Building Trust Through Website Effectiveness: A Look at Pharma
Reputation is important to all sectors, but perhaps more so in pharma. Reputation not only drives shareholder value — it directly impacts pharma companies’ societal license to operate. It’s important that pharma companies possess strong reputations to encourage patients to participate in clinical trials that are necessary to improve drug development. The outcome of effective clinical trials is quite literally the creation of treatments that can save and improve lives.
At Investis Digital, we wanted to find out how pharma companies are building their reputations online. Leveraging our proprietary Connect.IQ methodology, we analyzed and benchmarked over 300 digital communication criteria that together enable companies to be front of mind, to be valued, and favored by the corporate audiences that drive their business performance. This helped us analyze 50 companies in the industry to reveal the leading online communicators and provide strategies for success.
The criteria were then grouped into five categories that track an audiences’ digital journeys from awareness to influence. Essentially, we benchmarked how effective digital communications meet the needs and expectations of key audiences - investors, influencers, journalists, potential employees, and society at large, followed by the extent of reach across organic and paid search and social media. Coupled with the hub for digital communications, the corporate website, we evaluated the quality of the user experience and the use of rich media and content formats to drive engagement of time-poor audiences. Finally, we looked at the breadth of narrative content.
The following are our top picks of pharma companies that do it best:
| Company | What makes them standout? |
|
Bayer |
Strong narrative score that clearly states who they are, where they are heading and how Bayer will get there. From a compelling description of what they do to in-depth commentary on its strategy, innovations, and sustainability ambitions. They are very intentional about who they are. |
|
Merck Group |
Merck has made their sustainability report accessible and has most recently included it in their annual report. This bold but necessary move showcases that they are keen to be transparent with stakeholders about their activities and successes, along with the challenges they face. |
|
Roche |
With a strong organic search presence, Roche owns their narrative and also attracts attention from audiences searching for themes they want to be associated with. |
| Novartis | In these uncertain times, a positive corporate reputation has never been more critical. Novartis’ stories section shares a mix of science articles, patient perspectives consumer-friendly explorations of the future of healthcare demonstrates what can be done to shed light on how pharma works and the positive impact it can have. |
| AstraZeneca | From investors to job seekers, a poor user experience damages perception and reduces engagement. And Google knows it - a slow site or poor mobile experience will drag down your search rankings. AstraZeneca’s mobile interface and desktop experience makes it easy to find what a user is looking for. |
To download our report, click here.
As you can see, traditional communication approaches no longer stand alone to engage stakeholders. From corporate positioning and content development to reputation management and patient recruitment, corporate communications and clinical operations teams can cut through the noise, deliver content with precision, encourage stakeholders to act, and have the analytics to prove it.
Contact Investis Digital
Many of the world’s leading biotech, device, diagnostic, and pharma companies partner with Investis Digital to engage their stakeholders, both internal and external, using a multi-channel, insight-driven approach. To learn more about our Life Sciences solutions click here or contact us.