THE KEY IDEA: Gallup recently posted the results of a poll that showed “the pharmaceutical industry is now the most poorly regarded industry in Americans’ eyes, ranking last on a list of 25 industries that Gallup tests annually”. It would be naive to believe this won’t affect our digital marketing.
According to Forbes, trust is the glue to society. Trust is the very foundation of relationships. Gaining trust from your audience is not an easy job, especially in an industry that is continually being criticized by the media and politicians. Pharma digital marketers can’t continue to talk about data points and new initiatives until we better understand how the lack of trust is affecting healthcare decisions.
What should we be doing to regain trust?
1ne: Focus on users. Everything you do online should focus on users not marketing bullet points.
2wo: Research with online health seekers is essential. No excuses!
3hree: Stop treating your product website as a medical brochure. Hire copywriters who can simplify hard to understand language into a basic reading level.
4our: Listen to people on social media and act in Internet time. Align content processes around users, not your company’s
5ive: Become a patient advocate for your organization.
6ix: Pay attention to metrics. Visitors don’t mean a damn thing if you have a high bounce rate and people aren’t reading your content.
7even: Stop attending conferences that don’t address the key challenges our industry faces.
There is a crisis in our industry and we need to act instead of ignoring it. YOU need to be the catalyst that lights the fire.