Tracking comms trends: tackling reputational issues head on

Exploitation. Nightmare. Corruption. These are just three of the words that appear on the first page of results when you Google 'pharmaceutical companies' online. Let's face it – the pharmaceutical industry doesn't have the best reputation in town. It's suffered some major blows historically and, as a result, it's the industry that the public just loves to hate. With this in mind, pharma needs to work hard on its reputation – after all, success in business relies upon building the right relationships with the right people and those relationships only flourish with trust and respect at the centre.

However, strong, positive reputations can be developed... even in pharma. A recent PatientView survey showed that the reputation of the pharmaceutical industry is on the rise – currently reaching a four-year high. This suggests that pharma is starting to take notice and taking a positive step forward.  So what is it doing right?

Live your personality
People will more easily trust people they can see or hear over faceless companies, so establishing the right personality for your company is key. And for this, you need a team of company leaders and spokespeople that embody the values of your company. Just look at the likes of Google and Virgin – the personality of their leaders shines through into the brand image and as a result they have two of the strongest brand identities around.

Be transparent
If you want to be trusted and respected, you need to be open and transparent with your audience. Be clear and honest in what you say, avoiding 'safe' or closed communications wherever possible. With the rise of social media, transparency is more important than ever – there's no longer anywhere to hide!

Be consistent
There are a whole host of stakeholders in pharma - HCPs, policy-makers, shareholders, employees and, most importantly, patients. And a multitude of channels to reach them all - be it event, advertising, PR or digitally driven. Messages must be tailored to the different audiences and channels, while ensuring they remain aligned with a consistent tone and personality running through all communications.

Be responsive
If a potential issue emerges, you need to act and act fast. Companies need to be agile enough to identify an issue early and, if necessary, put the right communications in place. We work closely with our clients to ensure they have the right procedures and processes in place to enable them to react quickly and efficiently.

It's great to see pharma is beginning to change its approach to corporate communications - and with the EFPIA disclosures fast approaching, it's more important than ever for pharma to stay proactive. As the saying goes: 'It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.' If you think about that, you'll do things differently.