Key Elements for 2021 Growth in Life Sciences
Customer Lifetime Value and Account Management
Life sciences and analytical instrument leaders recently gathered at Alexander Group’s Executive Forum to discuss how companies are focusing their commercial organizations on delivering profitable growth.
The group zeroed in on two key elements:
- Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
- Account Management
1. Customer Lifetime Value
A dramatic 97% of surveyed leaders indicated that CLV is now the mantra for growth oriented companies. They can no longer rely on replacing their install base, chasing grant funding and legacy tactics.
Their executive teams and the market are demanding stable, recurring revenue. To respond, these leaders are emphasizing what was once a secondary part of their offerings – consumables, reagents, services and informatics.
Alexander Group research shows that companies with a greater mix of recurring revenue components of the portfolio grow 2.8X faster and are more efficient than those that rely primarily on instruments.
How are companies adapting their commercial organizations to deliver profitable growth?
- Bringing marketing and sales teams together – campaigns and in-market execution are well synced and coordinated
- Shifting training strategy to solution selling or customer outcome focused methodologies
- Investing in buyer intelligence and predictive analytics that direct marketing and sales motions
- Employing workflow tools that promote a more proactive and disciplined sales cadence
2. Account Management
The group also talked about the importance of an account management motion on the path to above market profitable growth. They described the importance of accountability among their sales people. It is no longer enough, even for instrument sellers, to close the deal and move onto the next one. Someone needs to be accountable for ongoing proactive engagement with the customer to pull through recurring revenue and nurture the account (if for nothing more than the next capital buying event).
The group discussed how they are breaking down separate specialist teams in favor of account managers with a wider product portfolio but deeper customer engagement. They talked about leveraging inside or digital versions of this job to gain the most reach from their sales teams. Finally, several executives shared their stories about investing in customer intelligence data and tools to propel proactive account management activities.
What Are Your Growth Plans for 2021?
The CLV mantra and account management mindset is catalyzing change among life sciences and analytical instruments commercial organizations. The Alexander Group offers insights through research and events that you will need to drive profitable growth in what is bound to be another eventful year for the industry.
To learn how high-performing companies drive above market results, contact us for a full readout of the findings from our latest Life Sciences and Analytical Instruments Industry Trends Study or register for one of our upcoming virtual roundtables.
