Customer vs. end user: Pharmaceutical brands, who is your target?

Editor’s note: Warren Shapiro is vice president, qualitative practice, at Lieberman, Great Neck, N.Y. 

The online business dictionary defines end user as a “person or organization that actually uses a product, as opposed to the person or organization that authorizes, orders, procures or pays for it.”

The term "end user" entered the lexicon some years ago via the IT industry as a way to differentiate between the people who actually use the software or hardware and the customers, the folks who purchased these same items. In some cases, the customer and the end user are the same person. For example, if an individual buys a personal computer or software to meet their own personal preferences and needs, that person is both the customer and the end user.

In other cases, the customer and end user may be different groups or individuals. An example here is a company purchasing computer hardware and software based primarily or solely on the company’s needs and priorities, which may or may not be the same as those of the end user(s). In fact, the needs and preferences of the customer and those of the end user may be diametrically opposed. For example, security may be of key importance from the company’s perspective, while ease of use may be the highest priority for end users. And as most of us experience every day, increased security, while important, rarely if ever makes things more efficient or easier to use.

Most pharmaceutical companies would assume they know who they are focusing their marketing efforts (and dollars) on. In fact, most do. But the first and most obvious questions are: Are you focusing on the right target? Are you focusing on the customer (i.e., the prescribers), on the end user (i.e., the patients) or both?

Those of us who work in pharma, bio-pharma and medical device market research have observed this aspect of competitive priorities; the needs and preferences between customers and end users can be quite intense. Sometimes it's clear the end-users' priorities and preferences rule! A good example: Among erectile dysfunction drugs, it's clear that the end user's needs and preferences hold enormous sway over the market. Patients ask their doctors for brand names based on what they have seen on direct-to-consumer (DTC) ads on TV and other media, as well as what they have heard from friends, co-workers and family members. There's no question doctors write the prescriptions and ultimately control what patients get, and are therefore the customers because they are the decision makers. However, market forces are influenced to a great degree by the end users: the patients themselves. These drugs directly treat the patient's symptoms in a way patients can feel and observe on their own, and that tends to make patient preference more influential because they are fully aware of the drug's impact on their lives.

But end-user preferences do not always take precedence. A contrasting example is that of statins. These drugs treat a condition that is typically asymptomatic, and patients don't feel better or directly observe changes in their daily lives when taking a statin. Blood tests are the primary source of diagnostic information, and these are done only once or twice per year. The impact statins have is much more indirect from the patient's point of view, so they are less likely to ask for or have a preference for one brand over another. This makes it a much less patient-centric class of products. So while DTC ads have been helpful in this market, a focus on the physicians/prescribers – who are the customers but not the end users – has been the major focus of marketing initiatives.

So where does market research fit in here? It’s important to know who to talk to, the users or the customers. While admittedly it’s often good to know what both groups think, it’s even more important to know who your main target group is. Sometimes it’s the customers, sometimes it’s the end users and sometimes it’s both.

Experience and market familiarity play a huge role in knowing where to focus when going into a marketing campaign or market research initiative. Market knowledge and medical expertise are essential elements in guiding good research toward “the right target.” There is no secret formula. Hopefully I have made a decent enough argument for “it depends.” I've seen clients focus marketing dollars on both sides of this model, and while there is no right or the wrong group, clearly there are more and less productive targets. Through a good collaborative process, it's possible to track the research toward the most productive target group, ultimately resulting in both actionable results and reduced costs.

In these times of investor scrutiny, cost efficiency demands that researchers help identify the correct group to focus our research efforts on. Good market research is more than just asking the right questions - it’s knowing who to ask!