Shrinking Budgets & Rising Targets Challenge Pharma Marketers: Survey

A recent survey conducted by Graphite Digital titled Disconnected Pharma has revealed that marketing teams within pharmaceutical companies are increasingly under strain due to a troubling combination of shrinking internal budgets and escalating expectations. The study, which gathered insights from 100 pharmaceutical executives across the U.S. and Europe, highlights that while digital transformation remains a top priority for most pharma organizations, budget constraints and misaligned performance indicators are severely hindering progress.

According to the survey, 36% of respondents pointed to a lack of adequate internal funding as the main barrier to advancing digital initiatives. Despite growing recognition of the importance of digital investment, only a marginal 3% of the companies surveyed plan to increase their digital budgets by more than 25% in the coming period. This disconnect between ambition and action suggests a systemic reluctance to allocate meaningful resources to marketing teams that are expected to perform under increasing pressure.

Another critical issue uncovered in the report is the misalignment of key performance indicators (KPIs) with broader business goals. Nearly two-thirds of marketers acknowledged that the metrics they track for digital projects do not reflect their company’s overall objectives. Furthermore, 54% of respondents stated that digital KPIs are often defined too late—after campaigns have already begun—making it difficult to measure return on investment or even justify the campaign’s existence. The lack of upfront strategic alignment and delayed goal setting pose serious challenges for marketers trying to deliver measurable success. As a result, marketing leaders are struggling not only with tight budgets but also with demonstrating value and securing internal buy-in for future digital initiatives.

Rob Verheul, CEO of Graphite Digital, noted that early ROI and evidence of impact are essential to unlocking investment, but without clear KPIs and company-wide alignment, digital marketing teams are left in a weak position. He emphasized that organizations must commit to defining goals and expectations from the outset rather than retrofitting performance measures later in the process. Despite these difficulties, the survey found that pharma companies are still aiming to invest in key digital focus areas. Close to 40% of respondents reported that improving data privacy and security infrastructure would be a top priority, reflecting the industry's ongoing shift towards more patient-centric and compliant digital systems.

In addition, around 20% of executives plan to invest in external collaborations and partnerships, while 13% are exploring the adoption of emerging technologies to enhance operational capabilities.

The findings suggest that while digital transformation remains a clear strategic goal for pharma marketers, there is a widening gap between what needs to be done and what organizations are currently resourced to support.

(Input from various sources)

(Rehash/Sakshi Thakar/MSM)