Users prefer general sites for pharma-research

A recent survey from Prospectiv indicates that users either don't know about or simply don't trust branded pharmaceutical websites. According to research users are more apt to research medical ailments and problems at a general health information website than within pharma-sites.

by Kristina Knight

Prospective surveyed 800 U.S. consumers in June and found that 54% prefer researching on general information sites, 37% prefer to use ailment-specific websites and only about 4% actually research problems using pharmaceutical websites.

For pharmaceutical marketers this is not good news.

Pharmaceutical companies base everything on the power of their brands, but apparently users aren't aware of those brands when looking for information related to their health. For the brand managers at pharmaceutical companies, the work is an uphill battle but there are steps that can make a difference.

The first step is to begin building a roster of users who are interested in the products offered by the company. Offer a newsletter or begin an email campaign that offers information to users. An email campaign could include coupons or discounts and of course product/ailment information that is beneficial to users.

By offering more than simple drug information, pharma-sites can build a dedicated user base. As we have seen in other industries, word of mouth is a huge factor in building brand. The same is true in pharmaceuticals. By offering information about illnesses in addition to treatment options, these branded sites can begin to garner the attention of more users.