"Adapting CRM as a clulture, not a tool, will benefit pharma"

Just a few years ago, customer relationship management was a visionary project for most pharmaceutical companies, a high-technology concept that could deliver better knowledge and access to customers, But now it is nothing less than a necessity, according to Fonny Schenck, a former Johnson & Johnson executive who is now leading the CRM practice at Across, based in Belgium.

In an interview with EyeforPharma, Mr Schenck said that many companies remain unable to shift the focus of marketing and sales teams from using CRM as a reporting tool to embracing it as a culture, thus missing the greatest potentials it can deliver.

Adapting CRM as a culture means Pharma can achieve something profoundly helpful - its sales, marketing and other teams will be able to view customers from the same perspective, including all significant interactions (and their cost) between the company and the customer. Next to delivering more opportunities to provide tailored messages and materials, this will help to produce more accurate return on investment and effectiveness assessments at the customer level, he says.