Understanding The Effectiveness and Perceived Trustworthiness of Customer Communication Across the Veterinary Pharmaceutical Industry in Europe: A Mixed Method Study

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of client communication strategies used in the veterinary pharmaceutical sector in Europe. Two separate surveys are used assessing the difference in true levels of customer preference, trust and understanding for 8 information sources about veterinary pharmaceuticals as well as their influence on the customer compared to what perceived scores are given by individuals working in sales & marketing roles in the animal health industry. The results of this research show certain forms of client communication are significantly less trusted and understood by the customer than is the perception among the pharmaceutical industry, thus these communications have significantly less influence on customer buying decisions and are ineffective forms of client communication. Companies will need to revaluate their client communication plans and consider retraining of sales teams to improve trust and understanding levels of their messaging.