Parth Patel
Business 1.0
March 17th 2013
Business 1.0
March 17th 2013
Blog #3: Marketing
· How do companies in this industry differentiate
themselves from one another?
Differentiation, in the most literal sense, means what makes someone
or something different. Johnson & Johnson managed to brand themselves
as a family-oriented company. Their products range from lotion to
band-aids to soaps to orthopedics. Companies, in the pharmaceutical
industry, that can set them apart from the rest by making themselves a
household name have already won in the industry, as its very difficult to
differentiate in this industry.
Differentiation in any industry and business is key to survival.
Various companies, like Safeway and Giant, offer the same products, but whether
or not they market and brand themselves is how they differentiate and create
success for themselves. Companies like Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer Co. have
established themselves as strong contenders in the pharmaceutical industry. When I say Johnson & Johnson , a bottle of shampoo
has probably popped up in your head, along with a giggling baby. Similarly, Pfizer is actually a leading research-based company that has
pioneered many innovative treatments like biopharmaceuticals that are like
robot science. Pfizer specifically differentiates itself from other companies
with its specialized product; biotechnology, a new and upcoming form of
healthcare.
Different pharmaceutical companies focus their time and funds to
different methods of marketing for their products. Take Johnson &
Johnson for example, they create products that consumers can find in a grocery
store, skincare products, wound care, and dental care are among their product
mix. On the other hand, AstraZeneca is streamlined towards physical and
health therapy products and treatments that are not necessarily
“pick-up-and-go”, but long-term therapeutic use.
Companies
that are strictly business-to-business, like biotechnology, rely on the success
and reliability of their products. Biotechnology firms will not receive
business if physicians or healthcare specialists do not recommend or use their
products. The diverse mix of products and services offered by these
pharmaceutical companies is what differentiates them from each other.
Parth,
ReplyDeleteI think your blog post is very interesting. I like he examples you use; this makes it very easy to understand how pharmaceutical companies, that ultimately share very similar products, can differentiate from each other. However, I think it would be very interesting to analyze whether or not pricing has something to do with the marketing strategies. And, what about over-the-counter medication VS prescription drugs? Does a company that sell convenient, cheap medications have higher profit?
Hi Parth,
ReplyDeleteInteresting post! I like how you explored AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson differentiation tactics. However, I want to see more analysis. For example, which differentiation strategy do you think is best? Why? Do you think there is a different strategy that the companies can pursue? What is it? Also, remember to include at least 2 comments/blog post!