ABSTRACT
Key account management (KAM) has become a major priority for most pharmaceutical and medtech companies for a simple reason: Organized customers such as IDNs, IPPNs, national payers, regional payers and large group practices are becoming increasingly powerful and complex. Companies that invest the time to get KAM right will protect their business and grow with these rising customers. Life sciences leaders can learn important insights and lessons about KAM—and the KAM journey—from the successes and struggles of other industries, as well as from the substantial KAM experience that has rapidly accrued within the life sciences space itself. In this chapter, we introduce three fundamental KAM principles that stand out as particularly important considerations for life sciences leaders. These principles are central to the success of every organization that has excelled in KAM and they set the stage for the chapters that follow.
