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An Exploratory Research on
the Importance of Interpersonal Skills for Developing Brand Image by Medical
Representatives in Pharmaceutical Companies at Ranchi |
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| Paper Id :
17913 Submission Date :
2023-07-28 Acceptance Date :
2023-08-15 Publication Date :
2023-08-22
This is an open-access research paper/article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. For verification of this paper, please visit on
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| Abstract |
Interpersonal skills play a great role in the development of any human being as well as the organization. Medical Representatives visit Doctors, Stockiest and Retailers and they persuade them to promote a particular brand / company, which is totally led by the interpersonal skills of the Medical representative. One of the major objectives of the researcher was to analysis the importance of interpersonal in brand building at Pharmaceutical Company by Medical representative. The research carried out is a combination of exploratory and descriptive research. The population of the research is medical representatives with a sample size of 100 respondents with the help of random simple convenient sampling. As per the findings of the researcher interpersonal skills have a great significance in the development of brand image as good communication skills, product knowledge, motivating capacity and presentation skills persuade Doctors, stockiest and retailers to promote a particular brand/product. This research will prove to be beneficial for academia, industry and society and will try to unfold many hidden facts about the importance of interpersonal skills
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| Keywords | Interpersonal skills, Pharmaceutical sector, Brand Value, Medical Representative, Salesmanship. | ||||||
| Introduction | Interpersonal skills play a great role in the development of
any human being as well as the organization. Interpersonal skills are the set
of qualities and or virtues, a person holds which varies from person to person.
This may include good communication skills, motivating capacity, leadership,
salesmanship, public speaking and presentation, body language and so on. A
person with these skills is considered to be perfect in terms of interpersonal
skills. The modernization of the present world has kicked the requirements of
these skills in the present era of cut throat competition and almost all
organizations are in search of the new talent having these skills.
Interpersonal skills also have a great role to play in the development of any
organization for building brand image. Since companies are represented by its
employees and not as an individual personality. The way they talk and represent
themselves, show the brand image of the organization. Pharmaceutical sector is
also not untouched with this virtue, since mostly Medical Representatives visit
Doctors and they persuade them to write down the prescription of a particular
brand / company, which is totally led by the interpersonal skills of the
Medical representative. They not only persuade the Doctors prescription
dynamics rather the Stockiest and Retailer are also convinced to stock and sell
a particular brand medicines. They interact with patients when they meet with
them, therefore it's crucial that they can establish a connection and properly
communicate difficult medical facts. No doubt that a prominent brand and
quality products are the first requirements of the above but despite that brand
image created by Medical Representatives through their internal virtues has a
great significance in this. Mostly companies conduct rigorous training sessions
in pursuit of developing interpersonal skills of their employees and spend
millions of rupees every financial year since they are aware that personal
human touch has a direct impact on the creation and development of brand image
rather than any other media. To check on the behavior of medical representative
in India we also have The Indian Pharmaceutical Industry Associations, Which
also keep an eye on the trainings conducted by the companies for their MRs as
they are the representative of the medical industries. |
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| Objective of study | 1. To analysis the importance of interpersonal in brand
building at Pharmaceutical Company by Medicaln representative. 2. To explore how interpersonal skill are effective in brand
image before Doctor. |
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| Review of Literature | Hunter, K. et al. (2023) Understanding the phrase
soft skills and its core capabilities is required before developing the soft
skills regarded vital for future accounting professionals. The authors
contribute to this knowledge by defining an accounting-specific definition of
soft skills and outlining a collection of competencies that form soft skills
appropriate to accountants. The authors also explore the work's consequences
and finish by suggesting that soft skills in accounting be referred to as
professional competences.
Beenen,
G. & Pichler, S. (2019) Managerial
interpersonal skills (MIPS) are often regarded as critical for leadership
development. The authors recommend that MIPS comprise five fundamental
abilities that build on one another sequentially: controlling oneself,
communicating, supporting, motivating, and managing conflict. Although the
value of each skill varies according on culture, circumstance, and work, the
authors provide these abilities as a starting point for MIPS assessment,
training design, and evaluation. Alssageer
MA, Kowalski SR (2012)
says that MRs essentially establishes liaisons with physicians and promotes the
company's medications to them. As a result, pharmaceutical firms view the
contact between an MR and a doctor as a crucial component of their marketing
strategy. Lieb
K, Brandtönies (2010),
MRs continue to have an influence on Indian doctors' clinical practices and how
they remain the primary source of information on drug usage. Therefore, it will
be necessary to promote independent academic events for the improvement of their
interpersonal skills. Tapomoy
Deb (2009)
says that direct communication of medical representatives with Physicians is
very effective communication channel, which bring a good impact on the
prescription writing skills of the doctors. Ivancevich
(2008),
says that Individual performance affects organizational performance. It's a
crucial part of organization to help MRs to reach their greatest potential. New
management jobs are created as a result of organizational growth, including
expansion, mergers, and allegations, which also alter the duties of current
positions. There must be qualified candidates available to fill the new, larger
positions. Morgan
MA, Dana J et al. (2006), relates the crucial connections between the doctor and
the pharmaceutical business are made through medical representatives (MRs).
