精致的平衡

A Delicate Balance

當談到嚴格的溝通監(jiān)管問題時，醫(yī)藥行業(yè)的CMO們總能從金融服務營銷人員那里學到一兩手新東西。

When it comes to strict communications compliance issues， pharmaceutical industry CMOs can learn a thing or two from financial services marketers.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. We all know that. We also know that the most common side effects to today’s pharmaceutical products seem to be headache， facial flushing， bluish or blurred vision， diarrhea and liver or kidney problems.

If there is any industry in which marketing is governed by a stricter set of regulations than time-tested financial services， it is the burgeoning pharmaceutical industry. With a significant amount of compliance experience under his belt， does the financial services CMO have any insights that can help the pharma industry CMO navigate her way through dangerous marketing waters?

Without a doubt.

Historically， financial services marketing has been governed by strict Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) guidelines that are intended to protect the investor from misleading performance claims. In the pharmaceutical industry， we now have the Food and Drug Administration’s Division of Drug Marketing， Advertising and Communications (DDMAC)， which is charged with actively enforcing its own brand of regulations to protect the consumer from misrepresentative claims. While the performance characteristics of financial instruments are influenced by very different circumstances and dynamics than pain relievers and other prescription drugs， CMOs in both sectors face similar challenges as they bring programs to market.

What’s more， CMOs who are active in other industries that fall under regulatory eyeballs may see something of themselves in the challenges their brothers and sisters face in pharmaceuticals and financial services. What follows is a look at some of the common challenges facing pharmaceutical and financial services marketers—and the ways to overcome them.

Know the rules. First and foremost， as a financial services or a pharmaceutical CMO， you must have a deep understanding of the compliance guidelines for your respective industry. It is not in your best interest to delegate this essential capacity to staff members or agency partners， since you must be able to speak authoritatively about compliance issues with other senior management team members.

That said， it is imperative that your team also has a complete understanding of all compliance tenets. Ask any financial services CMO of the wasted motion that usually accompanies trying to drive marketing programs forward without first fully considering the regulations. Or ask about the time lost with the unnecessary iteration that accompanies the piecemeal reconciliation of compliance detail.

Avoid the rush to production. Just as patience is a virtue for the financial services CMO， it will reward the pharma CMO as well. Developing and launching marketing programs in both sectors requires much more evaluation， reflection and deliberation than in other industries. It goes without saying that bringing a leukotriene receptor antagonist to market is more complicated than launching a sneaker. Just as financial services marketing elements must be passed under the watchful eyes of counsel on the way out the door， pharma-marketing initiatives must be reviewed by internal resources—such as medical directors， regulatory liaisons and lawyers—before programs are submitted to DDMAC for review. Plan conservatively and allow more time than you think you may need.

Every financial services CMO has a story to tell about a program that was rushed through before all the compliance issues were thoroughly vetted and resolved. Each of these stories has a similar ending: Expensive revisions were required and valuable time was wasted. All kinds of pressures will exert themselves upon the pharma-marketing process to bring your program to a more presentable “finish” well in advance of its compliance sign-off.

Recognizing that a program requires many approvals from many constituencies， the pharma CMO should put off high production costs—such as filming， original photography and final printing—for as long as possible， or until the threat of revision has completely subsided.

Build a team of experts. Creativity and entrepreneurialism are no substitute for domain expertise. Create a team of folks who have already succeeded in your marketplace. Any financial services CMO with tenure can spin quite a yarn about how much she has invested in helping others scale precipitous learning curves—and how little return it has generated.

While your team should make a place for members who have not learned all the things “you can’t do，” seek out some gray-haired， experienced counsel—folks who have passed this way before. Give them key roles. Trust them. Your process will be that much more streamlined.

Clearly define responsibilities. Make sure your team members know their roles and are completely qualified to handle them responsibly. Just as there are many dimensions to a financial services program that require stewardship， pharmaceutical industry communications demand similar attention. No one on your team—particularly you—should be expected to handle everything knowledgeably. Your job is to coordinate all of these important capacities and to make sure they are integrated and choreographed appropriately.

The successful financial services CMO already has someone on staff who knows if a concept crosses SEC lines， just as the CMO has probably recruited a designer who understands the ins and outs of typography guidelines that are peculiar to the industry. The pharma CMO needs to identify the dimensions of a marketing campaign and build his team to include individuals with complementary areas of expertise.

Work together. Along similar lines， bringing a financial services program to market requires the highest degree of collaboration. Successful financial services CMOs have known for some time that team members who adopt defensive postures can inhibit productivity.

