Five Basic 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. As such, key account management strategies must be implemented and communicated to the sales and marketing team as the company aims to cement relationships with these principles.

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. While fundamentally the overall approach to client management must be decided at the executive level, implementation on a daily basis requires the effort of the sales and marketing team as the pharmaceutical consulting firm advises strategies and positions.

Attention to fine detail is required here, like in no other environment, once an account has been classified as of strategic importance. If the key account values interaction, they will also elevate the importance of the relationship with the pharmaceutical company. The goal must be to facilitate the work of the key client and to ensure that the pharmaceutical company’s products are more widely available, at competitive rates and the subject of enhanced information and education.

Key account management can be divided into five areas:

Firstly, all parties must fully understand the level of the agreement. 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. This new level of efficiency prompts even more commitment. This interaction may appear complex and daunting, but pharmaceutical consultants are well versed in such strategies.

The sales and marketing team will be charged with the responsibility of fully understanding the customer account, its context, make-up and trends. In truly key accounts, the pharmaceutical company will help the client through the dissemination of important trends and industry data. This is always fluid and dynamic and thus the company sales and marketing team must be always aware and trained appropriately.

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.

Key account management requires a continuous review of satisfaction. 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 Director of L2L Consulting, an elite pharmaceutical consultancy firm which specialises in Strategy Development and Implementation Excellence for prestigious multi-national organisations.