Top Pharmaceutical Consultants Suggest Undertaking Key Account Management Tactics

The 80/20 rule is a metric used within the business world which reveals that fully 80% of all business can be attributable to only 20% of the actual clients. This can be the subject of conjecture and certain clients are always seen as more important by the pharmaceutical company, due either to their pure volume of sales, their position in the market or other important considerations such as a transition to other market areas. Key account management provisions should be brought in by the company and all members of the sales and marketing team made keenly aware of their existence and importance.

A pharmaceutical company has many different stakeholders and must satisfy a number of different “clients.” So many different issues have to be addressed including the company's position, public relations and media activities, lobbying in political circles, quite apart from core issues of marketing and economics. There is a lot to take on, from a daily and weekly perspective and company executives must ensure that they do not try and address too many complex issues while diluting their overall effectiveness. Key account management will not be effective if certain layers of communication are not maintained, leading to a less efficient sales and marketing operation and calling for a pharmaceutical consulting firm to be retained for best effect.

Once an account is designated as key to the success of the business, a determination should be made and a plan of action composed in concert with the pharmaceutical consultants. From the client perspective, what value do they gain from the relationship with the pharmaceutical company and vice versa? There should be an interactive approach to communication here and the goal should be to create a “win-win” scenario at all times, regardless of complexity. The key account is more likely to want to continue with the company if value is delivered over and above the core essentials.

A comfort zone must be the desired result, for if the client senses this, then a continuation can be expected and an expansion possible. Trust is everything and the establishment of a comfort zone promotes the client to relax many of the resources it may engage to control the associated activities, marking the relationship as efficient in its eyes.

Some experts observe that account management is really about damage control. Every now and again problems and issues will undoubtedly arise. It falls to the company to try and understand how a client works and to do its best to anticipate any problems or objections before they occur. If a sales and marketing team has achieved a high level of training and education, it will be much better positioned to get past the hurdles in its path.

Key account management requires a constant review of the client's interpretation of the relationship. As always, a level of satisfaction is at the top of the list and when senior management goes overboard, a long-term relationship is likely, with great potential for additional revenues. In almost every instance, pharma consulting firms practice the art of delivering satisfaction.

Alan Gillies is the Director of L2L Consulting, an elite pharmaceutical consultancy firm which specialises in Strategy Development and Implementation Excellence for prestigious multi-national organisations.