1. Non-Personal Professional Promotion (NPP)
Targeting – A Key to Success
Jay Bolling, President
Identifying and reaching your best ‘prospects’ (not necessarily your best customers today) is a key to the
success of NPP efforts. Different from traditional sales targeting that’s based primarily on Rx ‘behavior’
(i.e., deciling physicians by Rx volume), NPP targeting should take into account several data sources to
ensure you’re reaching the best prospects:
1. Behavioral
2. Attitudinal
3. Geographic
Behavioral
Behavioral data is best leveraged by using a multi-layered segmentation model and physician data
warehouse that uses a scoring algorithm based on NRx/TRx trends, category potential, product share,
physician specialty, called-on status, reimbursement information, client-defined prescription increase
goals, and other key market factors.
Each physician receives a score that defines their communication stream. An automated messaging
system can then measure Rx data against predefined and ad hoc triggers to define and deliver custom
communications that intercept and influence Rx behavior. As a result, promotional messages and
frequency will vary according to the value of each ‘prospect’.
Attitudinal
Effective NPP uses a series of communications designed to appeal to different physician mindsets,
including:
• Clinical (focused on data, outcomes and predictability)
• Physician-centric (focused on practicality and tangible patient benefits)
• Patient-centric (focused on empathy, emotion and patient quality of life)
Interactive components of NPP allow physicians to self-select into one of these mindsets through
response mechanisms that allow them to request support resources most relevant to them. Subsequent
communications can then be developed to appeal to each mindset’s approach to patient care.

2. Geographic
Identifying Opportunity Zones™ enables NPP to create significant promotional impact where it makes
the biggest sales impact, rather than spreading promotion thinly over a large geographic area. To do so,
one must define the key factors that drive a brand’s business, determine the geographic areas that have
the highest concentration of each factor, and overlay them to identify geographic areas where they
intersect. The key drivers for success generally fall into three categories shown in the table below:
Patient Factors Provider Factors Payor Factors
• Prospect density, • Category, brand and • Medicaid status
demographics and ethnic competitive Rx volume/ (advantaged/disadvantaged)
concentrations trends • Managed care formulary
• Patient density • Sales force coverage (detail status (co-pay variance)
• Acculturation and frequency) • Contract status
socioeconomic factors • Geographic alignment with • Account Manager activity
• Rx utilization (treatment targeted treatment-
• Competitive activity/
receptivity) receptive patients
contracting
• Disease incidence • Practice demographics
• Geographic alignment with
(specialty, KOL status, etc.)
• Prevalence of concomitant • Targeted treatment-
conditions receptive patients
• Alignment with participating • Targeted physicians
retail pharmacy partners