Shi Ping,Wang Shuling

(School of Business Administration,Shenyang Pharmaceutical University,Shenyang 110016,China)

Abstract Objective To analyze of the status of pharmaceutical WeChat public platforms,and to put forward some suggestions for its future development.Methods PEST-SWOT matrix model for the pharmaceutical WeChat public platforms was constructed to sort out the strength,weakness,opportunities and threats of the platforms compared with the traditional health information communication media.Results and Conclusion Pharmaceutical WeChat public platform has such features as strong flexibility,high industrial sensitivity and wide communication resources.However,it has also the disadvantages of too general content and homogenization,unclearly positioning and single feedback path.From the perspective of SO,ST,WO and WT,the development strategy of pharmaceutical WeChat public platform is to offer accurate information with the big data to create new way of media thinking,to define its own positioning so as to provide vertical service,and to enhance its professionalism.

Keywords:PEST-SWOT matrix;pharmacy;WeChat public platform;traditional media

As information technology continues to change,the health information dissemination model gradually breaks the barriers of the traditional model and shifts to the modern information media era.With the development of society,the WeChat public platform has become a key component of the new media communication.The large number of WeChat users has made the platform a spokesperson of the Internet era.Therefore,the scale of pharmaceutical WeChat public platform is increasing to meet the needs of the public.As the WeChat public platform develops,many pharmaceutical new media platforms show their defects.PEST method is used to analyze the macro environment of the industry so that we can get the internal advantages and disadvantages and external opportunities.By analyzing the development status and characteristics of pharmaceutical WeChat public platform,a PEST-SWOT matrix model is constructed to propose some recommendations for its development under the new situation.

1 Overview of the current status of pharmaceutical WeChat public platform

1.1 WeChat and pharmaceutical WeChat public platform

As the most important intelligent terminal product of Tencent,WeChat,a national communication tool in China,has provided instant messaging services since 2011.Compared with Tencent's QQ,it has the obvious advantage of being able to display real-time input status,cross-platform communication and high privacy.Besides,its subsidiary functions are very rich.As the largest mobile communication tool,WeChat has changed a lot from a single communication function to multifunction.Its history can be divided into three stages,as shown in Figure 1.WeChat public account is one of the important subsidiary functions of WeChat development.It connects WeChat users through the subscription number,enterprise number,service number and information services of various industries.According to the Impact Report of WeChat in 2018,the number of WeChat public accounts exceeded 20 million.In addition,more than 80% of mobile users used the WeChat public account everyday.The monthly active number exceeded 35 billion.In recent years,with the surge of health care and Internet medical care,the inf luence of pharmaceutical WeChat public platform becomes more apparent.

Fig.1 WeChat development process

1.2 Classification of pharmaceutical WeChat public platform

The realization of self-media through pharmaceutical WeChat public platform means that the rapid spread of medical information in the new media era is an important channel for online and offl ine health information dissemination.

1.2.1 Classification by account nature

In terms of the nature of the account,pharmaceutical WeChat public number can be divided into three categories.Among them,pharmaceutical WeChat public platform includes a subscription number and a service number.The characteristics of the various types are as follows:(1)Service number,a pharmaceutical WeChat public platform is designed to provide health information or health services for WeChat users.The functions supported by this type of account include sending messages directly to users in the form of dialogs.The graphics can be pushed to the user terminal four times a month,so it has the advantage of user experience.It is mostly registered for the government,enterprises and businesses.(2)Enterprise number,is generally not used publicly,which aims to realize the mobilization of pharmaceutical production management and operation.And it is one of the channels for management within the organization.The number of messages in this type of public number can be issued no more than 200 times per minute.(3)Subscription number,as the main part of the current pharmaceutical WeChat public account,is a kind of information dissemination mode that truly works for the mass media and individuals.The new version of WeChat puts all the public numbers in the subscription number directory,which can send a graphic message to the public every day.

1.2.2 Classification by functional properties

According to the function of pharmaceutical WeChat public platform,it can be divided into six categories,as shown in Table 1.

According to the content theme and function of the platform,it is divided into six categories:health care,industry policy,industry dynamics and information,drug service and doctor-patient communication,medical information and other categories.The characteristics of various types of platforms are summarized and one or two representative platforms are listed.For example,industry information and industry dynamics are released in time so that users can keep abreast of industry trends.Medical information and drugs are spread through pharmaceutical industry news to offer medical information to the medical community or the masses.Medical economic reports and the drug management circle are the representing platforms.

