pharmaceutical industry strategy
pharmaceutical industry strategy
pharmaceutical industry strategy
For those looking for Pharma marketing Jobs;I have read article after article about healthcare marketing strategy and those that address fashionable buzz words such as market access and social media. I view pictures of red-faced, intoxicated CEOs wielding silverware and get to see which senior director has moved to a new role, invariably within a company he used to work for in this small incestuous world of ours.
Very few, if any, of these fine pages are dedicated to the workhorse of the industry... the humble AE.
Sometimes there is an announcement (plus an awkward picture) when we nervously take that first step on the career ladder, but no mention of the hours of (often uninteresting) laborious work we put in to enable the director merrily to collect the aforementioned silverware.
So I endeavoured to challenge this status quo, by writing this short article not only for junior members of staff to relate to but in the hope that senior managers might also take note.
And so, as seems to be the convention in these pages, I have set out my 'top tips' for developing AEs and avoiding the common management pitfalls.
Expose them to everything
I see it as being of paramount importance to encourage junior members of staff to attend as many meetings as possible within their accounts, as well as on accounts they don't directly work on. This could include advisory boards, congresses, focus groups etc.
By doing so, they get to hear from the very people they are working for, or marketing towards, which gives an holistic view of accounts that will prove invaluable in the long run.
Invest in your staff
This is a winwin. The knowledge brought back from courses and conferences will benefit both the junior staff member and the wider team. All too often training budgets are the first low-hanging fruits to be picked during hard times. This somewhat myopic view can impact training and development profoundly.
If fiscal constraints mandate the cutting of training budgets be sure, at the very least, to replace formal external training with informal internal training such as much talked about but little implemented 'lunch and learns'. This will, at the very least, harness the knowledge already available in the wider team.
Teach managers to manage
Sadly, it is a fact that the very same lack of formal training and development within agencies that I have been speaking about has applied to managers, that the cycle is destined to repeat itself time and time again. With many smaller agencies not afforded a dedicated human resources department, it is left to our managers to watch over our development, and they need to be taught the skills to do this well.
I envisage that a positive step would be for respected magazines, such as this, to publish articles for managers from good managers (unfortunately they are not one and the same) to share best practice for developing the fresh-faced, timid AEs into the confident account directors of tomorrow.
If you don't trust your staff to send unproofed emails to clients after several months, it may be that your hiring process needs attention. This may be more a personal gripe of mine and not endemic in the industry... I just needed to vent.
Unique perspective
Just as young children often teach their parents computing skills, so junior members of staff can teach managers about new technologies or current marketing buzz words. Take social media for instance; are we not the 'Facebook generation'?
Brainstorming sessions provide the ideal opportunity both to hear from junior members of staff and for them to learn from more senior members of the team.
Junior members are well placed to think outside the box since their box is less entrenched in the traditional marketing practices of old. They can provide a perspective not seen by their older counterparts; a good idea is a good idea whomever it comes from.
Recognise everyone
If you are lucky enough to win an award, take time out to congratulate personally each member of a team. Perhaps you could even invite a junior member to the awards instead of trying to impress a client. I realise this is not always possible, but finding some way to celebrate as a team will only build morale.
To finish, we understand that as junior members of staff it often falls to us to do the unglamorous, mundane day-to-day tasks and we are more than happy to do these. We recognise that it is the only way to earn trust and, in turn, take on more responsibility that will eventually lead to promotion. Along the way though, being listened to, exposed to and trusted as much as possible will make us more able to contribute and be of greater value to our employers.
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