Customer Contribution as a new Metric

Customer contribution must become a more important metric when key account management designation is under consideration. For instance, a pharmaceutical consultant must impress upon senior management that traditional measures used to define a client’s contribution are no longer adequate.

There certainly was a time when money was not as much of an issue as it is now, the business world was much more straightforward and management could just look at monthly sales activity, or the level of market share, to determine just how important a particular client was in the overall scheme of things.

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.

Key Accounts – How to Measure their Customer Contribution?

Not surprisingly, pharmaceutical marketing training teaches us that key account management is only one part of several major components, when customer relationship marketing and management is considered.

The management of key accounts depends a lot on an analysis of a customer’s make-up, taking into account how much the customer is worth over a lifetime and this is increasingly important as we consider whether a particular lifecycle is dependent on the strength of a product, a certain scenario or other metric. 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.

To determine the customer’s contribution can often be very difficult to calculate. Can we assume that the customer is a strategic ally of some kind in the marketplace? This is far from a straightforward analysis, as industrial politics could determine that a particular customer be designated as “key,” even though they may be far from one of the leading contributors to the overall financial pot.

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

Pharmaceutical marketing training must be able to recognise the diverse contributions that each and every client makes and how rather subtle elements could translate into potential benefits for 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?

It appears that almost 2/3 of pharmaceutical companies are not really aware of this approach and consider that key account management is dictated almost exclusively by sales volume alone. 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.

Customer Contribution is a Guest Article

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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 organizations and we are pleased to publish this article on the new metrics of customer contribution.