Writing a situational analysis for a medical brand plan

The situational analysis is a collection of data included in the brand plan to give an overview of how the market, the brand, the competitors and the target markets are doing.

This data forms the foundation of the medical brand plan. If it is done incorrectly, incompletely, or if it is not well understood by all parties, there is a risk that the brand strategies and tactics will not be as effective as they could be.

So plan ahead, and give yourself and your colleagues a substantial amount of time to build, circulate, review and discuss the information amongst the appropriate parties.

Marketers, sometimes with the assistance of a market researcher (in-house or market research agency), collect various data with the objective of using that data to make strategic and tactical decisions. The data collected may relate to the market, brand, customers (physicians, pharmacists, consumers, patients, wholesalers, and many others) and competitors (both existing and pipeline competitors).

Data is expensive, so marketers need to consider the cost of data as part of their promotional expenses in their brand plan, unless the market research department manages their own individual budgets for each of the brands.

Here are just a few examples of the data included that may be included in a situational analysis:

- Script data (TRx total prescriptions, NRx new prescriptions, for brand and competitors)

- Market script changes period-over-period

- Market share (based on TRx, NRx, units and/or dollars)

- Market share within specific target groups (ie. family physicians, physicians within specific specialties, hospitals)

- Analysis of brand or competitor total volume or market share before and after a specific promotional activity or study to demonstrate the before-and-after impact

- Comparison tables between brand, competitors and pipeline products (indications, studies, dosing, formats, patent expiry, price, formulary coverage)

- Behavioral and attitudinal research within customer segments

- Key opinion leader (KOL) mapping

- Share of voice (SOV) comparing brand with competitors. This can be measured for total details, details on specific customer targets, sample distribution, journal advertisement, consumer campaigns, continuing education programs, and various other promotional tactics that are measurable

- Feedback from a sample of sales representatives also provides a glimpse into regional activities