Pharma CMOs are advised to take a page from the financial services marketing handbook: Build strong teams and make sure they perform that way. There is no substitute for regular meetings with team members at all levels to discuss strategies， marketplace developments and competitive efforts. Make sure to schedule in some fun， too， so the team is conditioned to enjoy each other’s company.

Understand the brand culture. Just as the leading financial services brands have their own unique promises， each has a corporate culture that informs how it does business internally and externally. Leading financial services CMOs have taken great pains to study their brands’ risk propensity and organizational behaviors， molding their own career strategies responsively so as to be successful.

As pharmaceutical brand promises become sharply differentiated， the CMOs in this industry need to develop understandings of their organizations’ tolerance for risk and degree of entrepreneurialism， and then make a concerted effort to color between the lines. One pharma company may be far more willing than another to challenge DDMAC compliance assessments. Make sure you know which one you’re working for.

Know which battles to fight. Finally， in spite of all the rules， regulations， and dos and don’ts， there is much subjectivity at play here. Ironic? Yes， indeed. The financial services CMO has learned not to shrink from the occasional informed challenge. She knows how to pick her spots—precisely which battles to fight. The pharmaceuticals industry CMO should take inspiration from this. Perhaps the key DDMAC governance concept of “fair balance” is just that， a commonsense rhythm created by the promise of a therapy’s performance offset by the attendant risks and possible side effects.

This balance， like many compliance issues， is very delicate. The pharmaceutical industry CMO is well advised to take a close look at how CMOs in the financial services marketplace have struck this equilibrium， time and again. Learning the lessons of past financial services CMO performance can have a profound impact on your future results.

過去的成績不足以說明未來。關于這一點大家都明白。我們也知道當今藥品最普遍的副作用似乎就是頭疼，面色潮紅，感光或視力模糊，腹瀉以及肝腎問題。

如果說還有哪個產業(yè)的營銷監(jiān)管比久經(jīng)考驗的金融業(yè)還要嚴格的話，那就是正在蓬勃發(fā)展的制藥業(yè)了。具有大量監(jiān)管經(jīng)驗的金融服務業(yè)首席市場官們，有沒有什么獨到的見解以幫助制藥業(yè)的同行從營銷這一片渾水中趟出一條路?答案是肯定的。

一直以來，金融業(yè)的營銷都受到美國證券和交易委員會（SEC）指導準則的嚴格管理，這些準則旨在保護投資者遠離被歪曲的公司業(yè)績。在制藥產業(yè)，成立了美國食品和藥品管理局藥物市場和信息部（DDMAC），負責實施由他們制定的監(jiān)管條例以保護消費者遠離虛假信息。盡管金融工具的工作特性受到不同環(huán)境的影響，其變化發(fā)展也甚于止痛藥和各種處方藥。但是兩個行業(yè)的首席市場官們在將計劃付諸實施時都會面臨相似的挑戰(zhàn)。

此外，那些在其他行業(yè)同樣受到監(jiān)管的首席市場官們，對于制藥業(yè)和金融業(yè)的同行們所面對的挑戰(zhàn)也許會感同身受。接下來我們會看到這兩個行業(yè)所面臨的共同挑戰(zhàn)——以及解決這些問題的辦法。

了解規(guī)則 作為金融業(yè)或制藥業(yè)的一名首席市場官，首先也是最重要的一點是你必須對所在行業(yè)的監(jiān)管條例有一個深刻的了解。最好不要將這項重要的職責委派給你的員工或代理伙伴，因為你必須要在其他高管面前有權威地談論監(jiān)管問題。

也就是說，你的團隊也絕對有必要對所有的監(jiān)管原則有一個透徹的了解。你可以問問任何一位金融業(yè)首席市場官做無用功的問題，這些無用功通常是在沒有充分考慮到監(jiān)管規(guī)定的前提下就貿然推進銷售計劃。或者問問由于不必要的重復造成的時間浪費問題，這種重復最后也必須一點點地按照監(jiān)管規(guī)定加以糾正。

避免沖動型生產正如耐心是金融業(yè)首席市場官的一項美德，制藥業(yè)的首席市場官也同樣會從中受益。在這兩個行業(yè)內開發(fā)和啟動銷售計劃要比其他行業(yè)通過更多的評估、思考和慎重商議。不言而喻，將白三烯素受體拮抗劑投放到市場要遠比推出一款跑鞋復雜得多。正如金融業(yè)的銷售計劃在出爐前必須通過法律顧問的審查一樣，在計劃呈交美國食品和藥物管理局下的市場和信息部 (DDMAC)審查前，制藥業(yè)的營銷活動也必須經(jīng)過內部資源——例如業(yè)務主任，監(jiān)管聯(lián)絡員和律師的評估。必須謹慎地進行設計并留出多余的時間。

