By TKG’s Roxanne Dehnad
As a pharmaceutical marketer, it’s not a bombastic sales pitch that provides value—that’s just noise. The value in the conversation between an Account Manager and a customer is the relationship—the longer-term conversion of information to outcome. That concept, generally known as relationship marketing, is about developing strong connections with customers. The idea of relationship marketing is aligned with customer-centered marketing, wherein Account Managers are able to provide content and information that meets customers’ needs, wants and interests. Today’s Account Managers at modern pharmaceutical companies are the utmost example of relationship marketers who, based on the changing (and challenging) nature of healthcare, have excelled at building fruitful relationships based on a marketer’s understanding of the landscape and ability to identify shared priorities and actionable steps. Likewise, today’s health administrators face complex issues that, with the help of an Account Manager, can be addressed in a multitude of ways.
Instead of transactional or interruption marketing—think ear-ringing TV commercials with flashing graphics, or the solicitous phone call based on a swath of vague demographics—the concept of relationship marketing is all about loyalty and a willingness to share information in exchange for tailored content. Consider social media and the businesses that utilize it successfully. They provide communications that respect not only the platform, but a specialized audience that’s eager for content. A home makeover with shopping links doesn’t go on YouTube, it goes on Pinterest, where the shoppers are. A progressive series of campaign photos don’t go on Facebook, they go on Instagram, built for chronological visuals. Simple understanding of the hows and whys of content and audience are what a marketer does best. In the healthcare industry, relationship marketing practices are evident in customer-centered marketing, an 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.
No, you’re not posting health solutions on social media, but Account Managers that use customer-centered marketing understand that a relationship based on providing appropriate content in the most effective ways is a win-win. If 70 percent of consumers prefer getting to know a company via articles rather than ads, you can be sure that customers prefer valuable unbranded content rather than a flimsy sales sheet. Whether it’s a video series for providers that details best practices or a brochure for patients to take home that offers tactics for at-home treatment, Account Managers are well-versed in finding areas of opportunity to provide high-value solutions to complex problems—meeting the needs of health administrators and strengthening every relationship that benefits from positive health outcomes, managed costs and high quality of care. Want to know what a health administrator said recently about the content their Account Manager provided for them after pinpointing their needs? “The most impressive initiative that I’ve seen pharma roll out that has actually added true benefits.” Talk about the value inherent in relationship marketing.