Departments
Guest Column
Competitive advantage increases
with comprehensive and rigorous
decision analysis
By Nach Dave and Ruzbeh Bharda
What does it take to give your biopharmaceutical product the best chance of succeeding in today’s marketplace? It takes a series of strategic decisions, and Primedsys has that decision-making process down to a science. They call it Decision Science: a combination of tools, data and calculated algorithms that form an integrated solution.
Primedsys takes a holistic approach to the entire development process, using a scientific methodology of selection, elimination and optimization. Strategic decisions are made in terms of defined models that point to the most dependable choices. These include models for decision making under conditions of uncertainty or multiple objectives; techniques of risk analysis and risk assessment; economic analysis of competitive and strategic decisions; and computer modeling software and expert systems for decision support.
Analyzing different situations and predicting possible outcomes is the basis of all problem solving at Primedsys. The information helps clients manage their decisions as a portfolio process: Clients know where they are spending across a range of initiatives and how their resources are allocated. Regular project reviews are conducted to determine if the investments remain aligned with the strategy, given the latest market and business conditions.
Primedsys’ Decision Science solution follows an eight-step decision process flow:
Step 1: What is the business need or objective?
Step 2: What are the decisions you need to make in order to achieve that objective?
Step 3: Define the scenarios that might results from these decisions.
Step 4: What is the probability of each of these scenarios occurring?
Step 5: How do these decisions impact each other when driving toward the end goal?
Step 6: Provide quantifiable measures of alternatives under consideration based on these probabilities.
Step 7: Choose the optimum parameters that will define your decision.
Step 8: Review and recalibrate.
All the solutions Primedsys provides — from epidemiology studies to competitive intelligence to market potential assessment to forecasting — integrate the principles of decision analysis.
As an illustration, consider the case of the Southeast Asian market, where Primedsys developed a positioning strategy for a leading OTC pain brand losing share to a new competitor. Initial analysis from secondary data as well as market research showed that the “me-too” brands were using price as a competitive edge.
Primedsys’ client did not want to compete on price. Instead, Primedsys and the client decided to create a new market for the brand among younger customers who were not being targeted by any brand for relief of acute pain. To create a young, hip brand identity, Primedsys devised three tactical options:
1. Positioning to a younger audience
- Create a differential in terms of cheaper competitors
- Emphasize the distinctive benefit of a better formulation
- Identify the brand with youth-related pain (sports injuries)
2. Promotion strategy to target a younger base
- Youth-oriented advertisements
- Online promotions, search engine optimizations/marketing
- Website surveillance, online reputation management
3. Packaging and distribution
- More youthful brand colors
- Easy (sliding door) tablet dispenser
- Online availability
Primedsys then analyzed each of these options based on possible outcome scenarios. These outcomes were quantified in terms of ROI, based on market potential and investment required. Primedsys then determined the probability of success of each of these scenarios using relative importance of the tactics they entailed, analogs and interviews with stakeholders.
Primedsys provided its client with a quantitative assessment of each scenario and its inherent parameters, along with a clear “reason-to-believe” for each option presented. This gave the client a scientific basis on which to make the critical strategic decision to enter a new market.
Primedsys (www.primedsys.com) offers single-touch enterprise marketing solutions for the life science, healthcare and pharmaceutical industries. Headquartered in Singapore, with regional offices across Asia, Primedsys is a key strategic partner of global companies venturing into Asian markets.
