What do you believe
are the key outstanding sales and marketing challenges for the companies that are
consolidating?
e have conducted interviews with customers
in pharmaceutical and biotech labs that have relationships with several related
supply-side entities. Many suppliers have an "ok" relationship with individual
scientists at the bench level. However, these scientists are generally unaware of the
potential value that suppliers can bring to their companies (in terms of the variety of
products, delivery and services) beyond the few products that they use every day.
his
isn’t surprising to me. Integration of offerings (and cultures) of different
companies is not easy. But I would suggest that having the scientists, as well as
purchasing and most importantly management, see, understand and appreciate the benefits of
these combined offerings should dramatically enhance customer perception of
differentiation and value for the supplier organization.
To achieve that, from a marketing and sales perspective,
I see three distinct challenges:
1. ocusing
the selling effort on the multi level decision- making process, i.e. developing the
ability to deal effectively with all parties involved in purchasing decisions.
Increasingly, buying decisions for "non-differentiated" products are made by
purchasing or the stock room. Although this is no different than before consolidation,
realizing the leverage of the consolidated company with oftentimes merged field
organizations and marketing units becomes an immediate and daunting challenge. Buying
decisions on unique and innovative products by and large are still being made by
scientists. In order to be successful companies will need to be able to deal with both
groups and individuals effectively.
2. emaining "differentiated"
or unique. There is always the risk in consolidation that the fewer large companies begin
to look more and more the same. Companies sometimes lose their personality when they take
very proprietary/unique product offerings and group them with commodity products. They end
up with what appears to be a very homogenous or generic looking offering. It becomes more
difficult to tell the companies and their unique selling propositions apart. There is also
the risk that the larger the supply companies get, the more they start to deal with their
customers in a generic sort of way. It becomes a paradox: the larger the portfolio
offering, the more challenging it sometimes becomes to package and deliver a custom
solution for the customer.
e have conducted interviews with customers
in pharmaceutical and biotech labs that have relationships with several related
supply-side entities. Many suppliers have an "ok" relationship with individual
scientists at the bench level. However, these scientists are generally unaware of the
potential value that suppliers can bring to their companies (in terms of the variety of
products, delivery and services) beyond the few products that they use every day.
his
isn’t surprising to me. Integration of offerings (and cultures) of different
companies is not easy. But I would suggest that having the scientists, as well as
purchasing and most importantly management, see, understand and appreciate the benefits of
these combined offerings should dramatically enhance customer perception of
differentiation and value for the supplier organization.
ocusing
the selling effort on the multi level decision- making process, i.e. developing the
ability to deal effectively with all parties involved in purchasing decisions.
Increasingly, buying decisions for "non-differentiated" products are made by
purchasing or the stock room. Although this is no different than before consolidation,
realizing the leverage of the consolidated company with oftentimes merged field
organizations and marketing units becomes an immediate and daunting challenge. Buying
decisions on unique and innovative products by and large are still being made by
scientists. In order to be successful companies will need to be able to deal with both
groups and individuals effectively.
emaining "differentiated"
or unique. There is always the risk in consolidation that the fewer large companies begin
to look more and more the same. Companies sometimes lose their personality when they take
very proprietary/unique product offerings and group them with commodity products. They end
up with what appears to be a very homogenous or generic looking offering. It becomes more
difficult to tell the companies and their unique selling propositions apart. There is also
the risk that the larger the supply companies get, the more they start to deal with their
customers in a generic sort of way. It becomes a paradox: the larger the portfolio
offering, the more challenging it sometimes becomes to package and deliver a custom
solution for the customer.