Tactical shift pays dividends

So says the change in the company culture at Bayer was followed by increased sales—PHOTO BY EDWIN BACASMAS

A sales strategy with long-term goals; the right level of resources and investment; and a talented team which crafts insightful messages and delivers those messages to the target market efficiently.

These factors are responsible for the turnaround of pharmaceutical and life sciences company Bayer’s consumer health business here in the Philippines, which, in 2015, was facing a downward spiral.

“I think we had the wrong culture, at the time. We were too focused on short-term results, without looking at the long-term effect on the business,” says Alvin So, Bayer’s head of commercial operations for Asean Consumer Health. “As a result, we weren’t really focused on doing what was best for our business.”

So, who used to be country division head for Bayer Consumer Health Philippines, says the necessary cultural shift happened within the division after they changed the way they measured success, “from something very short-term, to something more sustainable.”

“In the end, how does a business grow? You increase consumption of your product, because when you increase consumption, your customers—the drug stores, pharmacies—will order more because there’s more demand,” says So.

Back when their competitors were still focused on traditional marketing, So says Bayer decided to turn to digital channels, such as social media, to promote their brands, such as Berocca, Claritin, Rogin-E, and Saridon. They also focused on reaching out to more consumers, rather than just hitting the usual sales targets.

Such shift in strategy rewarded Bayer Consumer Health Philippines with not just with double-digit growth since 2016 (to be specific: 26 percent in 2016; 16 percent in 2017, and 17 percent in 2018), but also the confidence of their parent company to invest more in the local team.“Because of that, we secured additional resources, which we used very well for sharper marketing and sharper approach to sales, which led to tremendous growth for our brands over the last four years,” says So.

The Philippines now serves as regional headquarters for Bayer’s consumer health business in Southeast Asia, something which So says is an unusual move for a multinational.

“Typically, a multinational would have its headquarters in Singapore,” says So. “I’m very proud that [ours is here in Manila], because it means we’ve created a lot of opportunities for Filipino talent to get more senior positions to support not just the Philippines, but also the entire region.” So also beams at the fact that the Philippines has been Bayer Consumer Health’s fastest growing market for the past four years in Southeast Asia, outpacing even the country’s consumer health industry’s growth.

“Just to give perspective: the Philippines’ consumer health market has been growing around 7 percent every year, and [2019] is the fourth time we’ve grown two to three times that,” So says. “To me, that’s one measure of success.”

And here’s another tidbit to boost Filipino pride in Bayer: So says the corporation, not just Bayer Consumer Health, sees the Philippines “as strategically important” to their business, especially since it is also home to the company’s service center, where 800 employees are doing business process outsourcing work for the entire organization.

“Four or five years ago, we only had around 100, so that shows you how we are growing,” says So. “And it shows that [when a company] invests in growing its talent, everyone progresses.”