How pharma can boost engagement by embracing support networks
Connecting with patients has become a central plank in the pharma marketing playbook, but should companies be looking for a wider view when looking for insights to inform their branding?
According to a new white paper from THE PLANNING SHOP, the industry is already good at listening to the patient voice, but to take its efforts to the next level it must ‘zoom out’ to get the full picture.
Emily South and Kate Khair, the author and contributing author respectively of Outside-In, explained: “When designing research methodologies, we tend to zoom in on the main characters to learn about their experiences: the person living with the illness, the physician… maybe even the carer or the nurse.
“But what if this ‘individual focus’ is not telling us the whole story? Do we miss out on a valuable part of the story? Are the missing pieces key to the research objectives or to the brand we are helping to build?”
Patient-centricity, they argue, needs to expand. Pharmaceutical industry branding teams have to enlist the ‘witnesses,’ those people that surround each individual patient and make up their support network or ‘team’.
By mapping potential touchpoints and relationships of haemophilia patients, the pharma marketing report Outside-In shows how to build a true picture of the way that patients lead their lives and what matters to them.
“Patients surround themselves with a trusted network of individuals. Speaking with these team members is vital to understanding how people navigate their world,” said the marketing insights report.
As experts in the desires and quality of life of people who are living with an illness, the ‘Outside In’ can help brands develop sustainable solutions that work beyond an individual level, added the report.
Download the report to find out:
- Why it’s so important to listen to the ‘witnesses’
- How to identify and engage with the ‘witnesses’
- How to boost brand engagement through ‘Outside-In’ methods
- Which consumer brands can offer valuable pharma marketing insight
- How to create stronger positionings and differentiation in crowded and clinically focused markets
