How to Progress your Pharmaceutical Marketing Career

What does it mean to work in Pharmaceutical Marketing?

Pharmaceutical Marketing roles are B2C focussed, promoting healthcare and pharmaceutical products to consumers via multiple platforms and media. These products are typically substances that consumers can purchase over the counter -  such as vitamins, toothpaste etc. 

Working within Pharma Marketing means utilising traditional marketing methods to build relationships with consumers, encouraging them to purchase your product rather than a competitor’s. This means that you are required to conduct competitor analysis and market research to understand the market. A role within Pharmaceutical Marketing would also require you to be heavily involved in the development of marketing collateral (traditional and digital).

Pharmaceutical Marketing jobs we recruit for:

Common roles that we recruit for within Pharmaceutical Marketing are:

• Associate Product Manager
• Product Manager
• Brand Manager
• Marketing Manager
• Marketing Director
• Digital Marketing Executive
• Marketing Assistant
• Graduate Marketing roles

How can I progress my Pharmaceutical Marketing Career?

Do you have fantastic communication skills (both written and verbal), strong analytical capabilities and a creative flair? Then you could be the perfect fit for a career in Pharmaceutical Marketing.

We have highlighted a few key characteristics below which could be beneficial to your career in Pharma marketing: 

1. Continuous Professional Development 
   Continuous professional development (CPD) will enable you to identify gaps in your knowledge and capabilities. As a result, you can then seek ways to address these gaps, which in turn will allow you to improve efficiency within your job role. Furthermore, CPD will help you stay motivated and gain a better understanding of the multitude of requirements needed to achieve your career goals.
   
   
2. Have a strong interest in Pharma or Healthcare 
   The more passion you have for the sector you work in, the more productive you will be within your job role. Demonstrating your enthusiasm to employers will ultimately open new career opportunities for you as you continue with your career. 
   
   
3. Hold a relevant degree
   Possessing a relevant degree, i.e. Marketing, PR, Digital etc; is a valuable tool that can help put you ahead of your competition and improve your career prospects.
   
   
4. Be open-minded and have a willingness to learn 
   By being open minded, you can effectively enhance your knowledge as you will be learning from those around you. This, in turn, can potentially lead to new career opportunities as you will be developing a broad skill set along the way. You’ll be able to identify which aspects of the role you enjoy and tailor your career path as a result.

What are the downsides to a Pharmaceutical Marketing Career?

To have a successful career in Pharma Marketing, you may need to overcome some crucial barriers:

1. You need to have extensive UK-based experience to transition into senior-level roles.
2. Possessing a relevant degree is a key requirement.
3. Most healthcare agencies are predominantly located outside of London. As a result, if you are wanting to work within the capital and are unwilling to commute, then a role within Pharma Marketing may not be for you.
4. A junior-level salary can be lower than the national average. However, if you are committed to your professional development and progress to more senior-level roles, the financial rewards of working within a Pharma Marketing role can be fantastic.

Can I transition into the Pharmaceutical Marketing sector without previous experience?

It is highly unlikely that you would be able to transition into a senior-level role within healthcare from a marketing role within a different industry. The reason for this is because a key requirement for a role like this is to have high-level experience working within the UK Pharma/healthcare industry. However, if you are looking to transition into a junior-level role within the industry, you do not need to have prior industry experience. Instead, you need to have some understanding of the different sectors you will be working in and possess a marketing degree (or similar).

What career progression is there within a Pharmaceutical Marketing role?

Working within Pharma Marketing enables you to be creative with your work and can open various career prospects for you. Typical career progression opportunities within the Pharma Marketing sector are:

• Marketing Assistant
• Marketing Executive
• Junior / Associate Brand Manager
• Brand Manager
• Marketing Manager
• Product Manager
• Marketing Director
• Senior Marketing Director
• Senior Brand Manager
• Business Unit Director
• Trade Marketing

Looking for a new role in Pharmaceutical Marketing? 

If you would like to find out more about our current Pharmaceutical Marketing jobs, browse our latest vacancies or contact our team on 01625 541 046 or via benjamin@carrotpharma.co.uk.