Initial Situation
The medical technology subsidiary of an international Group has a worldwide presence as a provider of products and services for transfusion services and clinical laboratories. The portfolio also includes blood glucose measuring devices and blood glucose testing strips for the purpose of the self-controlling of diabetics. This market is strongly characterised by discount agreements whereby the provider has concluded agreements with various medical insurance funds, among others, with the Association of Substitute Medical Insurance Funds, vdek. These discount agreements are supposed to now be announced promptly in the relevant segment of the pharmacy market.
Solution
The Sales Unit conceives a referrer dialogue which focuses on the overall total of 12,500 pharmacies and, during the personal telephone call, places the focus on both the current discount agreeements as well as also the advantages for the pharmacies during the conversion of the patients to the discounted blood glucose measuring systems and particularly the testing strips. Depending on the sub-target group being contacted as well as the individual course of the telephone dialogue, a new ISO norm and the resultingly-required conversion to conformant systems are placed as important arguments.
In addition to sending information on the theme per fax, all requests from the pharmacies are documented by the Sales Unit’s Healthcare Team after more extensive Field Staff contacts as well as orders of measuring devices and testing strips are forwarded to the customer upon a daily basis so that the customer can respond with visits and shipments as soon as possible.
Within only 11 weeks, the target group–which consists of more than 60 % of the overall German pharmacy market–is successfully contacted by telephone and thus made aware of the aut-idem conversion. The sales of the aforementioned blood glucose measuring devices and blood glucose testing strips thus develop positively while requiring only a moderate budget.