Product Differentiation

One of the most renowned companies in the United States that deals in products which are of pharmaceutical and medical origin is Abbot.It is reported to generate more than 55% of total revenues in an annual basis One of the key strategies that Abbot himself used to differentiate his products from his key competitors is through rigorous advertisements in the then local dailies and media companies.This was way back in 1890(Carreyrou, 2007). Abbots marketing strategies were so successful that he eventually began operating yet on another policy of selling shares to medical doctors in the year 1900 when he kept rebranding the company’s products and name to the now famous Abott laboratories. It is said that after the First World War, Abbot embarked on vigorous research which necessitated the development and the introduction of new drugs in the market. Later on in the year 1921, Abbot began the expansion policy of setting up new branches for specific drugs and other related products development as well as research laboratories in various states like North Carolina. The range of new drugs included but not limited to sedatives, vitamins as well as tranquilizers.Dr. Abbot’s death later in the year did not deter the company from continuing with its marketing strategies as later on in the year, the company expanded his marketing strategies which were believed to be even more aggressive in approach than before.

Product diversification is yet another strategy that was used later which simply refers to the production of a wide variety of well marked and labeled products in the market. This was done in the mid 90’s. The same products had a wide range of uses with sevoflurane being identified as the drug that served more than one purpose (Carreyrou, 2007. The invention of the “dealing” strategies followed soon afterwards with one of the deal considered largest including the incorporation and the acquisition of the then TheraSense Company at a total cost approximated at 1.2 billion US dollars cash purchase. The kind of incorporation was seen as a way of strengthening the investments in the products that would make it easier in the development of the essential technologies and innovations for the management of human blood glucose. This technology provided the clients with the opportunity of measuring and monitoring of their own blood glucose without necessarily seeking medical attention from health facilities (Carreyrou, 2007). It is later on in the year 2007 when the company saw the need to dispose its branch that specialized in the products pertaining to diagnosis at a relatively cheap cost of as low as 8.13 dollars as a way of specializing in the key areas that were associated with the generation of high profits. The argument was that it was more cost effective to invest more in the business that generates high returns rather than that that produce low returns. It is the same period when Abbot’s policies were met with a lot of critisms his adoption of such policies in marketing more especially with the subsidization of the HIV drugs to clients.

Pfizer pharmaceutical company like Abbot’s is well established and well known for its best policies and marketing policies and strategies of product differentiation. This basically implies that different drugs are well distinguished from that of other competitors by use of unique trade names. It does all these through the discoveries, development and production of pharmaceutical drugs well identified by consumer’s preferences. The drugs are branded to meet the client’s interest. It is worth mentioning that several branches of the company in different regions of the world use different names to brand the product but the similar active ingredient is retained in the drug’s chemical composition( Colias,2006).These products which are perceived to be of great value improves the living standards of citizens by providing the most effective ingredients in the formulation activies.As a differentiation strategy in marketing, Pfizer divided the various sectors of production into three major entitities that includes the sectors of consumer health, that pertaining to animal’s health as well as the general care surrounding human health. Pfizer is regarded to have increased its shares in the market a fact that has greatly contributed to its rapid development and expansion in the pharmaceutical sales sector.

Competitive advantage as a marketing strategy has been chiefly employed by Pfizer as a step to necessitate the company’s efficiency when it comes to competing with the competitors in the pharmaceutical sector. It comprises of sets of strategies that aims at enabling a much healthier business friendlier environment. In order to achieve the competitive advantage strategy, the consumers are provided with opportunities that enable them purchase the products at relatively lower prices compared to that offered by the competitors in the market. In the cases where the prices of commodities are raised, the clients are offered various incentives that take care of the extra cost incurred. Some of these incentives provided may include purchase of goods in installments and through credit terms. Advertising is seen as key activity or component of product differentiation as employed by Pfizer (Dooren, 2007).

This markets the company’s products as well as the company since a lot of trust and loyalty is instilled in the minds and perception of the clients. The motive behind this marketing strategy is to provide a wide range of products in the market so that the consumers are presented with the opportunity to select from the many available products. It is worth noting that even for the similar products, the prices of commodities are defined by the regions whining which they are sold or distributed.            

A detailed business infrastructure is commonly believed to incorporate the intelligence entity has been developed by Pfizer in what is known as Ardent stage. This has enabled the company to build confidence and trust in the company as part and parcel of achieving its marketing strategies.

The last strategy used by this company is that of the Merger of various pharmaceutical departments. The merged areas among others includes those pertaining to the production of the drugs used in treatment of infections and diseases of the eye, hormonal imbalances, cardiac systems and its associated arrests, nervous system disorders among others. Mergers are adopted and used as a means of saving the running costs of the companies since they get rid of the duplication of products and its associated overlaps that would in turn lead to the reduced production costs (Dooren, 2007). Departmental merging is key in the control of the activities of the various departments of an organization or a given industry. It brings together the various planned and channeled activities of a given industry so that focus is on a wide range of products in the shortest period of time possible. Merging is a cost cutting measure employed for example those entailing the equipment used in production. This is because the distribution of goods and other commodities is packed under one roof and transported to distributors using the same mode and means of transport. Merging also helps in reduction of the cost of labour in any manufacturing industry more especially the pharmaceutical industry since the same manager will be able to carryout all the management functions of the business and with as few employees as possible since they are centered in one unit which is the industry.