They are representatives from the pharmaceutical firm who regularly go to the
doctor to discuss the company's medication with the physician and to solicit
comments on potential marketing initiatives. Dhanjal Penny (2006), MRs are the critical contacts between the drug business and the clinical calling. They have the obligation of advancing their organizations significant items straightforwardly to general professional's and clinic specialists. They do this through eye to eye gatherings or clinical introductions at different sorts of gatherings. Lifescience Stensa, express in their introduction that to run a successful business for a pharmaceutical company, medical representatives are essential. An MR has a large portion of the responsibility for a pharmaceutical brand's prominence. They are mostly renowned for their capacity to carry out several jobs and actions at once. A medical representative does everything, including establishing and maintaining a company's contact with clients and correctly presenting their products through there interpersonal skills |
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| Methodology | The researcher research is based on exploratory and
descriptive research. The population of the research is medical representatives
working in pharmaceutical companies with a sample size of 100 respondent
selected randomly. Sampling method is convenient sampling. Questionnaires were
based on the interpersonal skills of the medical representatives and it aimed
to find out the set of virtues, they posses |
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| Analysis |
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| Findings |
1. Out of 100 respondents 90% respondents believe that
interpersonal skills help in creating brand value in the market by medical
professional and 10% believe that it’s a myth. 2. 100% of the respondent revert
that interpersonal skills develops healthy relationship between the brand and
the medical professionals. 3. 75% respondents agreed that interpersonal skill
of the medical representative can affect the prescription writing skills of the
medical practioners and 15% respondents disagreed that there is no impact of
interpersonal skill on the prescription writing skills any medical pectioners
and 10% were neutral on this. 4. 90% respondents express that medical
representative can convinced the Stockiest and Retailer to stock and sell a
particular brand medicines which is suggested by the medical representative and
10% express that medical representative cannot change the thoughts of the
Stockiest and Retailer about the product. 5. 99% respondents agreed that
interpersonal skills are inevitable for getting the new business whereas 1% was
not sure about it. 6. 95% respondents believe that interpersonal skills make
strong scientific conversation with healthcare professional for patient care
and 5% were neutral. 7. 89% respondents strongly believe that interpersonal
skills provide multiple dimensions for exploring business whereas 11% were not
sure about it. 8. 81% respondents agreed that effective communication provides
clear information about the market requirements and helps in product
diversification and rest 19% disagree to the statement. 9. 71% respondents
agree that public presentation skills affect the branding of products whereas
20% were disagreed and 9% were neutral. 10. 91% respondents strongly agree that
motivating capacity and good communication skills has a direct impact on public
presentation skills whereas 9% were disagree to it |
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| Conclusion |
After going through the complete research, researcher feels
that in influencing healthcare professionals the interpersonal skills of MRs
plays an very important role. Their skills also play an important role in
branding Pharma Company which they are part in. However, some new MRs fail to
give sufficient and correct information about their products and exhibit a
hostile attitude against those of their rivals, this is due to lack of their
interpersonal skills and training sessions. The most crucial factor in
developing your communication abilities is your willingness to experiment with
various methods. As medical representative are the face of the medical company
their attitude and skills should be put on the right path which give more
benefits to medical professionals and medical companies. In order to stay ahead
in the current competitive world, medical representative also keep up with all
the most recent knowledge. This entails speaking with experts in the field,
including scientists, physicians, and other workers. The more effectively
information is shared; the more everyone learn and gain profit from the most
recent developments. This could only be done by a MR having good interpersonal
skills. They know the need of their audience and work accordingly. These skills
help everyone in working towards the same goal. The goal which is set by the
medical company. |
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| References | 1. Hunter, K., Lee, J. and Massey, D.W. (2023),
"Professional Competencies for Accountants: Advancing Our Understanding of
Soft Skills", Shawver, T.J. (Ed.) Research on Professional Responsibility
and Ethics in Accounting (Research on Professional Responsibility and Ethics in
Accounting, Vol. 25), Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley, pp. 1-24.
https://doi.org/10.1108/S1574-076520230000025001 |
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