Table 1 Classification of pharmaceutical WeChat public platforms

1.3 Comparison with traditional health information media

Medical health information dissemination refers to the transmission of medical health-related information and news to users through the mass media so that they can promote their health or obtain relevant information[1].Traditional health information media include radio,television and paper media.TV health information dissemination is generally carried out through news broadcasts,health bulletins,etc.,such as Beijing Satellite TV's“Yangsheng Tang”and Hu'nan Satellite TV's“Encyclopedia”column,which aims to spread health information through fixed TV programs.Broadcasting health information is generally common in social units such as schools and communities when forms it is necessary to have centralized learning of health information.And this form of information dissemination often plays an important role in the public.The health information dissemination of paper media includes newspapers,magazines,etc.This means medical health information is scheduled to be carried to paper media and transmitted to the users through the circulation paper media.Traditional media played a pivotal role in the field of health information dissemination decades ago because its information authority and professional team ability were better than other forms of media.

The stagnation of the information age has exaggerated the limitations of the health information transmission of traditional media.First of all,it is difficult to ensure that health information could be received through broadcast and television-based health programs in the fast life style because the inflexibility of time prevent traditional media health information dissemination.Second,traditional media overemphasizes the output of information which makes people get health information passively.Finally,people have to purchase paper media for the health information transmission and the intermediate cost is ultimately paid by consumers.It means the cost of obtaining health information is large.

2 Analysis of the development of pharmaceutical WeChat public platform based on PEST-SWOT matrix

As a common method for industrial strategy development analysis,PEST-SWOT matrix model can not only analyze the current macro-political (P),economic (E),social (S)and technical (T)conditions and the environment of the industry,but also combines the industry's own micro-environment,development opportunities,and internal conditions to explore the future strategy and direction of the industry based on the strengths (S),weaknesses (W),and external environmental opportunities (O)and threats (T)[2].The PEST-SWOT matrix model of pharmaceutical WeChat public number platform is shown in Table 2.

Table 2 PEST-SWOT matrix model of pharmaceutical WeChat public platform

2.1 Strengths of pharmaceutical WeChat public platform

(1)It has great flexibility and autonomy.Compared with the media of traditional medical health information,pharmaceutical WeChat public platform has greater flexibility,and the policy provides better industrial autonomy.The platform has a promising future because of the government's strong support for the“Internet+Health”industry.The platform can not only achieve the goal of health information dissemination and health product marketing online,but also extends to some special or personal fields and sectors.(2)It has high industrial sensitivity.The pharmaceutical WeChat public platform has characteristics that are different from traditional information dissemination channels,including sensitive market insight,innovation and capabilities of analyzing policies.The difference between new media and traditional media lies in the speed and diversity of information acquisition and dissemination[3].Faced with the fast dissemination of information sources,a large number of new media workers can filter and personalize health information,and then spread it to the audience through the platform.The information network,the diversity of platform processing,and the special features of new media workers make many platforms to be distinct,which lays a good foundation for the innovative development of pharmaceutical WeChat public platform.(3)The health information can be spread widely with flexible form.The way that pharmaceutical WeChat public platform communicates with the audience changes the traditional form of medical information dissemination as it has more audiences with flexible forms.The most important feature of modern information dissemination is that it can be quickly and widely disseminated through the network[4].Abandoning the monotony of traditional information forms,medical information dissemination of WeChat public platform can be used as a carrier through the combination of pictures,texts,audio and video,etc.,to meet the needs of more groups.(4)Pharmaceutical WeChat public platform integrates traditional medical health information with modern media with modern information management concept of high flexibility.

2.2 Weaknesses of pharmaceutical WeChat public platform

(1)Content is homogeneous and some information is not serious.First,the fragmentation of health information has caused operators of the WeChat public platform to reduce their investments in information collection,which increase the difficulty of creating original works.In addition,the fragmentation of information makes users less interested in the push articles[5].As time goes by,most platforms gradually lose their motivation,and the quality of health information will decrease.Second,as users'demand for health information continues to rise,the limited health information is homogenized in diverse channels of media.Since the WeChat public platform does not impose rigid requirements on the originality of the content,most operators often adopt the form of reprinting or excerpting the contents of the portal or professional newspapers to run the platform.

(2)The platform has a single feedback channel and its own positioning is fuzzy.The development of the WeChat public platform is usually judged by indicators such as the“graphic conversion rate”or“WCI index”of the platform[6].The dissemination index of China's pharmaceutical WeChat public platform,that is,the WCI index is generally low.According to the ranking of the micro-popular public platform in February 2019,only Clove Doctor and Clove Family were listed on the top 100 WCI index.It means the audience rating and the information reading rates are much lower than other types of public platforms.It is believed that there are two reasons.First,the released public information of pharmaceutical WeChat lacks timeliness compared with the ordinary media.Except for a few public platforms based on medical policy analysis,most of the platforms take health care,health services,and industry information as the main release content.Compared with other public platforms with timely news,users are not motivated to surf the public number on time every day.Second,the content of the information is simple,which cannot attract users in the long run.At present,the editors of pharmaceutical WeChat public platform mainly focus on“text plus pictures”.In the long term,readers will inevitably become tired of them.Although the value of content is large,it still cannot attract users to the platform loyally.Moreover,the quality of communicators varies,which causes the public gradually to lose the trust in information.Therefore,it is difficult to improve the WCI index.

