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Phenomenal Ideas On Emphasising The Personal To Ensure Customer Loyalty
By now, pharmaceutical companies must appreciate the importance of key account management training and how they must always be in possession of the latest, cutting-edge marketing information to enable them to actively solicit and then cultivate major, important accounts. There may be a tendency to concentrate on the establishment of a “system,” where a large number of individuals within key roles are all engaged in helping to ensure that the “big picture” is realised. It’s certainly true to say that the key account requires many different individuals to come together and that a harmonic balance is essential. However, there may be a danger that the personal element of interaction is overlooked, to the company’s peril, when an organisation’s marketing structure is designed.
The exchange of value is insufficient if effective communication is not given great attention, and this is one of the main reasons why a relationship may fail. One on one communication is absolutely critical and must be handled effectively. Key account management training may well call for many different individuals within the company to be intrinsically aware of a client’s needs. A multitude of individual communications may take place. While this is going on, a specific “point person” must be front and centre, and focused on maintaining the critical communication with the key individual in that key account. In the very early stages of development, this relationship must be categorically identified and must be cultivated, or problems will certainly arise.
Customer service may be one of the first areas to be considered for cutbacks during slower times and while certain roles may indeed be effectively consolidated under the total domain of key account management, personal contact with the key client should never be overlooked. It is also not sensible for the organisation to put all its eggs in one collective personality basket. The interactive development of two different personalities is often very effective in building business or personal relationships, but it should not be relied upon by itself. Key account management structures should build in a certain layer of redundancy and ensure that the relationship with the client could not completely collapse if one party departs the organisation.
These days, key account management training should never be cast in stone, or the subject of a repetitive, “proven” philosophy. Consultants or managers who are responsible for overseeing these structures should themselves ensure that they are “in touch” with life on the street, with the wants, needs and requirements of their clients. They should not operate in isolation from the marketing office, but should get out and visit clients. This will help them to understand how to modify their marketing structure and also enable them to act readily and with confidence, should any break in the interpersonal relationship pipeline occur.
The road ahead is challenging for the pharmaceutical company, as even more legislation arrives and as a process of consolidation and acquisition is anticipated. Within the industry, major patents are set to expire and “niche” products and solutions will continue to emerge, so pharma training must become even more diversified and far-reaching, to be able to cope with each and every eventuality.
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.
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