“The Big Pharma” is a colloquial term used to degrade and tarnish pharmaceutical companies’ names in the mud. There are thousands and thousands of people in the country who distrust big corporations selling anything. Because most corporations are conglomerates and a collection of people driven by profit, and the history backing said greed, most cannot comprehend when these corporations do good things. Even with the corporate social responsibility laid out for goodwill, there is a general distrust of big corporations.
Big Pharmaceutical companies have become the center of many conspiracy theories throughout the years. Because they are the leading manufacturers of different vaccines that allegedly contain many other chemicals that cause sterility, brain damage, and autism, they were often made the scapegoat of the people suffering from these problems. Vaccines are a considerably heated topic right now, especially when a vaccine was manufactured ever so quickly in light of the pandemic.
Many vaccine deniers are moving to boycott the inoculation process altogether, making things more difficult for everyone else. Herd immunity cannot be had unless a sizeable portion of the population gets vaccinated. While most are moving for vaccination, a small minority is causing small ripples greatly exaggerated in many media outlets.
It remains to be seen how the process of vaccination will go for the population, but there is reasonable evidence to say that all will go through it unscathed. While pharmaceutical companies are continuing to produce life-saving products, the stigma almost cannot be removed. How can pharmaceutical companies improve their image? How can they market themselves to be seen as someone who cares?
Know the Problem
Identifying the problem is crucial to solving it. The ultimate issue is miseducation and the platforms miseducation uses. A lot of people are easily misinformed by heavily sensationalized stories on social media. By attacking the same area where the general misinformation resides, maybe there is a chance to fight off the root of all the problems surrounding the doubts against the alleged Big Pharma.
Invest in Educating Your Market
Educating the market about your products and what they do will help all companies in the long run. Education is vital if you want to connect with people who have doubts about what you do. Putting in time and effort to push the realities about your vaccines and your medicines will show good faith about your company. While pharmaceutical companies have been generally in good faith with the masses throughout the decades, it is only recently where there have been amplified doubters and non-believers. Education will be critical to swaying clouded minds.
The Image Should Be About Healing
Healing is the goal, mission, and vision of many pharmaceutical companies. Many fail to see that. Your image as a pharmaceutical company should be about healing your consumers. Also, keeping a profile where a doctor is the main man behind the pharmaceutical company and not a person in a suit and tie will convince the doubters more. Doctors are all about healing their fellow man. If you place a person who looks apathetic and uncaring, you will also receive that kind of treatment from your base.
Transparency Is King
Transparency is key. If you want to connect more with your audience, you have to make yourself vulnerable and transparent. Transparency is critical if you’re going to build trust. Showing your consumers just the mere machines you use would not be enough. Showing them the process, i.e., how your experts placed the medicines in the dissolution apparatus, how the different types of people’s bodies reacted to the medicine, how the pills are bottled and packed, is a sign of good faith and trust-building with your consumers. You do not have to be patronizing them. You must only show that you are willing to show them how your products are produced.
Facts versus Falsities
You cannot fight falsities with your own misconceptions. According to research, you fight falsities with facts. Many of the falsehoods floating around involving pharmaceuticals and their products are blatant lies that can easily be debunked. Although it may take some time and effort to fight these lies, it might ultimately do good in the long run. A lot of people may not feel the effects of factual advertising. However, keeping them adrift with the falsities in all common mediums might snowball into curiosity and education.
Pharmaceutical companies are aiming to help. It is their mission and vision. While some are opting to spread disinformation about them, these companies can also fight off the falsities they are spreading through identification, transparency, and education,