I've used some very good CSOs in the past, but it does seem like many are outdated organisations now that everyone is trimming back on the sales force. As we move to smaller more focussed teams, can a CSO ever really "sell" your product as well.
So, will CSOs survive the next five years?
Interesting question. It seems people have been asking this for a few years now but they seem to have largely survived. However, I do wonder if we're now entering a new phase in promotion that could see fresh challenges for CSOs (social media, specialist forces, payer focus etc.).
In my view they (at least the good ones) will adapt, but I could be wrong!
If they've got the right people with the right training there will always be a market for them. It's a lot easier (and cheaper) to switch off and on a CSO team than it is to hire and fire your own.
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After pharma is going for niches (might be big in $) , shrinking their own field forces, loosing grip on the street owed to frustration and non-implemented changes, a well kept CSO can be worth a lot, both having and providing it. Although there is one key prerequisite to be really kept in mind: CSO people must be highly skilled, widely empathetic, properly incentivised and perfectly equipped from marketing.:!:
As for me, theirs is the future - as a marketing tool, rather not for promotional handshakes.
The future of CSOs is dependant on what Pharma see as its core copmpetences, Pharma is outsourcing more and more functions one could argue that CSOs exist as a result of the outsourcing movement many years ago. Each pharmaco will need to decide its core comeptences and then decide whether the other functions can be provide moe cheaply by outsourcing or by doing ti themselves (make or buy decision) mindfull of the quality level, speed, flexibility and other such criteria. So do CSOs have a future - yeah provided they are felxible, meet customer need and reflect current thinking and best practice
It's dangerous ground for big pharmacos to start saying they can't sell the drugs. If they're shipping out R&D to the biotechs and now can't sell...what exactly can they do?
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kermit - reps don't sell drugs, at least not alone. They are one element of the strategic mix. The role of pharma is to manage that overall strategic mix across channels, brands and countries. This involves both internal and external resources where required, and using our size to leverage external resources most cost-efficiently.
So I have no problem with CSOs and happily use them when they are required. There's more to a big pharma company than test tubes and sales reps.
I'm not saying that reps is everything, but surely that kind of mass market sales should be in the domain of big pharma???
@ay1978 and @kermit - I can see where you're both coming from. I think it would be extremely unwise for any big pharma to completely outsource all sales. You get a degree of corporate spirit and buy-in from in-house teams that is difficult to engender from CSOs, in my experience.
However, there is a place for CSOs were specialist expertise is needed or you want a quick on-off sales force and I don't see this changing.
steve9 said
However, there is a place for CSOs were specialist expertise is needed or you want a quick on-off sales force and I don't see this changing.
Yes and no. Most of the time you should have good long term visibility of the need for such skills and be able to plan ahead for it internally. For me, if you're going into a market seriously the benefits of an in-house team will outweight the costs.
I'm not sure where quick on-off sales forces will yield a benefit other than as a result of bad planning, which is not somewhere you should be anyway.
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