Influence of Brand Reputation on Patient Preference towards Pharmaceutical Products

brand reputation, patient preference, pharmaceutical products, perceived quality, brand trust, corporate social responsibility and healthcare marketing

Background:  For health care to be purchased, brand reputation plays a key role. Patient choice and adherence to medication in the pharmaceutical industry is heavily swayed by the reputation of a brand – especially with regards to its efficacy, safety and trustworthiness.

Objective: This study aims to explore how the brand reputation affects patient preference for pharmaceutical products, and what are the most important dimensions of brand reputation relevant to patients' decisions in the pharmaceutical sector.

The study was designed as a cross sectional descriptive study which involved 320 respondents from both the urban and semi-urban health care consumers, patients and caregivers. Data on brand awareness, perceived quality, trust, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and physician recommendation were collected using a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis were used to analyze the data.

Results: Analysis shows that perceived quality (beta = 0.42, p < 0.001), trust (beta = 0.38, p < 0.001) and physician recommendation (beta = 0.29, p < 0.01) are the major factors influencing patient preference. The positive relationship between brand awareness and CSR initiatives were also statistically significant. In total, the variance in patient preferences explained was 67.4% (R2 = 0.674) by brand reputation.

Brand reputation has a positive and significant effect on the preference of patients towards pharmaceutical products. Strategic investment in trust building, perceived quality, physician relationship building and meaningful CSR will help improve the brand reputation of the pharmaceutical companies and ultimately lead to better patient outcomes.