More than lip service

Survey wonks occasionally entertain us with an updated list of "least respected" industries or careers.

Over the years, the bottom feeders have become familiar: tobacco, big oil, politicians and so on. Those industries and careers that reside at the southern end of lists such as these may swap places now and then, but they pretty much have had the corner on public disdain for the last several years.

But, as reported in a recent story on AdAge.com, a 2004 Harris poll showed the arrival of a newcomer - pharmaceutical companies. With a 44% approval rating (down from 79% in just one year), those who help keep our blood pressure down found themselves with massive hypertension over their fading image.

As a result, many players in the market have fielded high-dollar ad campaigns, seeking to demonstrate the laborious process and extensive dollars that go into creating new medications, while also touting their corporate citizenship evidenced by programs that help those with lesser means pay for their medications.

But one drug company, GlaxoSmithKline, went in the other direction. Rather than having the company preach about how misunderstood the industry is, they've let their 8,000-person sales force do so.

Armed with just 50 minutes of training on pricing, drug development, the industry as a whole (and, of course, GSK's views), the reps were dispersed to spread the gospel. At last count, the groups who've heard the message include family members, friends, service clubs, civic associations, schools, newspapers, and senior citizens groups.

Are there risks to such an approach? Absolutely.

Someone could stray from the script. Get defensive. Need more training time (like, say, at least as long as an episode of "CSI").

And then there's the question of measurement. Remember, this was a campaign that was designed to prop up an industry's image, rather than a company's. Maybe the sales force monologues would make a difference, maybe the ads from the competition would be more impactful, or maybe just something market-driven - like a slower rise in drug costs - would be most important.

Whatever the case, something's working. The 2005 Harris poll showed that pharmaceutical companies had regained 17 approval rating points. And GSK certainly gets the gold star for the most frugal strategy.

While your industry hopefully doesn't have a high-stakes image problem, and your company may not have 8,000 mercenaries at the ready, GSK's experience does suggest the following:

• Think beyond just "informing" employees - Keeping staff members aware of "need to know" info is (or should be) standard operating procedure. But consider taking a GSK approach; give them something meatier, tell them how and where to use it, and - most importantly - tell them why.
• Create feedback opportunities that allow you to track progress - The article doesn't say it, but you can bet that GSK gets a report each time one of its salespeople runs through the spiel for a group. You may not need or want to be this formal, but it's essential to encourage employees to share the reactions they are getting and to make it easy for them to do so.
• Provide regular updates - If you're giving employees messages to deliver to specific (sometimes off-line) audiences, keep the troops energized with routine e-mails, newsletter stories, et al that show what's working and what needs refinement.

The message: Informing employees, good. Giving them something meaningful to say, better. Making them full-fledged "deputies" of the marketing team (when you can), best.