Pharma on Demand

Why Generic CRM platform might not be a good fit for Pharma sales teams?

Pharma companies make huge investments for the manufacturing of the drugs. Thus, it is obvious that they expect a good ROI (Return on Investment) by increasing their sales. There are many Pharma companies investing in a Pharma CRM software to increase the sales and also maintain good relationship with their clients. The main agenda of making use of these advanced technologies is to gain loyal clients or prescribers.

That being said, your sales reps commonly known as medical reps are the ones who act as a bridge of contact between the pharmaceutical and healthcare professionals. The sales reps promote and sell their company’s products or drugs to the clients. The clients may be doctors, chemists, healthcare centres and hospitals etc.

The main responsibilities of the Pharma sales team is –

Identify the prospects
Organize appointments or meetings with the prospects
Demonstrate the products or drugs to the prospects
Have enough knowledge about the drugs
Maintain the overall record
Negotiate contracts
Write reports and other necessary documents.

Etc…..

Read our blog – 6 Ways CRM in Pharma industry ensures continual growth

The sales reps have heavy competition in the market. And just like your sales team there are thousands out there. And more importantly, the world is going digital. Many physicians at present prefer online communication rather than face-to-face conversation. With the increasing workload to the sales reps, the Pharma’s are adopting pharma CRM software to make their tasks efficient and accurate. But, if you are thinking of implementing a Generic CRM software, you could be headed down a costly and difficult path. This is because your Pharma will require various customizations in the pharmaceutical software for its right use. Besides the customizations, Pharma sector is one such sector that requires to focus on long term relationship with its clients. Whereas, the generic CRM cannot be as effective as a customized CRM. The generic CRM captures only 10% of the total client’s information.

Limitations of a generic CRM for sales team

Multi-tenant environment

Multi-tenancy is a better option for Pharmaceuticals which wish to get started with fewer hardware requirements. Here are some limitations of multi-tenant environment –

They may be vulnerabilities if a cyber attack occurs.
Backup and restoration is not possible.
There is less control over the environment, which means the generic CRM provides lesser customizations to the users. Therefore, it reduces the control over the environment.
If any issue occurs with a single tenant, the others will also be affected.

It is true that the multi-tenant environment also comes with various advantages and is also a popular one. Yet the multi-tenant environment has its own limitations.

Rigid standard objects

A generic CRM consists of rigid standard objects which requires customizations or additional set-up.

Capabilities

The generic CRM does not provide capabilities like –

360 degree view of information
Opportunity management
Customized reminders and alerts
View of activities
Self-service provider access

One size does not fit all

The generic CRM offers “one size fits all”, which might not be beneficial for your Pharma sales team. Every Pharma is different from another and requires specific customizations which suit or fit in the Pharma. But, if you go with a one size fits all software the main pain point for the client can be that the tools tends to struggle with the basic flow of the day to day usage.

Read our blog – Mistakes which ruin CRM and sales process

Why not Generic CRM?

While choosing a Pharma CRM software for your Pharma make sure that you have the right guidance. There are en number of generic and customised Pharma CRMs available out in the market. But, choosing the right Pharma CRM for your Pharma can be a challenging task. Before investing in a Pharmaceutical software, may it be a Generic or a Customised CRM make sure that the implementation of the Pharmaceutical software can help your sales reps to work efficiently. Your sales reps are the ones who will help you to achieve your goals. Thus, providing them with the best Pharmaceutical software with added features that fits in your business is essential.

Read our blog – 3 Simple Secrets to Stay Ahead in The Generic Pharma Competition Using a CRM for Pharmaceutical Companies

Provide customized cloud based CRM software for your Pharma sales team

The various features for your sales team in a customized cloud based CRM are –

1. 360 degree view

A 360 degree view of your customer or client is a feature that provides the overall information of the customer’s experience and journey with your Pharma.

In the Pharma CRM it also provides the information regarding the customer’s details like – client name, contact number, specialization, availability hours, birthdays etc.

Read our blog – Use CRM for Pharmaceutical Industry to become Customer centric

2. Automated reminders and alerts

The CRM provides reminders and alerts for the sales reps. These reminders are set for follow ups, pending inquiry, payments and wishes etc.

3. MR Reporting system

The MR Reporting system is one of the most essential features of the Pharma CRM.

The MR Reporting system comes with a user friendly interface.
It saves time, cost, paperwork and also minimizes errors or mistakes .
The availability of MR Reporting system in android based Mobile apps helps to track MRs through GPS.
Every visit made to the doctor, chemist or clinics are tracked and displayed on the map with the route location.
With the help of the E-Detailing app in the MR Reporting system, you can minimize the cost of printing visual aids.
You can also submit the Daily Call Report (DCR) to your managers or headquarters from anywhere at anytime.
Product detailing can be provided to the doctors, clinics or chemists etc.
The product module contains –
1. Reference IDs
2. Chemical composition
3. Unit of measurement
4. Category/subcategory.
5. Purchase/transaction price.
6. Active/Inactive access control
Gifts and sample inventory and distribution can be managed and updated with comfort on the MR Reporting system.
Validations and checks are maintained to ensure timely submission of DCRs.
Chemist Personal Order Booking, visits of stockists can be recorded.
The MR Reporting system ensures sales data capturing and analysis process.
You can be benefited with target vs. achievement analysis with graphical representatives.
You can get an automatic calculation of primary and secondary sales.

4. MIS and Reports

The Pharma CRM provides automated MIS and reports for your sales reps. Thus, they need not have to spend hours together to prepare manual reports. Another benefit of these automated reports are – they eliminate manual errors.

Read our blog – Transform your business with CRM software

Conclusion

The generic CRMs are low cost programs which offer basic functionality and expensive programs; with expanded features which can be customized according to the requirements. These customizations can be costly if you need to address workflow. And these low cost solutions come with minimal customizations.

Ultimately, every Pharma is different from another. It totally depends upon your decision whether to use a generic CRM or a customized Cloud based CRM. The custom built or customized CRM software comes with a system tailored to your requirements. They provide you a competitive advantage as well as work efficiency.

SalesBabu medSFA CRM provides a practical solution for the medical representatives to manage their day-to-day work activities efficiently with less time wastage and more productiveness. It also helps managers or administrators to monitor their MRs and assist them when necessary. The pharma CRM comes with personalizations to fit into your business and enhance your business activities and maximise revenue.
If you are still not using a Pharma CRM, get your Pharma CRM at SalesBabu medSFA software. You can visit our website https://www.salesbabu.com/ and to request for a free demo.