METABICAL CASE STUDY REPORT
INTRODUCTION
Excess weight had become a big crisis in the US, affecting about 65% of the adult population leading to different kinds of health complications. In the past, several manufacturers had introduced various weight loss products like over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, herbal products, supplementary fad diets, etc. All of these have proven to be unsuccessful because of their ineffectiveness, severe side effects and lack of credibility among consumers. At this juncture, Barbara Printup, the Senior Marketing Director of Cambridge Sciences Pharmaceuticals (CSP) wants to introduce CSP’s newest revolutionary prescription drug, Metabical. It is the only FDA approved prescription drug for overweight people, which has minimal side effects and long term benefits.
PURCHASING DECISION MAKING PROCESS (Q1) The communication strategy of Metabical targets both the health care provider and the consumer. Depending on the initiators there are two different purchase decision processes in the purchase of Metabical for the overweight problem.
1. For Customer:
a. Problem identification:
The various health awareness programs, BMI table etc help a health conscious or beauty conscious individual to identify the overweight problem.
b. Information search: Once the problem is identified the individual decides on the course of action. He/She may decide to either ignore the problem or work on it. Metabical is interested in the group of individuals who are ready to take action and reduce weight. These individuals are prospective consumers; they look out for ways to reduce weight. The advertisements, campaign, pamphlets etc are some of the means used by companies like Metabical to reach these consumers with information.
c. Evaluation: The prospective consumer evaluates each of the available options based on various criteria. In our case, the criteria may