Digital Communications - The Answer To Pharmaco’s Challenges?

Have you ever been stuck completing a puzzle because the ‘key’ piece was still in the box or under the table – out of sight and out of mind?

Pharma’s puzzle is: “How does Pharmaco confront the issues agenda, market evolution has presented, to its own maximum advantage?”

PriceWatehouseCoopers (PWC) series “Pharma 2020,” “The Vision,” “Virtual R&D” and “Marketing the Future” encapsulate the Pharmaco Issues Agenda.

But, has “Marketing the Future” left the ‘key’ marketing piece in the box?

PWC identify seven major socio-economic trends reshaping Pharmaco:

1. The soaring cost of chronic disease in an ageing population.
2. Healthcare policy-makers mandating or influencing physician prescribing.
3. Pay for Performance requirements changing Pharma treatment pricing policies.
4. Healthcare boundary blurring as the focus shifts from physician to self-care.
5. The growth of the developing world all with very different markets
6. Government focus turning towards prevention rather than cure
7. Risk averse regulators cautious in approving innovative medicines

An ‘off-the-top-of-the-head’ response to these scenarios might be:

1a.    Move the cost increases to the consumer; Cut costs through efficiencies.
2a.    Influencing and supporting policy-maker decision making.
3a. Create more brand value; Lead the flexible pricing process.
4a. Provide greater practical support for treatment management, through the physician-patients axis of the health care continuum, with emphasis on the patient
5a. Create global marketing and sales initiatives that are customisable at a country level; Empower country and regional digital communication
6a.    Influence and support government decision making; take the lead in disease prevention health education
7a.    De-risk, as much as possible, innovative medicine adoption 

Are there common threads throughout and across the issues agenda and corresponding response scenarios?

If these common threads were considered holistically is there an opportunity ….

If these common threads were considered holistically is there a unique opportunity for Pharmaco to provide leadership and regain a degree of market power?

Pharmaco’s Unique Opportunity?

Doesn’t each item on the Pharmaco issues agenda and potential response scenarios require action from Payers, Regulators, Policy-Makers; Patients, Physicians, Health Consumers and Pharmaco itself.
They are all, to differing degrees, stakeholders in each issue on the agenda and response scenario.

But Pharmaco is the only stakeholder that is common across all issues and to all of the other stakeholders.

Isn’t Pharmico in a unique strategic position?

It is the only stakeholder that can adopt a market position that directly affects all other stakeholders.

A Question of Communication Dynamics

What happens when a group of people are faced with issues that affect each of them to differing degrees at different times and places?

How do they react to the person who presents a vision, is seen to be implementing that vision and does so in partnership with the other stakeholders?

How do those other stakeholders respond when the initiatives of the leader start to make issues simpler and resolvable?

Isn’t it all about creating and developing a transparent, mutually supportive and valued relationship that delivers equitable solutions?

A Holistic View

In each issue and response scenario Pharma’s customer stakeholders require:

• Information – that is organised for maximum utility.
• Knowledge - that can be applied in a ‘Can Do’ fashion.
• Understanding - fully appreciating different POVs and accommodating them whenever possible.
• Decision Making Frameworks – that compliment the information and knowledge available
• Empowerment – facilitating stakeholder decisions that Pharma would value
• Partnership – creating the conceptual framework to address the issues and Pharmacos response

What is Required?

One cornerstone of any plan to address the Pharmaco issue agenda and potential response scenarios must be Digital Communication.

Digital Communication can facilitate the holistic response Pharmaco needs to employ if it is to capitalise upon this opportunity.

The only real question is:”Can the Pharma industry see the possibility and seize the opportunity”

Thrive not Survive!

(Tomorrows Blog: Pharma Comes To The Rescue – Swine Flu and Digital Public Relations.)