Five Essential Principals Of Proper 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. If a particular client is very dominant, has a high level of transactions or is otherwise strategically important, they should be treated specially. 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. 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.

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 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 broken down into five distinct areas:

Principally, the nature of the relationship must be agreed and understood by all parties. The exact nature of the relationship must be communicated throughout the company structure, so that an integrated response is always applicable. 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 involves the building of trust and two-way commitment. When the client is comfortable, it will relax funding and resources associated with program activities and enter a comfort zone with the pharmaceutical company. This new level of efficiency prompts 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.

Few relationships of this kind run smoothly and without issues from time to time. 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.

All of these five concepts are revealed and explained within 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.