ABSTRACT
The successful analysis and interpretation of marketing data or, for the matter, any data, is contingent upon a number of factors. These factors are relevant whether the analyst is working with data reflecting a group of five physicians or with data on the millions of transactions that are represented in the warehouse withdrawal audit. Warehouse withdrawal audit is a service that measures the withdrawal of pharmaceutical products from the pharmaceutical wholesaler and from major drug chain warehouses. This chapter discusses the services and data which have been labeled as market research, marketing research, or marketing services and data. There has been an expansion of the over-the-counter pharmaceutical market in recent years, but the most fundamental business of pharmaceutical companies still remains the production and marketing of prescription pharmaceuticals. A large number of market and marketing research services have been developed for the pharmaceutical industry by independent research companies, sometimes referred to as service agencies or suppliers.