(3)Health information cannot be disseminated precisely.The WeChat public platform had the public message function in July 2015.It officially marked the breakthrough of the traditional media one-way infusion of information.The platform took the first step of user communication and feedback,which stimulated the WeChat public platform to develop fast.If the public platform cannot be supplemented by the new model,it will lead to stagnant or even recession.On the one hand,most of medical public platforms in China are only focusing on one-way communication to readers while ignoring their feedback.The users'loyalty is inseparable from the communication between the platforms and them.Most medical public platforms do not pay attention to the users' feedback.They either ignore the message or reply in the official language,which lowers the readers' loyalty.On the other hand,the current medical public platform is full of various aspects of health information,which means the platform has no clear positioning.As a result,it is impossible to provide services and information accurately according to user needs.Positioning is the primary task of medical public platform.When an article or information is provided to the users,it is difficult to construct a benign relationship with the users in the absence of accurate and clear brand positioning.

2.3 Opportunities of pharmaceutical WeChat public platform

(1)P (political level).“Healthy China 2030”clearly pointed out that social forces should be mobilized to build a health information service system.In 2018,the State Council issued the“Opinions on Promoting the Development of ‘Internet +Medical Health' ”,which proposed a sound“Internet +Medical Health”service system.And it stimulated the vitality of innovation and development of all types of participants.The legal system for health information dissemination channels such as pharmaceutical WeChat public platform is gradually improved and the policy situation is excellent.(2)E(economic level).According to the National Bureau of Statistics,China's GDP in 2018 reached 90.030 9 trillion yuan,of which the Internet technology service industry was 3.243 1 trillion yuan,an increase of 18.1% over the same period of the previous year,and the contribution rate to the total annual GDP reached 3.6%.The development of a stable Internet market will increase the user's appeal to the public platform.(3)S (social level).According to the“Statistical Report on the Development of China's Internet Network”in 2019,the number of Internet users in China is 829 million,of which 98.6% uses mobile phone to access Internet.With the continuous increase of the digital users and the gradual construction of a comprehensive well-off society,China's new media industry has developed rapidly.In the PC era,the public platform of the Internet can help the public to obtain government news and express their opinions.With the improvement of people's living standards and the development of mobile phone information technology,the attributes of the Internet public platform gradually shift to commercialization and life.Besides the rapid progress of WeChat public platform has brought qualitative development to the spread of health information.(4)T (technical level).Health information is different from traditional information dissemination.It is directly sent to the users via the network,which not only enhances the timeliness of information effectively,but also facilitates the optimal consumption of resources.It is beneficial to develop pharmaceutical WeChat public platform if the cost of information dissemination is cut through technical optimization.

Fig.2 China's network revenue scale over the years

2.4 Threats of pharmaceutical WeChat public platform

(1)P (political level).There is no regulatory system to constrain channels of China's information dissemination such as the WeChat public platform.Social groups are the main body of modern medical communication system,which means a unified information center at the national level has not been established yet.It is not conducive to the longterm development of the pharmaceutical WeChat public platform.(2)E (economic level).The total enterprises income based on Internet business is called network economic revenue.The scale and growth rate of network revenue over the years are shown in Figure 2.In 2018,the growth rate of network revenues slowed down significantly after 42.5% of the previous year,which means the end of rapid growth of pharmaceutical WeChat public platform.(3)S(social level).Due to factors such as low barriers,low construction cost and high efficiency,pharmaceutical WeChat public platforms were set up by a large number of pharmaceutical companies and individual entrepreneurs to realize information transmission with users.With the influx of health information,it is difficult for users to judge the quality and value of the information.Therefore,it is inevitable for users to be interfered by some unreasonable information,which can damage their health or their families.(4)T (technical level).Some pharmaceutical WeChat public platforms are pursuing information display forms blindly because they do not have medical professionalism.

3 Analysis of operating strategies of pharmaceutical WeChat public platform

Through the SWOT matrix analysis,four strategic combinations of SO,ST,WO,and WT can be obtained.Based on the above macro environment analysis from PEST-SWOT,the industrial strategy analysis matrix are shown in Table 3.

