March 2, 2010

Key Account Management And Essential Suggestions For Going The Distance

Clients of a typical pharmaceutical company often have a choice when it comes to selection of business partners and may look for a distinct type of relationship in return for further patronage. Therefore, the pharmaceutical company must really comprehend the value that the business of that strategic account imparts and must realise that when it designates “key account” status, a certain level of quality control should ensue and measurable results be expected.

Key account management is not something to be designated and reviewed at some later stage. It must be essentially dynamic and while certain elements of such an association will mean different things to different staff members, the overall goal must be the same – to ensure that the client and all its executives are happy and wish to remain.

It is a shame, but clients are often disappointed by what they see as a failure to embrace the importance of key account management and by the organisation’s inability to cross the line. For example, the key account wants the pharmaceutical company to be impactive and not just to be visible, to be proactive and not reactive. It’s important for the client to see that the company is acting in its best interests and, most especially in this field, keeping abreast of developments within the industry.

Sometimes, the client will be expecting the pharmaceutical company to be involved in the development of strategies. While there can be many different levels of key account designation and there can and should be variations across client levels, the pharmaceutical company must ensure that its staff at all levels are trained to recognise particular needs. A company must get to know the client first hand and in many respects this does not necessarily mean at the social level either. For example, the company may want to send some of its appropriate staff into the field to work directly with the client and should remember that this can also help to provide an element of in-depth knowledge about the client, intelligence which could be used in the future.

The pharmaceutical company should never be afraid to perform a certain amount of work at no charge for truly key clients and this once again points to the need for each client to be treated as its own entity. The moral is that there should be no such thing as a textbook approach to key account management and pharmaceutical consulting firms fully realise this and can help to educate all staff levels in the intricacies of such an approach.

When it comes to the release of information that could be seen as proprietary, pharmaceutical companies may find themselves in a difficult or delicate position. It is certainly true that information at these levels can be very powerful and while the client may expect to be given some additional “value” in this respect, the most senior levels of the pharmaceutical company management should discuss this issue with the company’s pharma consulting firm to be sure of the best approach.

The pharmaceutical consultants will help ensure that the company is going above and beyond, over-delivering its part of the equation. If the key account truly is key, all the way down to the bottom line, then a fruitful relationship for the future can be assured.

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.

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