Key Account Management And Great Ideas For Going The Distance

A pharmaceutical company’s clients can exercise a choice in their selection of business partners, should they wish and as such may look for a definitive type of relationship in return for their 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. Much attention must be paid to this management and while different staff members may approach their engagement from different points of view, the overall goal must always be kept in perspective – ensuring that the client and its senior management are happy with what they receive.

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. The key account expects a pharmaceutical company to be proactive and not simply to react when any events take place. 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.

In certain circumstances, the client will be looking to the pharmaceutical company to help it develop its 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. The company must intimately know the client and this does not necessarily mean socially. It might be smart for the company to send certain executives to work directly “in the field” with the client, as this will also help to provide a certain level of “intelligence” for the company’s future needs.

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.

Pharmaceutical companies can often be in a delicate position when it comes to the dissemination of any information seen as being proprietary. 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. Remember that a key account must be key in all respects and this goes all the way to the bottom of the balance sheet, to enable a truly “win-win” situation to result.

Alan Gillies is the CEO of L2L Consulting, a cutting-edge pharma consultancy firm which specialises in optimising productivity and performance within international companies by applying tailored organisational strategies.