Towards the end of a fine dining experience, the people sitting round the restaurant table turn their attention to a fundamental question.
“Who’s going to pay?”
For those of us of a sensitive disposition it can be such a stomach turning experience it can ruin the meal?
This scenario is, of course, not a common occurrence when a Pharmaco …..
This scenario is, of course, not a common occurrence when a Pharmaco Sales Rep is ‘entertaining’ a much appreciated high prescribing physician.
So Who’s Going to Pay for Social Media?
It’s a good question and it’s one that those in the traditional media industry have been asking themselves since the explosion of Social Media.
It used to be the advertisers who paid, of course.
But they have been deserting traditional media in droves.
Michael Wolff explains that although some Media Organizations are trying to advertise on the internet, the revenue generated cannot support their efforts.
Gerard McLean, responding to Chris Brogan’s suggestion that social media might cost “a little more”, writes:
“It actually might cost a LOT more, not a little more. Lines in, extra bandwidth, routers, servers, people to man the phones at all hours that customers expect, heat, space, computers, etc. I know you can get creative with flex time, Skype and a bunch of free things out there, but are you in business or not?
If you are Dominos Pizza, you are probably now convinced that you need to monitor the social media heavily. Where does the money to do it come from? You could argue that an investment is needed to prevent the loss of value, but that is an argument of diminishing returns. You either increase revenue or decrease costs.”
Does this Explain Pharma’s Social Media Position?
Some organizations such as Patientslikeme make money by aggregating anonymized information to provide insights to industry partners derived from the shared real-world experiences of their patient members.
Others have yet to develop a business model that generates revenue and are ‘going boldly’ into the future hoping that something profitable will appear from the ether.
What seems to be required is a new way of thinking about how value is created and distributed.
Social Media Requires New Thoughtware
The Cambridge Trust for New Thinking in Economics, founded by Dr Terry Barker, suggests there are three principles involved:
(a) That economic behaviour is primarily social rather than individual;
(b) That economic behaviour is influenced by aesthetic and ethical values as well as economic values;
(c) That the pursuit of self-interest in economic behaviour can impact adversely on both society and the environment.
The Trust asserts that nearly all economic activity is social in nature, not individual; that human beings are social animals; and that successful economies are based on trust and integrity.
Pharma Relevance
Illness is a social phenomenon.
Whilst individuals contract illness the first thing they tend to do is talk with others.
Diagnosis, treatment options, treatment successes and failures, good physicians, bad physicians, they are all subjects of discussion between friends, families and those with similar afflictions.
Social Media has simply extended the garden fence; made the laundrette larger; expanded the water-cooler or the coffee station; etc.
Has Pharma recognised the social dimensions of the world of its clients?
Or have the Trust, Integrity, Ethical Values of the Social Marketplace proved too bitter a pill to swallow?
Web 2.0 recognises the social component of communications and is characterized by trust, integrity and ethical values (There’s nowhere much to hide…).
Returning to the Pharma Sales Rep entertaining the high prescribing Physician clearly Trust, Integrity and Ethical Values are all in place and both diners can leave the table in comfort?
So, when the waiter arrives at Pharma’s dinning table with the bill for Social Media on that small plastic tray, let’s hope that Pharma has realised that that the bill of fare has changed and the new cuisine is far more digestible?
(Tomorrow’s Blog: The Possibility of the Portable, Self-Managed Health Record)
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