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Pharmaceutical CRM Assessment

Pharmaceutical CRM Assessment

The purpose of (CRM) Customer Relationship Management in its simplest form is to tie the customer to a company’s brand (Lundstrom & Wright, 2005). Pharmaceutical companies have spent billions of dollars annually to improve their CRM processes and increase customer satisfaction to retain customers (DeFelice, 2005). The biggest downfall of Customer Relationship Management processes for this industry, according to McGuire (2005), is a company’s poor visualization of objectives. McGuire (2005) also adds that the point of CRM is to align existing operations with new consumer perspectives. If any customer interface frustrates a customer, the communication breaks down along with the company’s ability to satisfy customers. This report researches the competitive world of CRM innovations and the market leaders within the industry – (PR Newswire, 1996).

Some of the top creators of CRM process for pharmaceutical companies are: Oracle: Siebel Systems (2010), Terrasoft (2003), Adami (1987), Cegedim (2010), SalesForce.com (2010) and Microsoft (2010). According to Carlson (2010) the two top competitors in this field are Oracle: Sieble Systems and SalesForce.com.

There are several benefits and uses for these programs including; tools for sale representatives, linking pharmacies and physicians, sorting targeted customer segments, and allowing physicians to make quicker decisions so they can spend more time with their patients (McKay, 2009). The main point of CRM processes is to streamline sales and processing times from the drug companies to the physicians and ultimately to the patients – (CRM Software Industry, 2010).

Based on market analysis the use of CRM within this particular industry is projected to grow 4.9% annually – (PR Newswire, 1996). Overall, global CRM growth is projected at 9 to 14% annually (CRM software industry, 2010). Oracle: Siebel was chosen for...