Great Considerations On The Real Metric Behind Customer Contribution
posted in Off-line Marketing |Looking at the issue of key account management designation, we need to focus on the customer contribution to the metric. It is no longer acceptable for traditional measures to be used and the pharmaceutical consultant must tell senior management that it needs a better definition of a client’s contribution. In the days when money seemed to flow a lot more freely and the business world was far less complex, management decision-makers could often refer to the monthly sales volume, or market share when considering how important the particular client was to the overall mix. Quite simply, the more money that came through this particular client pipeline, the more money in terms of time, effort and resources could be placed into the pot by the pharmaceutical company, to make sure that that client was likely to stay around.
Whenever customer relationship marketing comes under consideration, we learn from pharmaceutical marketing training that key account management is just one of several major areas that we need to focus on. While considering the management of key accounts, it’s important to analyse the customer portfolio, consider the lifetime value potential, an increasingly more important metric that should determine whether the life cycle is likely linked to a particular product, trend or other value. A pharmaceutical consultancy knows only too well that key account management can only be successful if an “appropriate” relationship is developed and that in this particular field, one size most certainly does not fit all.
The customer’s contribution can often be very difficult to calculate and determine. Does the customer represent a strategic ally for the company? As politics within the industry becomes ever more prevalent, it’s quite conceivable that a customer could be designated as “key,” even though the actual financial contribution to the company’s turnover is relatively small. In terms of lobbying or other methods of tangible or intangible support, it could be well worthwhile for the company to elevate this particular client to a pedestal, alongside those who may be contributing a great deal more in financial terms.
Pharmaceutical marketing training must be structured in such a way that the relatively diverse contributions of each and every client can be ascertained and we need to see how these subtle nuances can be manipulated in favour of the company. Does this mean that the pharmaceutical consultant must also be an expert in psychology and should seek to train all those who come into contact with these key accounts in the subtle nuances associated?
By some estimation, almost 2/3 of pharmaceutical companies in the market today still consider key account management to be largely ruled by sales volume. This is where a good pharmaceutical consultancy will step in, bringing education to the line and helping to educate representatives for the task ahead. As it becomes ever more difficult to adequately communicate with the end user, it follows that the company should become ever more strategic in the way that it micromanages its existing client base. It’s no longer acceptable to use a broad brush when it comes to pharmaceutical marketing training, as specific attention has to be paid to colouring in the finer detail, as the world of key account management is reborn.
Alan Gillies is the Managing Director of L2L Consulting, specialising in enabling pharmaceutical companies to achieve new heights of productivity and performance, throughout all levels of management and revenue generating activities.
