How We Can Help
Industries which have significant sales and marketing budgets, particularly in pharmaceuticals and FMCG, usually collect huge quantities of data through their CRM system as well as their financial spreadsheets. But turning what can be millions of rows of data into useful information is a challenge for busy executives. MPL analytics can perform this task for you, peeling away the layers of data like skin from an onion. The core of your data is the source of sustainable competitive advantage.
How do I create a Promotion Response Model?
The most fundamental analysis that should be conducted is the creation of a robust Promotion Response Model for each product that is actively promoted. This allows appropriate allocation of promotional resources, including sales and marketing activities, at a national level. The following subsidiary questions can all be answered once one or more Promotion Response Models have been created.
- How do I maximize return on my promotional budget?
- How do I maximise sales from a mature product?
- How do I free up resources for a product launch with least impact on the existing portfolio?
- How do I reorganize my budget post-merger?
- How do I maintain post-launch momentum?
MPL can deliver: The impact of each promotional activity on sales, how these activities work together or in combination. This allows for zero budgeting and allocation of resources to activities that generate high ROI and cutting back on activities that generate low ROI.
This can start with a high level national analysis but should include a robust regional analysis. A robust analysis can lead to the creation of a Promotion Response Model for each key product. Interaction between product promotions and carryover effects from campaigns can all be explored.
Click here for our screencast on the Promotion Response Models
How can I allocate sales to reps in mirror territories, contract teams or co-promotion partners and compensate based on sales outputs rather than inputs?
Many companies have several representatives selling the same product in identical or overlapping territories. This may be true of internal sales forces or perhaps contract teams or co-promotion partners. Sales output data is readily available but how can sales be allocated in a way that fairly reflects the impact each salesman has on results, rather than simply splitting compensation according to sales input data KPIs such as call rates or frequency?
MPL can deliver: A robust analysis of your CRM database that identifies patterns of activity which translate to successful sales outputs. This allows for a more sophisticated allocation of sales within a territory than a simple prorata division of KPIs. MPL can generate sufficient information from your data (providing its is granular) for meaningful compensation discussions and pay for performance contracts with contract reps and co-promotion partners.
Click here for our screencast on Compensation and Incentives
How do I optimise call frequencies and customer targeting?
Providing accurate guidance to sales representatives on optimal call frequency according to customer type and further guidance on customer targeting is essential to avoid wasted effort.
MPL can deliver: A robust analysis of the data in your CRM system, identifying sales according to call frequency, thus eliminating wasteful and counter-productive calling. Sales attributable to target and non-target customers can also be quantified. Target data is usually provided from few sources so it is unsurprising if your competitors also focus their calling efforts on the same clients as your company, thus diluting the benefits of additional calls. Checking for target "wear-out" should be done annually to ensure reps are getting best results from their calling programmes.
Click here for our screencast on Call Optimisation.
What is the advantage of regional analysis?
Many companies are decentralizing their sales and marketing activities, giving more autonomy, even budget responsibility to Regional Managers. It is essential to know the sales which are impacted by intrinsic regional effects, independent of market potential or the degree of promotional activity in the region.
MPL can deliver: A robust and accurate calculation of the impact of regional effects (such as local buying groups, opinion leader influence, cultural useage differences, even management itself) on sales. This gives context that is useful to managers and identifies those critical marketing success factors that national level analysis would not identify. It is also essential to know when intrinsic regional factors impacting sales vary significantly between regions. This will allow for differential resourcing decisions.
Click here for our screencast on Regional Resource Allocation.
How can I improve Sales Force Effectiveness without restructuring?
Restructuring is costly and damaging to morale and although it may be necessary to adjust to falling sales or changing patterns of prescribing influence there is no excuse for not using analytical techniques first. This is inexpensive and represents low-hanging fruit.
MPL can deliver: Identification of several realized strategies within your sales force. Each strategy represents a pattern of activities which the sales rep chooses to pursue with their own frequency or regularity, such as diary calls, follow up calls, group meetings, territory planning and so forth. Each strategy has an associated sales success. MPL can provide a template of activities to the First Line Sales Manager which can be used to coach the poorer performing reps and encourage migration of their behaviours towards those of the top performing reps.
Click here for screencast on Sales Force Effectiveness (Strategy)