Building Trust: Where Does the Pharmaceutical Industry Stand?

The interesting times we are living in have impacted industries across the globe. And while the pharmaceutical industry is critical to millions of people, trust in pharma companies has been in a state of flux.

Back in 2016, the Edelman Trust Barometer, a survey of more than 33,000 respondents that began in 2000, had found a “a widening gap in trust in all major institutions between the informed public and mass population”. At a global level, the survey results showed healthcare was near the bottom with a trust score of 61.

The 2018 Edelman survey, has shown a 13-point drop in consumer trust in the pharmaceutical industry going from 51% to 38%. That was the biggest drop in five years. The 38% mark put pharma in the “distrusted” category. Furthermore, pharma was the least trusted of the 15 industry sectors that Edelman studies.

A 2019 Gallup poll found that Americans were more than twice as likely (58% to 27%) to rate the pharma industry negatively as opposed to positively.

Public perception of pharma is often shaped by issues like drug costs, drug abuse and dependency stories, perceived dangers of vaccines, and corporate greed. Unfortunately, this perception hits more than the bottom line.

 

Trust Issues Impact More Than Sales

Poor reputation creeps into business areas outside of sales. For instance, brand marketers can struggle to achieve share-of-voice and digital traffic when their brands suffer from a bad impression. But just as troublesome is the impact on clinical trials.

According to the publication Clinical Leader, “this is not simply an image issue. This viewpoint most certainly contributes to the challenge pharma companies face in recruiting participants into their clinical studies.”

Recent events, however, have helped to soften public perceptions.

 

COVID-19 Impact on Trust in Pharma

Following the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, trust in vaccine producers has been shown to be positive—but unevenly split among Americans.

The COVID-19 outbreak has revealed trust along US political party lines is split. According to Fierce Pharma, “when it comes to pharma companies, trust is high among members of both political parties. Overall, 71% of people polled said they trust drugmakers actively working on coronavirus vaccines. Breaking that down by party lines, however, shows more Democrats (76%) than Republicans (68%) believe pharma news.”

So there may be a silver lining for pharma now that the coronavirus has appeared.

A spring 2020 Edelman survey found that “the virus was changing behaviors around the world, shows trust levels in health and its subsectors has increased substantially. Pharma showed the highest rise across all [healthcare] subsectors, a record-breaking high of 73 percent of interviewees globally expressing trust in the industry.”

See the 2020 survey update

So now may be a good time to adjust marketing strategies to improve the industry’s reputation. 

 

How Your Pharma Brand Can Regain Trust

According to the 2018 Edelman study, there is a gap in trust between the general public (49%) and what the group calls the “informed public” (65%). That 16-point gap suggests pharma brands must do more to inform and educate a broad section of the population.

Here are multiple steps pharma companies can take to repair trust going forward:

• Be proactive. Address concerns by getting in the conversation using social platforms, media outlets, and your website to help manage the narrative around your brand.
• Be transparent. 78 percent admit they know little or nothing about healthcare innovations, so do more to share product details, success stories, and unbiased information.
• Address expectations. The largest gaps in consumer expectations lie in the areas of transparency, embracing sustainable business practices, and demonstrating leadership that represents all stakeholder interests. Address these areas in your marketing campaigns.
• Take a customer-centric approach. Consumers want consistency and expect support after a purchase, so brands must alter their marketing, sales, and post-sales activities to accommodate those expectations.

 

Learn more about the impact of credibility on pharma brands here and here.

 

Article Written by: Alex Brown