THE LIFE SCIENCES MARKET
For a gas supplier that has customarily serviced industrial accounts such as welding shops, providing gases and related equipment to the Life Sciences may require a whole new business plan.
Selling gases to this highly specialized and sophisticated market, for example, requires change at every level of the company, not just a re-education of its sales force.
In this market, answers to questions on distribution need to be precise. When a pharmaceutical company inquires about their gas delivery, “It’s on the truck” is not the correct answer. The appropriate response is, “Your delivery is on the truck. I will contact the driver to find out exactly when he will be there and call you right back. Is this satisfactory?” If you fail to deliver a carbon dioxide tank to a Life Science customer and their incubator runs out of gas, their cells (product) die.
Billing can also become more complex due to the nature of the product. Customer service must meet high standards and understand the sophisticated nature of the products being delivered. Management needs to be tuned in to a customer base that is demanding, specific, and results oriented. Scientists, technicians, and facility and lab managers communicate among companies, making it important that you provide excellent and consistent service. Word of poor service or a poor quality product travels fast in this wired industry; the community-atlarge can be made aware of a serious error before you have time to take corrective action.
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