Difference between marketing and selling MCQs With Answer

Understanding the difference between marketing and selling is essential for B.Pharm students entering pharmaceutical marketing, sales, regulatory affairs, or product management. Marketing is a strategic, customer-oriented process involving market research, segmentation, product development, pricing, distribution, promotion, and post-launch monitoring to meet patient and healthcare provider needs. Selling is a tactical, transaction-focused activity emphasizing personal persuasion, negotiation, and closing deals to achieve short-term sales targets. In pharmaceuticals, ethical compliance, evidence-based promotion, brand management, and relationship-building with healthcare professionals define how marketing and selling work together. This overview clarifies objectives, scope, strategies, and examples relevant to pharmacy practice. Now let’s test your knowledge with 30 MCQs on this topic.

Q1. What is the primary focus of marketing compared to selling?

• Maximizing short-term sales through persuasion
• Creating long-term customer value and meeting needs
• Managing inventory and logistics
• Providing discounts to achieve targets

Correct Answer: Creating long-term customer value and meeting needs

Q2. Which activity is most associated with selling in the pharmaceutical industry?

• Conducting market segmentation
• Developing product life-cycle strategy
• Detailing to physicians and closing orders
• Setting long-term brand positioning

Correct Answer: Detailing to physicians and closing orders

Q3. Which of the following best describes a marketing function?

• One-on-one promotional visits by sales reps
• Analyzing patient needs and competitor products
• Collecting cash from orders
• Negotiating price discounts with distributors

Correct Answer: Analyzing patient needs and competitor products

Q4. Time orientation distinguishes marketing from selling. Marketing is typically:

• Short-term and transactional
• Long-term and strategic
• Irrelevant to product development
• Only concerned with distribution

Correct Answer: Long-term and strategic

Q5. In the marketing mix, which ‘P’ is most directly associated with selling tactics?

• Product
• Price
• Place
• Promotion

Correct Answer: Promotion

Q6. Which statement reflects a selling-oriented company approach?

• Design products based on market research
• Focus on aggressive promotion to move existing stock
• Invest in long-term patient education programs
• Segment markets by therapeutic need

Correct Answer: Focus on aggressive promotion to move existing stock

Q7. In pharmaceutical marketing, ‘pull’ strategies primarily aim to:

• Create demand among healthcare providers and patients
• Increase distributor inventory through incentives
• Train sales reps to close orders
• Reduce manufacturing costs

Correct Answer: Create demand among healthcare providers and patients

Q8. Which metric is more marketing-focused than selling-focused?

• Daily sales calls completed
• Sales volume this month
• Market share and brand equity
• Number of orders closed

Correct Answer: Market share and brand equity

Q9. Market research in pharmaceuticals helps marketers to:

• Only increase order frequency
• Understand unmet medical needs and target segments
• Calculate commissions for sales staff
• Decide shipment schedules

Correct Answer: Understand unmet medical needs and target segments

Q10. Which activity demonstrates ethical marketing in pharma?

• Offering gifts to influence prescriptions
• Providing evidence-based educational materials to clinicians
• Misrepresenting clinical data to increase uptake
• Pressuring wholesalers to buy excess stock

Correct Answer: Providing evidence-based educational materials to clinicians

Q11. A sales function typically measures success by:

• Brand recognition in target patient groups
• Long-term adherence rates
• Number of prescriptions or units sold
• Quality of marketing research reports

Correct Answer: Number of prescriptions or units sold

Q12. Which is a key difference in orientation between marketing and selling?

• Marketing is product-centered; selling is customer-centered
• Both have identical goals and methods
• Marketing is customer-centered; selling is transaction-centered
• Selling replaces marketing in ethical contexts

Correct Answer: Marketing is customer-centered; selling is transaction-centered

Q13. Positioning a new drug in the market is primarily a:

• Selling activity performed during each call
• Marketing responsibility involving strategy and messaging
• Logistics task handled by distribution
• Regulatory approval process

Correct Answer: Marketing responsibility involving strategy and messaging

Q14. Which approach is more likely to improve long-term patient adherence?

