportunity to sharpen your managerial skills. Please see page 5 of this issue. |
| What the first-line manager should know about the brand manager |
The most important role of the medical representative is generating prescriptions for a brand by executing the strategies and tactics suggested by the brand manager. The perception which the medical representative and the first-line managers have about brand managers is that their most important function is to produce and churn out printed promotional material and visual aids. On the other hand, a competent brand manager hardly spends 10% of his time in this activity. What then is the role of a brand manager? It is to build a strong brand worthy of respect by competitors. The successful brand managers are today general managers, vice presidents or CEOs. Their success lies in making the field force understand and appreciate the brand management process.
Having said this, the question which should now come to the mind of the first-line manager is; what then is the role of a brand manager? Many think it a job full of glamour. Apparently it is, but also involves hard, strenuous work. At times, as during the launch of a new product or during annual budget meets or some such important events, it is a 24X7 job. It is not just the field force which has to slog out from 9.00 am to 11.45 pm to call on a difficult doctor! Even the brand managers do it, but at a different location.
The tasks of a brand manager broadly fall into four segments viz.
I. Understanding the general issues to build a brand.
II. Finding out.
III. Planning and Monitoring.
IV. Making known or advertising.
The general issues include in the brand building process include:
· Appreciation of the marketing concept
· Familiarity with local regulatory affairs
· Technical competence
· Knowledge of distribution channels and systems
A very important point made by David Jobber which brand managers realize is: “… being better than the competition leads to the creation of a competitive advantage.” This is where collaboration between the first-line manager and the brand manager will help the brand to nurture.
The second task is finding out – being inquisitive. This refers to what is essential to be known by a brand manager and needs to be found out to build a mega brand. These include:
· Internal data
· Audits
· Attitudinal surveys
· Brand Testing
Once a brand manager has all this information with him, it helps him in strategizing the brand so that it evolves into a mega brand.
The third task for a brand manager is brand planning and monitoring. A brand plan is a very important written document that gives details about the vital actions and measures to achieve the objectives of the brand. It is an intended course of action required to successfully implement a brand strategy and is a part of the overall marketing plan of your company. It can cover a period between one and five years. Writing a brand plan is not an overnight job. a lot of thought and study goes into it. For a new product launch, writing a brand plan many even take a year! The brand plan is like a ‘Gita’ or a ‘Bible’ to the brand!
The next task is advocacy, communication or making known. And this is where the glamour component comes in. Effective Communication is the key to the successful career of a brand manager. A person with inadequate communication skills is not really appropriate for the job of a brand manager. Communication is a skill area and can be built up and practiced. Brand communication skills have to be developed and honed on an on-going basis.
Would you like to further your career in brand management? Many companies induct senior medical representatives or first-line managers with the right aptitude into brand management. Do await the release of my book: “What The Pharma CEO Wants From The Brand Manager”. This book will help you to appreciate the role of a brand manager and could also serve as a text book in case you want to get into brand management.
A unique once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to develop your skills!
Purchase the hardcopy of the book “WHAT THE PHARMA CEO WANTS FROM THE BRAND MANAGER” and receive complimentary on-line training from Prof. Vivek Hattangadi.
You can opt for a three-month on-line training either on ‘brand management’ or ‘field sales management’.
For further details, please write to vivekhattangadi@theenablers.org
| P.S. You will be happy to know that the entire proceeds from this book, will go to Punyatma Prabhakar Sharma Seva Mandal, (PPSSM) a NGO which runs schools for the mentally and aurally challenged Special Children of God. Currently PPSSM is very active in two schools from Igatpuri, housing 103 Special Children of God from the Adivasis and the tribal families of Nasik district (Maharashtra) and its surroundings. Please do visit www.punyaseva.org for more details. |
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