“ Be Aware of Foibles and Fables? ”
When you build your desirable Authority in Big pharma
People sometimes have their own agendas and will try to sway your decision by giving you the answers that most benefit them. Other people may have their own collection of quirky remnants of information, of which they are unconscious, coloring their response to your inquiries with shades of irrelevance
This is why it is so important to use multiple methods and a decent sized sample population when gathering your data.
Many of the people with whom you choose to consult will already be on your team. Some will be key physicians while others may be consultants working for consulting firms. Their experience can protect your plan from unsafe investments and help you target the use of your resources for the best outcomes. To get this information, your options are to either ask your customers the questions yourself or ask your consultancy firm to ask the questions for you.
My advice is to start with asking your cross-functional team. This is a rich gold mine of intelligence sitting right underneath your nose and often ignored.
The Big Pharma preference is to purchase specifically tailored surveys or conduct exhaustive market research, but there is no reason why your cross-functional team shouldn’t already possess every bit of information that new market research would yield.
Your cross-functional team has a vast amount of information on their desks just waiting to be discovered, but because they are seldom asked, this information remains buried.
In my experience, if more internal research were conducted, there would be little need for expensive market research studies.
When you begin your internal research, ask your team for their sources so you can judge the credibility of the data. Sources could be expert opinions your team members received through discussions with experts in the field. This is a very important source!
However, you must also be aware that the value of your source may be compromised by a number of factors: their insights could be limited by the nature of their medical practices, or if they serve specialty patients, or their geographic location might make their opinions unique.
You should also consider their information within the context it’s given. This is why it’s always a good idea to verify your information with a second source, such as an earlier market research report, your company’s field force reports, or the statistics from your customer relationship management program.