Physicians' Perceptions of Pharmaceutical Sales Representatives: A Model for Analysing the Customer Relationship

Abstract

Relationship marketing is one of the primary drivers of sales in the pharmaceutical industry. Consequently, it is important to determine how physicians perceive pharmaceutical sales representatives. The purpose of this paper is the development of a theoretical model illustrating the formation of physicians' perceptions of pharmaceutical sales representatives. The three areas of interest are: (1) physicians' perceptions of the corporation for which the representative works; (2) physicians' perceptions of the pharmaceutical sales representative's values; and (3) physicians' perceptions of personal characteristics of the pharmaceutical sales representative. Research is needed in these areas so that prescriptive guidelines for pharmaceutical companies can be developed in the areas of ethics training, hiring practices, image management and corporate communications to the medical community. Research into how corporate and personal values impact a physician's perceptions of pharmaceutical companies and their representatives, may provide these companies with a sustainable competitive advantage.