An Action Research to Develop Marketing Plan Using the A3 Concept: A Case Study of Pra-Sa-Ma-Waeng Lozenges

Abstract

Objectives: To develop a marketing plan based on the A3 concept for Pra-Sa-Ma-Waeng lozenge and to evaluate such plan in brand A. Methods: This action research was comprised of four phases. Phase 1 or planning involved the collection of data to formulate the plan. Collected secondary data were lozenges’ sales, customer information, and information on production site. Primary data collected were attitudes towards use of herbal medicines, opinions on the marketing mix and policies on herbal medicines, production of herbal medicine and marketing of herbal medicines. These data were collected by using structured interviews with 4 groups of informants including 1) 3 authorities in purchasing medical supplies; 2) prescribers of herbal medicines, i.e. 3 physicians, 3 Thai traditional medicine practitioners and 3 pharmacists; 3) 30 patients/consumers of this lozenge; and 4) 3 staff members of production facility of brand A. Phase 2 or doing involved SWOT analysis and TOWS matrix of the plant of A, the lozenge’s market in the province, root cause analysis of low sales of A, and marketing planning using the A3 concept. Subsequently, some projects in the plan were implemented for 3 months. Phase 3 or observation was the evaluation of the plan implementation. Phase 4 or reflection was based on the information on identified problems for suggesting how to improve the marketing plan and recommendations for production plant of A. Results: The marketing plan set the following marketing goals--1) increase number of buyers to ≥10 within one year and 2) increase sales of this drug by ≥ 50% within one year. Root causes of low sales included 1) non-sachet packaging that was different from what  consumers wanted, 2) lack of marketing functioning, 3) inconvenience/difficulty in ordering, 4) price was higher than that of competitors, and 5) no policy to support the use of this lozenge. The resulting marketing plan consisted of strategies on products and services, prices, distribution channels and promotion. Short-term evaluation found that 1) the number of buyers increased to 18 2) sales of this drug increased for 14% from the past and 3) four projects were successfully implemented, such as drug purchase through the Line application. The study identified five problems, such as the risk of having a single target group that was a public hospital. Implementation of this project resulted in the following  recommendations: 1) more market research was needed, 2) more target groups was needed, 3) the product should be improved according to the needs of target group 4) a distribution center should be set up with the status of a juristic person and 5) The information system of production premises should be improved, and 6) more staff members should be recruited to meet the workload and essential skills such as marketing skills should be developed. Conclusion: Applying the concept of the A3 in formulating marketing plans helps resolve the problems at their causes. It also helps to carry out marketing efforts according to the quality cycle allowing continuous improvement.