每一位金融業(yè)的首席市場官都會告訴你，往往在徹底審查和解決所有的監(jiān)管問題前，公司會倉促批準某項銷售計劃。所有這種情況都有一個相似的結尾：計劃要經(jīng)過修改，費用高昂，寶貴的時間也被浪費了。各種各樣的壓力都會對藥品銷售過程施加影響，目的是讓你的計劃在考慮監(jiān)管問題前就有一個更像樣的“結尾”。你要明白一個計劃需要得到許多顧客的批準，因此，制藥業(yè)的首席市場官應設法推遲昂貴的生產成本的發(fā)生——就像攝影、洗印和最后的印刷——時間要盡量拉長，或者直到修改的威脅已經(jīng)完全消除，再進行下一步工作。

組建專家組 創(chuàng)造性和創(chuàng)業(yè)精神不能替代專業(yè)技術。把那些在你的行業(yè)中業(yè)已成功的人組織起來。任何一位金融業(yè)的首席市場官都會夸夸其談，談他為了幫助員工降低學習曲線投入了多少多少錢——以及因此產生的回報是多么小。

當然，你該為那些自認為無所不能的年輕人留個位置，不過還是應該找一些上了年紀的有經(jīng)驗的法律顧問——這些人曾經(jīng)桑海，經(jīng)過歷練。對他們委予重任，深信不疑。這樣你的流程將會大大精簡。

責任明晰 讓你的隊員們明白他們所扮演的角色，讓他們完全有資格處理相應的事務。對于一項金融業(yè)銷售計劃來說，許多方面都需要合作，制藥業(yè)也同樣如此。你的團隊里沒人——特別是你——應該事事精通。你的工作是協(xié)調這些重要的崗位，并確保他們被整合在一起，配合默契。

成功的金融業(yè)首席市場官所需要的員工必須要知道他們的某項服務計劃是否在美國證監(jiān)會（SEC）的監(jiān)管范圍之內。這正如同首席市場官招聘了一名設計師，這個人要了解排版的細節(jié)，而這種細節(jié)正是每個行業(yè)所特有的。制藥業(yè)的首席市場官需要確認一項營銷活動的方方面面，在組建團隊時也要招聘那些知識能夠互補的人員。

一起工作 同樣道理，將一項金融服務計劃投放市場需要最大程度的合作。成功的金融業(yè)首席市場官們要明白，有些時候那些態(tài)度保守的隊員將會阻礙生產力的提高。

制藥業(yè)的首席市場官也可以從金融業(yè)的營銷手冊中取經(jīng)：組建強大的團隊，確保團隊的正常運轉。任何活動都不能取代與全體隊員討論戰(zhàn)略、市場發(fā)展和競爭成果的定期會議，要在一種輕松的環(huán)境下制定計劃。同樣，整個團隊也能在這種氣氛下相處融洽。

理解品牌文化 成功的金融服務業(yè)品牌擁有他們獨一無二的承諾，每一家公司都擁有一種企業(yè)文化，通過這種文化可以了解公司是如何處理內外事務的。成功的金融業(yè)首席市場官們都會煞費苦心地研究各自品牌的風險傾向和組織行為，并會相應地調整他們自身的職業(yè)戰(zhàn)略以便取得成功。

由于制藥企業(yè)的承諾千差萬別，這個行業(yè)的首席市場官要不斷了解企業(yè)的風險度以及企業(yè)家精神的發(fā)展程度，然后在這兩者之間做出努力。一家制藥公司也許比另一家公司更愿意挑戰(zhàn)市場和信息部的監(jiān)管評估。你要明白你在為哪家公司工作。

明白要進行的戰(zhàn)斗 最后，盡管有所有這些標準、規(guī)定、什么該做什么不該做，但是實際操作中還是帶有較大的主觀性。具有諷刺意味嗎？是的，的確如此。金融業(yè)的首席市場官已經(jīng)學會勇敢地面對時不時發(fā)生的公開挑戰(zhàn)。她知道如何選好位置——也就是準備進行什么樣的戰(zhàn)斗。制藥業(yè)的首席市場官也應該從中獲取靈感。也許DDMAC監(jiān)管概念的關鍵 “公正平衡”也正是這個意思，一種由承諾創(chuàng)造的常識，即對一種療效的承諾會抵消由此產生的風險和可能帶來的副作用。

這種平衡就像許多監(jiān)管問題一樣非常的微妙。制藥業(yè)的首席市場官要仔細觀察他們金融業(yè)的同行是如何一次又一次打破這種平衡的。學會從金融業(yè)首席市場官過去的表現(xiàn)中吸取教訓，會為你未來的業(yè)績帶來深遠的影響。