• High-pressure sales tactics
• Educational marketing and support programs
• One-time discount coupons
• Restricting access to competitors

Correct Answer: Educational marketing and support programs

Q15. In a product launch, the marketing team is mainly responsible for:

• Closing immediate hospital orders
• Designing launch strategy, target audience and messaging
• Counting delivered samples only
• Negotiating distributor credit terms exclusively

Correct Answer: Designing launch strategy, target audience and messaging

Q16. Consultative selling in pharma emphasizes:

• Only pushing promotions to reach quota
• Understanding clinician needs and recommending solutions
• Reducing manufacturing costs
• Focusing solely on price reductions

Correct Answer: Understanding clinician needs and recommending solutions

Q17. Which is an example of a selling tool rather than a marketing tool?

• Segmentation matrix
• Promotional leave-behind materials for reps
• Market demand forecast models
• Patient journey mapping

Correct Answer: Promotional leave-behind materials for reps

Q18. Relationship marketing in pharmaceuticals focuses on:

• Short-term transaction maximization
• Building trust and long-term relationships with HCPs and patients
• Only reducing price for repeat customers
• One-time sampling campaigns

Correct Answer: Building trust and long-term relationships with HCPs and patients

Q19. Which regulatory concern affects both marketing and selling in pharma?

• Good Laboratory Practice only
• Accurate representation of clinical evidence and compliant promotion
• Warehouse shelving arrangements
• Vehicle maintenance for sales reps

Correct Answer: Accurate representation of clinical evidence and compliant promotion

Q20. A marketing segmentation strategy is important because it:

• Ensures identical messaging to all audiences
• Helps tailor products and communication to specific clinician or patient groups
• Eliminates the need for sales representatives
• Only benefits manufacturing

Correct Answer: Helps tailor products and communication to specific clinician or patient groups

Q21. Which describes a ‘push’ strategy often used by sales teams?

• Direct-to-consumer advertising to create patient demand
• Encouraging distributors and retailers to stock and promote the product
• Publishing peer-reviewed clinical trials
• Creating disease awareness campaigns

Correct Answer: Encouraging distributors and retailers to stock and promote the product

Q22. Which is a marketing responsibility during post-marketing surveillance?

• Executing daily sales calls
• Monitoring real-world drug performance and adverse event trends
• Delivering invoices to hospitals
• Managing truck routes

Correct Answer: Monitoring real-world drug performance and adverse event trends

Q23. Which activity helps sales convert leads generated by marketing?

• Field-based clinical detailing and follow-up
• Running market research surveys
• Analyzing prescription databases only
• Developing global pricing policy

Correct Answer: Field-based clinical detailing and follow-up

Q24. Brand equity in pharmaceuticals is built mainly through:

• Repeated price discounts
• Consistent quality, evidence-based communication, and trust
• Only high-volume sales calls
• Reducing regulatory oversight

Correct Answer: Consistent quality, evidence-based communication, and trust

Q25. Which is a common KPI for sales teams but not for marketing teams?

• Prescription growth rate
• Number of scientific engagements organized
• Leads generated from campaigns
• Brand awareness index

Correct Answer: Prescription growth rate

Q26. Which pricing approach is more of a marketing decision in pharma?

• Setting price solely to meet monthly quota
• Value-based pricing aligned to therapeutic benefit and payer willingness
• Giving ad-hoc discounts to preferred customers
• Setting price to clear obsolete inventory

Correct Answer: Value-based pricing aligned to therapeutic benefit and payer willingness

Q27. Which technique demonstrates integration of marketing and selling?

• Marketing develops educational materials; sales use them during detailing
• Marketing works alone without sales input
• Sales ignores marketing campaigns and creates their own scripts
• Marketing only focuses on manufacturing

Correct Answer: Marketing develops educational materials; sales use them during detailing

Q28. Which describes an ethical risk when selling pharmaceutical products?

• Providing scientifically accurate data to clinicians
• Offering inappropriate inducements to influence prescribing
• Conducting compliant medical education programs
• Engaging patients with adherence support services

Correct Answer: Offering inappropriate inducements to influence prescribing

Q29. When launching a new generic in a crowded market, marketing should prioritize:

• Short-term aggressive discounts only
• Differentiation, target segments, and value communication
• Avoiding competitor analysis
• Refusing to work with pharmacists

Correct Answer: Differentiation, target segments, and value communication

Q30. Which best summarizes the relationship between marketing and selling?

• They are identical and interchangeable
• Selling is a subset of marketing that executes tactics to realize marketing strategy
• Marketing should be eliminated in favor of selling
• Both operate without any coordination

Correct Answer: Selling is a subset of marketing that executes tactics to realize marketing strategy

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