Understanding the needs of French pharmacy decision makers

The Challenge

A leading manufacturer of health and beauty products identified a new opportunity in the cosmeceuticals market, and wanted to launch a range of new products to be sold exclusively through the pharmacy channel in France.

Research was needed to refine the propositions and provide a deeper understanding of this key retail channel including how decisions were made around which brands and products to stock, support required from manufacturers related to POS materials, training and support outside of the core product offering

Our Approach

Bryter undertook a multi-stage programme of research with a range of independent pharmacies across France, covering large urban based pharmacies and smaller independent pharmacies in suburban and rural locations

An initial programme of digital ethnography was conducted with pharmacists where they documented and reported back on the structure, layout and design of their pharmacy, uploading images and video of shelf displays, POS materials and storage areas, and reporting back on customer interactions that had taken place over a two week period.

This was followed by a series of in depth interviews with decision makers for brands and products stocked to understand what motivated them to stock products and interviews with pharmacists who made recommendations to customers to understand what was ultimately driving recommendation of the client's and competitor brands

The Outcome

The research highlighted key differences between the needs of pharmacists across different regions of France and the catchment they served. This allowed the client to tailor their offer to meet the needs of a range of different pharmacy types and sizes

The research also highlighted the importance of support services for pharmacies that went beyond the product. This helped them to refine their sales rep strategy and put in place new initiatives around pharmacy training and additional support materials to help pharmacists promote their product range