The need for pharma to socially connect in today’s world is greater than ever

Social connection is deep routed in our biological make up as human beings. It has been well studied and is a basic need – as important as food, water and shelter.

At its most basic level, social connection is about building a relationship that benefits all parties. A place to communicate, connect and co-operate. A give and take approach to supporting each other to be better.

As I left the annual Pharma and Healthcare Communications and Reputation Conference yesterday, where much was discussed about trust and how to connect, I couldn’t help but think how we are far from being good at socially connecting with our audiences. Whether that be government, health system leads, healthcare professionals, patients or the public.

The work our industry does is groundbreaking, at the cutting edge of innovation, and delivered by some of the smartest minds on the planet. I could not be prouder of what the industry achieves and how mind blowing some of the work is. When you look around you, nearly all the people you see will have been impacted positively by the work the pharmaceutical industry does. I only have to look in the mirror to know that, without pharma, I might not be here. And I’m a healthy 41-year-old. However unfortunately, most people won’t realise the role pharma has played in keeping them healthy.

And therein lies the problem.

The way pharma tries to connect with people is complex and multi-faceted. I believe we struggle to reach people and communicate with them in a way that resonates. We over complicate, we hide behind compliance, and as one of the panel members at the event alluded to, we flip flop from one priority to the next, which dilutes and devalues the brands’ of companies and the industry.

Now is the time to be proud of what we do and work towards being better recognised by all audiences for the positive change we contribute to.

I’m not naive to the importance of commercial goals or priorities, but when we only engage with audiences through this lens, it stops us truly understanding where common ground between us and our audiences is. This is because our priorities aren’t necessarily our audiences’. I’d argue that if we can start to focus on ensuring we succeed in this common ground, creating primary goals and objectives aligned to our audiences (whether it be helping HCPs diagnose earlier, patients be more in control of their health, or health systems understand long term savings), our commercial goals will be achieved and our audiences will go on the journey with us.

Some of you reading this may well be shouting at the screen saying we do that. I would agree with you in part. My worry is the way we communicate and talk about these elements is done so through a corporate and commercial lens, with jargon and over complication. And that doesn’t resonate with our audiences.

The presentations throughout the day showed that we have the data, skillset and drive to want to connect. We now must use all this information and tell a consistent story that links us together with our audiences.

We’ve all been in a discussion with a friend or colleague where we are trying to make the same point but saying it differently, now is the time to try and make the same point in the same way as our audiences. It’s what other industries have been doing successfully for years, including highly regulated sectors.

We’ve got to take responsible risk – making sure we are factual but also talk the talk of others, not just pharma jargon. Words matter. In a world of misinformation, we need to have an opinion and people need to hear it or the worrying trend of mistrust of our industry and the incredible medicines we innovate will continue to trend downwards.

When we communicate effectively, we create an environment where open dialogue can flourish, ideas can be shared freely, and understanding can be fostered.

If we can get back to that basic need of social connection and adapt the way we communicate, we all win.

At WA health, we work at the centre of health change. Making sure all audiences; government, health systems, clinicians and patients can come together to improve the health of individuals and society.

Get in touch, if you want to learn more about what we do.