New Brunswick, NJ—(April 6, 2006) At a conference held at SRI’s 4th annual Pharmaceutical Marketing & Sales Global Summit, industry marketing specialists examined the use of segmentation and targeting strategies to maximize the return on investment. Carl Sailer, Vice President of Marketing & Business Development at PDI, Inc.; Olivier Delannoy, Vice President of the Infertility Business Unit at Ferring Pharmaceuticals; Charles Rink, Director of Sales Analytics at Schering Plough; and Paul Barnes, President of TNS Healthcare, contributed to the discussion.
Panel members described their efforts at geographic, product, sales representative, and physician segmentation to maximize their return on investment. Geographic segmentation involves the equitable distribution of sales reps based on the number of physicians and types of practices in a certain area. For example, a rural area consisting entirely of private practices would require fewer reps than a metropolitan area consisting largely of teaching hospitals. Similarly, product (sample distribution) segmentation would depend on the prescribing practices of a physician or group. Different tactics should be instituted based on the region involved as well as for older versus newer products.
No matter what the strategy, panel members agreed that the tactics must be adopted for the right reason. If a strategy fails, it must be modified. Segmentation and physician targeting should be modified over time to accommodate changes in behavior and prescribing practices and the emergence of more successful strategies. Whenever possible, the success of a strategy should be measured against available data from analog products.
This panel discussion was an excellent opportunity for attendees to learn successful strategies for segmentation to maximize their ROI from experienced industry colleagues. PDI's involvement underscores their commitment to sharing their expertise in market dynamics and changing sales force structures for the betterment of the biopharmaceutical community.
For more information contact:
Stephen P. Cotugno
Executive Vice President-Corporate Development
PDI, Inc.
201-574-8617
About PDI
PDI, Inc. (NASDAQ: PDII) is a diversified sales and marketing services provider to the biopharmaceutical industry. PDI's comprehensive set of outsourced sales and marketing solutions is designed to increase its clients' strategic flexibility and enhance their efficiency and profitability. Headquartered in Saddle River, NJ, PDI also has offices in Pennsylvania and Illinois.
PDI's sales and marketing services include our Performance Sales Teams™, which are dedicated teams for specific clients; and Select Access™, our targeted sales solution that leverages an existing infrastructure; marketing research and consulting; and medical education and communications. The company's experience extends across multiple therapeutic categories and includes office and hospital-based initiatives.
PDI's commitment is to deliver innovative solutions, unparalleled execution and superior results for its clients. Through strategic partnership and client-driven innovation, PDI maintains some of the longest standing sales and marketing relationships in the industry. Recognized as an industry pioneer, PDI remains committed to continued innovation.
For more information, visit the Company's website at www.pdi-inc.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding future events and financial performance. These statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties and are based on numerous assumptions involving judgments with respect to future economic, competitive and market conditions and future business decisions, all of which are difficult or impossible to predict accurately and many of which are beyond PDI's control.
Some of the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements are general economic conditions, changes in our operating expenses, adverse patent rulings, FDA, legal or accounting developments, competitive pressures, failure to meet performance benchmarks in significant contracts, changes in customer and market requirements and standards, the impact of
any stock repurchase programs, and the risk factors detailed from time to time in PDI's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including without limitation, PDI's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004, and PDI's periodic reports on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission since January 1, 2005. The forward looking-statements in this press release are based upon
management's reasonable belief as of the date hereof. PDI undertakes no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason.
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