By TKG’s Merissa Oliver
In the yesteryear of pharma sales and marketing, account reps pitched physicians on the single-faceted efficacy of a new drug. That meant getting your foot in the door was giving a physician a glimpse at one set of numbers: study outcomes. Cue quick approval.
For physicians, the complex factors that make today’s healthcare more patient-centered and cost-effective had been off the radar entirely – the only indicator the decision-maker wanted was a patient outcome statistic. That single number could make or break a relationship. The right number was a yes, the wrong warranted a no, leaving account reps little recourse in the face of anything less than a yes.
Yet today’s changed healthcare marketplace means that physicians are no longer comparing a single slice of data. Instead, the array of problems administrators are trying to solve leaves a proverbial hallway of doors for key account managers. The secret? The skeleton key in your portfolio – customer-centered marketing, a new approach that emphasizes relationship-building between key account manager and administrator through the delivery of tools and resources that address the full spectrum of the administrator’s needs.
The straightforward pitch of yesterday is now the all-hands-on-deck call for resources of today. Because today’s whole-picture requirements take into account patient behavior, cost systems and hospital requirements, today’s key account managers should be armed with materials that can create context for decision-making strategies.
For an administrator tasked with assessing treatment dynamics that were previously out of the spotlight, their change in perspective provides a huge opportunity for marketers. Additionally, administrators’ challenge in juggling competing priorities and cost-benefit ratios means that a data sift doesn’t necessarily produce a black-and-white answer when the time comes to generate formularies.
The multi-faceted and proactive nature of customer-centered marketing means that there are solutions to help administrators overcome the many stumbling blocks they are facing. Those solutions can be found in the hands of key account managers in the form of knowledge, tools and resources. Providing that expertise and support for administrators doesn’t just get you in a single door—it effectively provides the way to open any door.