Valuable Guidelines On Key Account Management Strategies For Business
Are we to believe the analogy that “the customer is always right,” under every circumstance? If so, are we to extend this thought, so that we pay the utmost attention, at all times to every customer, under every circumstance? A considerable amount of resources are necessary to service accounts that we would ultimately classify as “key,” and if we believe our first statement, we should put all this effort into each and every account. Of course, in reality, not all accounts are created equally and some accounts will mean more to the organisation than others. In fact, in many organisations, certain accounts are critical to the very survival of the company, while others are far from so important. The quandary that we face is to accurately determine the correct position of each account. This is the issue — when and how do we allocate our resources so that we service clients accordingly and at what stage do we determine this? Enter the subject of key account management and also, the stark realisation that many organisations do not possess the resources, education or skills necessary to determine and subsequently look after such clients.
While we can define key account management several different ways, ultimately it is the process of looking after important accounts by giving them a raft of services or products, specifically tailored to them and delivered consistently. This sounds rather simplistic and in truth is dependent on many rather complex and interrelated factors. Company executives often find it difficult, if not impossible to establish a set of criteria to determine how they should handle and manage appropriately. For example, some customers could be seeking additional value as a consequence of selecting preferred suppliers. They may well be looking for strategic information, the joint development of certain projects or special methods of financing. Depending on their level of proficiency, they may also seek and demand that their suppliers maintain a sophisticated approach to the relationship and even become party to the adoption of certain accounting, procurement and delivery methods.
It is unlikely that two key accounts will have similar make-up, structure and behavioural characteristics and it is likely that each will have specific demands, putting considerable strain on the pharmaceutical company, from a logistical and resource allocation perspective. Expect to come across complex demands, ensuring that sophisticated techniques must be initialised before the client can be classified as satisfied. At the end of the day, does the client consider that it is the pharmaceutical company’s “most important” account, as this may be the goal to strive for?
While many of the techniques deployed by the pharmaceutical sales training company during key account management training may be strictly confidential and essentially hidden from public view, the company will want to ensure that the net result of its activities will result in reputational gain. Some external parties may view the relationship as a successful and developing one – and as such, key account management deployment can be beneficial in terms of attracting the attention of new clients, in the future. Not surprisingly, pharmaceutical sales training always has many different perspectives and potential goals.
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.
