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Growing Number of Consumers Trust Online Resources Over Other Media
for Researching Drug Treatment Information -- Prospectiv Survey
Reveals
WAKEFIELD, MA, Oct 28, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) --
A recent online survey conducted by Prospectiv
(http://www.prospectiv.com) gathering responses from 3,500 consumers
revealed growing consumer reliance on online resources for
researching health and drug treatment information. Eighty-three
percent of consumers responding to Prospectiv's 2008 Pharmaceutical
Online Resources Poll who said that they have previously used the
Internet to research ailments and drug treatments also reported that
online media is their most trusted and reliable resource for
health-related information -- up from 75 percent when a similar
Prospectiv survey was conducted in 2007.
Prospectiv (http://www.prospectiv.com), a provider of online customer
acquisition solutions to leading consumer brands, is the owner of the
online properties Eversave.com (http://www.eversave.com) and
Healthier.com (http://www.healthier.com), and operates a lead
generation platform used by publishers across the Web.
For additional information about Prospectiv's 2008 Pharmaceutical
Online Resources Poll, previous Prospectiv pharmaceutical studies,
data samples and polling methodology, please visit
http://www.prospectiv.com/request_infoc.jsp.
Online Health Resources Draw Consumers
According to the survey, 74 percent of respondents have used the
Internet to research ailment or drug treatment information. As
reported, 83 percent said they rely on the Internet as their most
trusted resource, followed by print media (11 percent) and broadcast
media (5 percent).
Where do consumers go online and what are they looking for?
When respondents were asked where they conduct the majority of their
online
research:
-- 50 percent said they used general health-focused Web sites
-- 43 percent conduct research on specific ailment-focused sites
-- 5 percent rely on online communities
-- Only 3 percent go to branded drug sites operated by pharmaceutical
companies
Consumers conducting health and drug treatment research online said
that they were looking for the following types of information:
-- 49 percent are seeking symptom information about a specific ailment or
condition
-- 29 percent want drug treatment information for specific ailments or
conditions
-- 22 percent look for tips for managing ailments and health conditions
Consumers consistently favor health enewsletters
Prospectiv's 2008 poll confirms the findings of previous Prospectiv
studies -- consumers overwhelmingly prefer enewsletters for receiving
health, drug treatment and ailment information. Asked which online
health resource they would be most likely to sign up for:
-- 60 percent would sign up for enewsletters
-- 25 percent would join email groups
-- 15 percent would prefer to join an online forum or community
Even among the cohort of consumers who said they do not typically
rely on online resources for health and drug treatment information,
the majority of this group said they would prefer enewsletters (43
percent) for receiving health information in the future, followed by
email groups (21 percent) and online forums/communities (36 percent).
Prospectiv's poll results also show that enewsletters play an
important role for budget conscious consumers at a time when inflation
is causing price increases across the board.
-- 87 percent of consumers polled said that they are concerned about the
continually escalating costs of medicines and prescription drug treatments
for their ailments
-- 82 percent would welcome receiving prescription drug vouchers and free
sample offers directly from pharmaceutical companies
-- 65 percent polled would prefer enewsletters for receiving prescription
vouchers and free samples, followed by joining email groups (18 percent) or
an online forum/community (17 percent)
Consumer trust and online health resources
When asked additional questions regarding their online resources
preferences, the cohort who said they did not prefer branded
pharmaceutical company sites replied as follows:
-- 49 percent said that they didn't know about such sites
-- 38 percent reported a lack of trust in the company-run sites
-- 13 percent said that they don't find the pharmaceutical sites helpful
The 2007 poll findings revealed that 31 percent of consumers
expressed a lack of trust in pharmaceutical branded sites, revealing
a 7 percent up-tick in consumer trust concerns this year.
Prospectiv's 2008 study also polled consumers about interactive
online health resources such as email groups, forums, blogs and online
communities. When asked which type of moderated interactive resource
they would trust the most, consumers revealed the following:
-- Online resources moderated by doctors (67 percent)
-- Online resources moderated by pharmaceutical companies (6 percent)
-- Online resources moderated by consumers (27 percent)
"More people are relying on the Internet for their ailment and drug
treatment research, and we've found this increasing year over year
since Prospectiv began conducting these polls," said Jere Doyle,
Prospectiv's President and CEO. "Based on the 2008 results and
previous polls, pharmaceutical marketers seeking to reach consumers
online should focus on enewsletters that provide information about
ailment symptoms and drug treatments, in addition to offers for drug
treatment savings and vouchers. Prospectiv's poll results also
consistently show that pharmaceutical marketers should build and host
ailment-focused Web sites that provide information about symptoms,
drug treatment options and useful tips for managing ailments."
For additional information about Prospectiv's 2008 Pharmaceutical
Online Resources Poll, previous Prospectiv pharmaceutical studies,
data samples and polling methodology, please visit
http://www.prospectiv.com/request_infoc.jsp
Prospectiv conducted the 2008 Pharmaceutical Online Resources Poll
online, gathering responses from 3,500 consumers across the United
States. The survey was conducted from October 10 to October 15, 2008.
About Prospectiv:
Prospectiv (http://www.prospectiv.com) is a pioneer in the lead
generation industry and provides customer acquisition and email
marketing solutions to leading consumer brands. The company
specializes in finding, engaging and acquiring consumers interested
in leading advertiser's brands and products and converting them to
long-term profitable customers. Prospectiv generates more than 50
million pre-qualified leads per year on a pay-for-results basis for
clients, including many Fortune 1000 companies such as Procter and
Gamble, Wal-Mart, Pfizer, Disney, Nestle and Schering-Plough.
Prospectiv operates several Web properties, including Eversave.com
(http://www.eversave.com) and Healthier.com
(http://www.healthier.com), and also provides leading publishers with
a lead generation platform that creates a significant incremental
revenue stream from their Web site traffic. Founded in 1999,
Prospectiv is privately-held and is based in Wakefield, MA. For more
information, please visit http://www.prospectiv.com.
About Prospectiv's Consumer Preference Index (CPI):
Prospectiv has access to millions of consumers through its online Web
communities, Eversave.com and Healthier.com, as well as from its
broad network of publishers. Prospectiv is able to compile insightful
survey data from a diverse panel of consumers on a wide variety of
topics relevant to advertisers and marketers. Prospectiv compiles
this data using its advanced polling and survey technology across the
Web.
SOURCE: Prospectiv
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