Some business practitioners use a metric termed the 80/20 rule, which dictates that 80% of an organisation’s business comes from just 20% of its clients. This can be the subject of conjecture and certain clients are always seen as more important by the pharmaceutical company, due either to their pure volume of sales, their position in the market or other important considerations such as a transition to other market areas. Key account management provisions should be brought in by the company and all members of the sales and marketing team made keenly aware of their existence and importance.

A pharmaceutical company has many different stakeholders and must satisfy a number of different “clients.” So many different issues have to be addressed including the company’s position, public relations and media activities, lobbying in political circles, quite apart from core issues of marketing and economics. There is a lot to take on, from a daily and weekly perspective and company executives must ensure that they do not try and address too many complex issues while diluting their overall effectiveness. As key account management is only as effective as methods and levels of communication and the efforts of the sales and marketing team, a pharmaceutical consulting firm should be engaged to help the company process.

Following the appointment of a specific account to the role of “key,” the pharmaceutical consultants should help in composing a concerted plan of action. The business must look at the relationship from the client point of view and accurately gauge what they feel to be the substance of the relationship. Communication must be full and constant and all parties must be able to achieve a “win” no matter how complex this is to achieve. While attention to the essentials is of course important, the key account would be more likely to continue the association if additional value is perceived.

If the client enters the comfort zone when dealing with a pharmaceutical company, it will be more inclined to not only continue the relationship, but also to enhance it or to expand it. Trust is everything and the establishment of a comfort zone promotes the client to relax many of the resources it may engage to control the associated activities, marking the relationship as efficient in its eyes.

It has been said that account management is often one of “damage control.” Every now and again problems and issues will undoubtedly arise. It falls to the company to try and understand how a client works and to do its best to anticipate any problems or objections before they occur. The more educated the sales and marketing team and the better the training levels initiated, the more likely it is that any potential stumbling blocks will be easily resolved.

Key account management requires a constant review of the client’s interpretation of the relationship. As always, a level of satisfaction is at the top of the list and when senior management goes overboard, a long-term relationship is likely, with great potential for additional revenues. In almost every instance, pharma consulting firms practice the art of delivering satisfaction.

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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