Sticking to the vision
When you have decided on a destination for a trip, it is very unlikely that you will make decisions that take you further away from that destination unless something forces your hand. More likely you will make choices that reduce the time it will take to arrive such as a new route to avoid traffic, or perhaps take actions that will better prepare you for when you do arrive, even if it is takes a little longer such as buying appropriate clothing for the weather. So, it seems obvious that once a long-term strategic horizon has been set by the senior management team, then this strategy should be put at the heart of LCM planning and the decisions for the development of the brand or portfolio. However, for many companies, this is often not the case and can be attributed to a number of reasons:
Development of & key considerations for the strategic vision
Developing a strategic vision for the role of a brand within a portfolio is a critical step that must be undertaken ahead of any ideation or prioritization process. Understanding the key risks to address and opportunities to exploit can lead to the development of targeted LCM strategic imperatives (SIs) that can guide an ideation process. In many successful programs the LCM SIs play an integral role in ‘gap-fill’ ideation following a blue-sky idea generation process. For prioritization processes, alignment with strategy is just as important as measures such as commercial potential, cost and resource needs. For example, if the role of an asset within a portfolio is to drive new launches/expansion then the criteria for assessing the validity of tactics will be different to a product whose role is focused on pure cash generation.
Strategy then needs to inform final option selection and companies should look not just to evaluate the potential of single lifecycle tactics alone but look to clusters of options that will synergize strategically and allow the brand to develop. Options considered in isolation can often lead to significant future challenges, therefore, although obvious to state, it is important to consider the impact of one LCM tactic on the success/viability of a second.
The final consideration for strategy is the importance of alignment of the mid-to-long term plans with the ongoing near-term activities. While we have acknowledged the importance of knowing where your market is going (see previous post), good LCM is equally about shaping the portfolio to the needs of the market and recognizing the need and opportunity to shape the market to the value offered by the product. For example, if the future strategy requires an evolution in stakeholder thinking and behaviors, the shaping activity may need to be initiated well ahead of strategy roll-out. This can only be identified and achieved if strategy is at the core of the process.
While rigidity with respect to the strategic vision is important for the success of LCM, this is certainly not the case when it comes to the processes behind LCM planning – innovation is often the bedrock of success in much of the pharmaceutical industry today and in our next post within the Critical Success Factors for LCM Planning series we will look at how integral this should also be within the LCM process.
