Are you thinking about starting a pharma business? Well here are some figures that will give you some serious inspiration and motivation.
- The projected spend of medicine by 2025 is 1.6 trillion USD (Statista)
- In 2001 the market was valued at just 390 billion, showing huge growth
- The pharmaceutical industry is considered to be crisis-proof
- The typical markup, according to NCBI, is estimated to be 25% for branded products and 28-45% for generic drugs.
Now you are ready to get a chunk of that trillion-dollar market, it’s time to lay the foundations for your new pharma business.
Photo by Startaê Team on Unsplash
Your Niche
Not every business consultant and mentor is created equal. Look for one that has deep experience in the pharma industry. This will allow you to make the most of their experience.
A niche in the pharma market is going to help you long term.
Your pharma niche, once decided, will provide the key for the rest of the groundwork that you need to do.
Business Plan
While some agile, lightweight, and purely online businesses believe you don’t need a business plan.
Your business plan will be your guiding light for your marketing, research, vision, and mission.
A business plan gives you something to keep coming back to and can help you set KPIs for your success.
Competitors
Identify and research your competitors. This research will highlight all of your potential opportunities. You can study their model and improve upon it.
Expenses
Pharma companies usually require a sizable cash injection. Consider some of the expenses and keep a file dedicated to estimates, actuals, and tracking the costs.
Here are some of the expenses that you can expect:
- Rent or mortgage of a building or office space
- Inventory costs
- Staffing costs (how many staff do you need?)
- Research and development costs
- Working capital
- Packaging materials
- Marketing and advertisements
- HVAC, machinery, storage, air locking systems, and more
Those are just a few of the expenses considerations.
Target Market
You will need to deconstruct your market. Breakdown your potential customers by:
- Age
- Gender
- Location
- Income
- Education
- Occupation
- Marital Status
- Hobbies
- Where they buy their groceries
- Which devices they have and use
When you research your target market well, you will create a buyer persona to guide your marketing efforts.
Don’t discount going deeper than the basics. A psychographic breakdown can give you game-changing information about your potential customers.
The information that you compile here will help you decide your sales strategy.
Branding
Branding is essential as it gives consumers an idea of what to expect from you. The colors, style, patterns, and tone provide them with a sense of familiarity when repeatedly seeing it.
Your brand strategy should show customers the role that you want to play in their lives.
Considerations branding success:
- Have a solid brand identity (logo, fonts, website design, printing)
- Show what your purpose is (what do you do, what problem do you solve?)
- Cover your what, how, and why. (what do you offer, how are you different, why do you exist)
- What is your brand mission?
- How should your brand voice sound?
Elements of your marketing plan
There are seven elements to a successful marketing plan. They are often referred to as the 7Ps of marketing.
Product – are your proposed products the right thing for the market? How does it compare to your competitors?
Price – The price of your product needs to stand up to scrutiny. Keep in mind your ideal price might not work with your ideal market.
Place – where will your product be sold? Direct selling? Catalogs? Mail order? A combination of these methods?
Promotion – consider the promotion of your products at all times. How will you promote your products?
Packing – every element of your product should speak of quality and your brand.
Positioning – how do you wish your products to be positioned within your customer base? Which words do you want to associate with your brand?
People – the key ingredient that really matters. People that work within your company. The right people can help get your business moving.
To secure a strong position within the pharma market, research and planning are essential components.
Combining the right technology, people, and the product is a recipe for success.
Throughout the year, our writers feature fresh, in-depth, and relevant information for our audience of 40,000+ healthcare leaders and professionals. As a healthcare business publication, we cover and cherish our relationship with the entire health care industry including administrators, nurses, physicians, physical therapists, pharmacists, and more. We cover a broad spectrum from hospitals to medical offices to outpatient services to eye surgery centers to university settings. We focus on rehabilitation, nursing homes, home care, hospice as well as men’s health, women’s heath, and pediatrics.
