Forrester: - Making Leaders Successful Every Day

Like it or not, Social Computing is coming to the life sciences industry. If you don't believe us, check out the YouTube video of a purported Eli Lilly sales rep dishing ZYPREXA's side effects or read the passionate consumer comments on GlaxoSmithKline's AlliConnect blog. Harnessing social media promises big benefits like improving consumer trust in brands, but it also brings formidable risks like adverse event reporting complexity driven by consumer comments in forums and blogs. To navigate the unknown waters of social media safely, life sciences firms must take four steps: 1) educate executives and legal; 2) identify internal innovators and existing learning; 3) build a task force; and 4) anticipate organizational change and internal resource demands to arrive at a sensible strategy.