The multi-country marketing research function deals by its very nature largely with quantitative information. Making qualitative analyses across borders from a point thousands of miles away is a difficult task and one that is fraught with potential danger, speaking psychologically as well as in practical terms. Therefore, Headquarters studies are largely, but not exclusively, overviews of the world market as opposed to in-depth analyses.
The Marketing Research function in a multinational pharmaceutical company really divides itself into two major sectors: 1. Studies of local markets, which must be conducted in each individual country. 2. Studies of world trends, which must be carried out by a central Marketing Research Department. In our experience, these two functions are complementary.
The pharmaceutical industry is one of the hard-to-classify, unique industries, which does not properly belong strictly to the industrial group, nor can its products be considered as consumer items. Drugs are promoted to one group, the physicians, sold primarily to a second, the pharmacies, while in most countries the ultimate consumer, the public, pays for them even though they are not the object of promotional efforts and are usually unaware of the product's.name, the manufacturer, and even the action which the drug is meant to produce. As a result of this unique method of doing business, the market research required for decision-making has had to take a somewhat different approach than either strictly consumer or industrial areas.