Healthy Skepticism Library item: 16216

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: Electronic Source

Allen J
The ladder of adoption- a different approach
Eyeforpharma.com 2009 08 01
http://social.eyeforpharma.com/blogs/joanna-allen/ladder-adoption-different-approach

Full text:

Currently there are many discussions online and articles written about the need to change the model of selling in the pharmaceutical industry. There is wide spread agreement of the need to change to a key account management (KAM) model but little agreement how to measure the success of KAM or track the progression of key accounts. Additional to this is the lack of measurement of how internal customers are changing their approach to meet the needs of external customers.

Historically the industry favoured the frequency of calling model coupled with the delivering of key communication messages to customers, with detail follow up calls used as a measure of success, along with activity analysis. Frequency of calling and key communication messages may have had some benefit in the good old days prior to formularies and virtually unlimited access to customers but without the green light for usage of your products this tactic can be of very little value.

Some organisations use a ladder of adoption to categorise customer’s awareness and usage of products as an internal albeit sometime ambiguous measure of customer progression from product awareness to product usage. Whilst the ladder of adoption to categorise customers forms a base for identification of account progression the current model is limited to prescribers. The change in the type of customers required to be seen to gain an account makes the old model outdated and only applicable to prescribing customers. Some subtle changes suggested below makes for a model that can be used with all customers regardless of payer/purchaser/provider status. The model can also be used to chart the progress of the organisation internally to changing their approach to meeting the needs of the customers especially when the customers require additional support/services from the organisation.

Stage 1, Awareness: A change in customer perception leading to awareness that a problem exists, in key account management this should work both ways, with the account manager becoming aware of the customers problems

Stage 2, Increased Understanding: Both the customer and account managers understanding & knowledge increases which moves people towards adopting a change in their practices

Stage 3, Positive Attitude: A change of attitude occurs and the customers and account manager becomes orientated to driving or accepting the suggested change

Stage 4, Integration: The change is accepted and integrated throughout the customer group or organisation in line with their normal practices.

Stage 5, Adoption: The change is adopted and put into practice, although support is often needed to ensure that the change is embedded throughout the group/organisation. In prescriber land this is where the frequency of calling and key communication messages forms a useful tactic.

Mapping both the progress of internal and external customers along the ladder may provide a base to measure KAM progression both internally and externally, identifying areas of strength and weaknesses. In the KAM world ladder of adoption should no longer be a one way street.