3.1 SO strategy:accurate information push with big data

Accurate push is a key point in the healthy development of pharmaceutical WeChat public platform.In the era of information explosion,it is difficult for users to identify and distinguish valuable medical health information.Most users tend to pay attention to the public platform because of one specialarticle.If such article is not updated continuously,the user will choose to stop focusing the platform any more,which requires the WeChat public platform to fully consider the needs of each type of user to consolidate his loyalty.First,we must strengthen the search engine of the health information platform.It is not difficult to obtain information for users in the era of big data.Through the user's search results for health information,the database can be set up based on the types of articles and information.After understanding the users' reading and sharing habits,some precise information push will be sent to them to create a unique positioning of pharmaceutical WeChat public platform.Secondly,with the continuous improvement of living standards,people are aware that health is vital in life.Therefore,they are willing to pay time and money for the acquisition of health information.The medical public platform can meet the user's needs to jointly organize offline activities with online information through the analysis of the database,which can not only enhance users' loyalty,but also further clarify their specific needs.Thirdly,the evaluation of WeChat communication power and influence should be strengthened to grasp the user's ideas timely based on data feedback.This can improve the development strategy and model of the pharmaceutical WeChat public platform.

Table 3 SWOT strategy analysis matrix of pharmaceutical WeChat public platform

3.2 ST Strategy:breaking old ideas and building new media thinking

The WeChat public platform has subverted the spread of traditional medical health information,and it becomes an important carrier of health information dissemination with its unique sociality.However,there is still a long way to go to break the current situation of traditional media and user information asymmetry completely.To build a new media thinking,the user's subjectivity should be emphasized first.Medical public number is closely related to people's health.The one-way infusion mode can no longer meet the needs of modern people.Returning to the social attribute of public platform is the survival way for future pharmaceutical WeChat public platform[7].To emphasize user's subjectivity means their interaction with the platform must be fully ensured.The platform should focus on building interactive channels with users and improve the feedback mechanism.For instance,the live broadcast should be increased to get user feedback in time and carry out information services according to their needs.Offline activities also should be more to achieve face-to-face communication,thereby users' activity and loyalty can be increased.Besides,attention should be paid to the feedback channels and response to users in time.Second,attention should be paid to the special features of the platform.As the WeChat public platform enters a period of weakness,special feature of the platform is conducive to get users' acceptance.On the other hand,the comprehensive public medical platform is difficult to formulate targeted strategies to consolidate users' loyalty.Special feature means to develop the characteristics of the platform after positioning.It can focus on specific groups of people,such as medical representatives,chronically ill patients and kids'parents.The platform can also start from the novelty of content,and release first-hand health information under the premise of high-quality team resources.Finally,the diversified model can be flexibly used to avoid platform limitations.The development of offline health services should be encouraged and some activities can be organized from the perspective of maintaining users health to truly realize the“Internet +Health”life.

3.3 WO strategy:making clear positioning and providing service directly

The platform positioning should be made to provide service directly.Firstly,the pharmaceutical WeChat public platform should accurately position itself,find the right direction and use this as a guide to improve its quality.This will help the platform to be recognized by users through the push of content and it will become irreplaceable in a certain health field.Secondly,the unique professional service will also increase the user's loyalty to the platform.Taking“medical representatives”as an example,this platform mainly works for the majority of medical representatives in China,offering them the latest industry trends and employment guidance.It precisely aims at the large-scale medical representative market,policy and industry demand.This platform firmly grasps some users with professional and unique push content,which in turn can make the platform develop steadily.

3.4 WT strategy:enhancing professionalism and leading the trend of health

On the one hand,it is necessary to enhance the professionalism of content because the professionalism and originality of health information is a key part of medical public platform to gain users trust.The content of false information will directly lead to the reduction of platform transmission.To build a more professional medical public platform,first,there must be a fixed professional operation team.The team should include topic group,editing group,communication group and other people to ensure the high quality of the articles.The promotion group should be set up to strengthen the marketing of medical public platform.Besides,the style consistency and content stability should be ensured by the fixed members.Second,because publishers and users are more affected in the process of information dissemination[8],if the quality and stability of the content cannot be guaranteed,it will mislead users.This requires the publication of the content to be managed from the sources.It is vital to ensure the author's professional ability to have accurate text expression and language description so that the information will not mislead the users.Once it is discovered that the information has been illegally reprinted and adapted,it must be resolved by means of reasonable rights protection.Third,policy regulations should be introduced on the platform.As an important part of the current new media,WeChat is inseparable from the support of the government and the law.The proper involvement of the government has a huge deterrent effect on the false information of the platform.

4 Conclusions

The current health information dissemination on WeChat public platform has become a popular trend.In order to occupy a place in the recessive health communication field,it is necessary to overcome the homogenization of health information and solve the problem of communication and feedback.In a favorable environment,pharmaceutical WeChat public platform should strengthen its professionalism.While broadening feedback and marketing channels,it should offer the best services to the users precisely.By breaking old ideas and building new media thinking,health industry can develop fast in the mobile Internet era.