In today’s ever changing landscape, Healthcare professionals (HCPs) depend heavily on pharmaceutical resources. They rely on these resources to stay informed about the latest developments and trends, to prescribe, dispense, and administer medications effectively.
A quick search will tell you that the trust levels of HCPs in pharma companies' marketing messages are often low. A study by JAMA Internal Medicine states that only 7% of clinical trials sponsored by pharmaceutical companies were fully transparent. Another report by Manhattan Research published on Clarivate mentions HCPs have suspicions about the content provided by pharmaceutical companies. 60% of rheumatologists think that the pharma resources don't have any scientific basis and are merely ads.
There could be several reasons for this scepticism. Lack of transparency, misleading marketing techniques, insufficient resources, and scarcity of scientifically approved data could be the root causes.
This trust deficit poses significant challenges for pharma companies to engage with HCPs and results in a loss of opportunities.Pharma companies need to pay attention to this problem to avoid leaving opportunities on the table every day.
In this article, I want to share what I believe are the top strategies for improving HCPs' trust in pharma resources.
Key Benefits of Building Trust with HCPs
A trustful relationship with HCPs is valuable in today's competitive pharmaceutical marketing environment. Some potential perks of building trust with HCPs include:
1. Increased product adoption: HCPs are more likely to prescribe pharmaceutical products from companies they trust. This will naturally result in higher product adoption and sales.
2. Better patient outcomes: HCPs who trust pharmaceutical companies' medications or treatment methods are more inclined to advise their patients of such. Studies indicate patients follow their HCPs' recommendations more than anyone else, improving their health significantly. Therefore, earning HCPs' trust helps improve patient outcomes in the long run.
3. Enhanced image: Pharmaceutical companies can enjoy a prime good reputation in the medical community if HCPs believe them, enhancing brand recognition and customers’ faith.
4. Greater access to essential stakeholders: HCPs who trust a pharmaceutical company may be more inclined to offer their inputs. Which can provide insightful information and direct the growth of the product.
Gaining the confidence of HCPs can ultimately improve the bottom line for pharmaceutical companies.
Top 6 Strategies to Win HCPs’ Trust
So, how do we do this? Based on my experience working on challenging pharma digital and marketing projects, I've shortlisted some of the best strategies you can use to improve HCPs' trust significantly.
Here we go:
1. Adopt a customer-centric approach
Keep your customers (patients and HCPs) at the heart of your marketing strategy to win the HCPs’ trust.
McKinsey reports that 10% of healthcare professionals (HCPs) choose not to prescribe a drug if they are dissatisfied with the customer experience. Conversely, 27% of HCPs recommend a drug if they are satisfied with the customer experience.
Address the medical needs of patients and the professional requirements of HCPs to gain credibility. Regardless of how you’re delivering the message, you can boost HCPs’ confidence to prescribe your drug by presenting them with compelling case studies that demonstrate the clinical effectiveness of your products.
2. Provide them with scientifically-approved medical information
Although brand information is also necessary with medical data, HCPs prioritise medical content because it helps them improve their understanding and knowledge. They can then apply these learnings during their patient consultations and diagnosis.
According to a survey by BCG, scientifically proven data and medical information are the top sought-after content types by HCPs. They trust reliable, unbiased analyses and comparisons of the different therapeutic choices and patient case studies.
Pushing only your brand messaging isn’t enough to win HCPs’ trust. Substantiate it using credible research that strengthens your claims regarding your product’s success. For example, if your company has improved an existing product, “Better than ever” kind of statements won’t suffice. Back it up with the research that demonstrates that the changes in your product are the best way to treat a condition.
Also, consider making the scientific and analytical information easy for the HCP to digest in a quick glance. Use of infographics and summary tables should help the HCP unequivocally understand why your product is the best in the market and be able to then relay this information to their patients.
3. Provide brand-related content
In addition to scientifically-backed content, problem-solving information also helps to enhance a pharma company's credibility. According to the Anthill agency, educational content that eliminates confusion in the minds of HCPs adds value to the reliability of a company.
For example, pharma companies must include content related to patient management techniques, hospital administration, and disease diagnosis, which HCPs are willing to know. It results in more effective pharma marketing and winning HCPs' confidence.
You can engage them and establish a bond of trustworthiness by providing them with the information they seek.
4. Create medical and commercial collaboration
According to the same study by Anthill, creating a collaboration between medical and commercial organisations can help you engage HCPs in a better way. It means aligning the services of medical experts and marketing professionals can help you create more engaging and value-adding content. For example, you can create medical content with the help of area experts that is aligned with your marketing efforts and then your marketing team can push it using content marketing strategies. HCPs will gradually start coming back for more of your content resulting in increased brand loyalty.
5. Build a reputable and authoritative online presence
Having a solid web presence is crucial because HCPs are increasingly looking to digital media for information. Surveys show that a company's reputation affects the HCP's prescribing rate. HCPs also complain about the cluttering of online platforms of pharma companies with ads. It leads to a decline in the credibility of a company.
Ensure that your online platforms have authoritative and value-adding content for HCPs. According to a report by Deloitte, including a patient-support program helps add authority and win HCPs and patients' trust.
6. Omnichannel marketing
Omni-channel marketing is the best way to convince HCPs of your credibility. Omni-channel marketing refers to providing seamless and unified customer experience via all channels, including online and offline.
According to a study, a biopharma firm successfully promoted a dermatological product and built relationships with HCPs through omnichannel marketing using emails, portals, partner channels, and paid advertising.
What do HCPs trust more?
HCPs regularly look for medical information about the prescriptions or treatments they use to treat their patients. They can choose from a plethora of choices when looking for information. According to a survey of neurologists, online resources were favoured over offline resources by a wide margin. There could be different forms of online resources, including:
- Virtual Webinars- Although HCPs are sceptical about pharma resources, a recent study shows that HCPs consider virtual webinars, including KOLs and virtual training of therapies, as more credible sources of information.
- Videos- About 60% of gastroenterologists accept the significance of videos on pharma company pages in shaping their decisions. Pharma companies can create value-adding video content to answer the queries of HCPs and earn trust. Additionally, social media platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter can be effective channels for pharma companies to communicate with HCPs.
Conclusion
To sum up, trust is the cornerstone of any effective partnership, and this is true even more so for the pharmaceutical sector. Winning the trust of HCPs, who play a critical role in the healthcare environment, is indispensable for pharmaceutical companies to thrive.
As I’ve tried to highlight, HCPs lack trust in pharmaceutical resources because of misleading marketing or the absence of verified scientific evidence.
However, efforts in the right direction can surely improve this situation.
Pharmaceutical companies can forge enduring connections with HCPs by adopting a customer-centric strategy backed with sound medical and scientific information, commercial and medical collaboration, and employing omnichannel marketing.
The benefits of winning the confidence of HCPs go beyond increased product adoption, better patient results, and increased income. It enhances the healthcare environment for everyone involved and works for the collective welfare of the healthcare sector.
Therefore, it's time to rethink our traditional approach if we want to improve HCPs' trust in us. Implement these strategies to create better value for your pharma company, HCPs, and patients.
Let us know what has worked for you when it comes to winning HCPs’ trust.
I’m always up for a coffee chat to discuss anything omnichannel marketing in the pharma space. Feel free to reach me at hi[at]hussainahmad.co.uk
