Five Critical Principals Of Effective Key Account Management

Not all clients are created equally and pharmaceutical companies realise that they may not treat them all with a similar approach, due to the competitive nature of this environment. This can be due to their position of dominance within the market, the volume of transactions or any other strategic elements making them of particular interest to the company. Key account management strategies must be created and then disseminated to sales and marketing people to enable relationships to be cemented.

For the pharmaceutical company executives, client management can be as much about public relations, lobbying and positioning as it can be about the provision of products or services for the end need. Executives must decide whether an account is key or not, but interaction and daily implementation falls to the sales and marketing team, with the pharmaceutical consulting firm providing critical direction.

Success in the ultra-competitive business world requires attention to fine detail and a declaration of strategic importance for each account. If the key account values interaction, they will also elevate the importance of the relationship with the pharmaceutical company. The ultimate goal involves making the key client's position easier, focusing on product availability at the most competitive rates and being attached to the highest level of education.

Key account management can be broken down into five distinct areas:

Principally, the nature of the relationship must be agreed and understood by all parties. Once this is cemented, it must be communicated throughout the company structure, ensuring the correct level of response. While formal communication is always important, including planning, reviews, development and information exchange, the goal must always be to strengthen the bond between the two companies.

Key account management must also help to build trust and commitment in both directions. The client must feel that it is in a comfort zone when dealing with the pharmaceutical company and will therefore not have to invest effort or money in trying to control certain activities associated with the program. As such, a level of efficiency is achieved that in turn helps to build even more commitment. Generally, pharmaceutical consultants are well-versed in this style of approach and can help to cut through any misunderstandings.

When it comes to the sales and marketing team, the customer accounts must be fully reviewed, its content absorbed and potential understood. In truly key accounts, the pharmaceutical company will help the client through the dissemination of important trends and industry data. These accounts are always dynamic and a sales and marketing team must be on the ball and trained well.

From time to time, issues will arise. Conflicts are to be always avoided as they can create weaknesses in an association, but constructive conclusions should always be drawn as these could indeed lead to different paths and an even stronger relationship, down the road.

The constant review of satisfaction should be part of key account management. Any stumbling blocks ahead may be revealed and challenges will invariably be simpler to resolve, once they appear.

These five concepts are fundamental to the pharma consulting approach.

Alan Gillies is the Managing Director of L2L Consulting, specialising in enabling pharmaceutical companies to achieve new heights of productivity and performance, throughout all levels of management and revenue generating activities.