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92% of Physicians Influenced by Opinion Leaders
More than 92% of physicians say they are swayed by opinion leaders and social networks, according to a December 2006 research report released by Harikesh Nair, assistant professor of marketing at the Stanford Graduate School of Business; WOMMA Advisory Board member Puneet Manchanda, associate professor of marketing at the University of Chicago; and Tulikaa Bhatia, assistant professor of marketing at Rutgers University. The report, titled "Asymmetric Peer Effects in Physician Prescription Behavior: The Role of Opinion Leaders," indicates that marketing to these physician opinion leaders can boost revenues by an average of 18%.
Other findings:
* 95% of physicians say they find out what opinion leaders think about a drug from personal contact, 79% by interacting via conferences, 67% by meeting in clinical settings, and 32% by scientific articles published by the opinion leaders.
* The 15 largest pharmaceutical manufacturers spend approximately 32% of their marketing on opinion-leader activities.
* The industry as a whole is estimated to spend approximately 24% of its marketing budget on opinion-leader activities.