Organizations that have successfully implemented strategic account management programs have made it a top management priority. They make it a priority that each staff meeting includes a review of strategic account plans, priorities and progress. This is pretty basic to any thriving key account management program. Most successful sales executives understand this. Yes, top level meetings with the client’s top level people need to be held at regular intervals and functional managers on each side of the relationships must work hard at accomplishing the agreed action plans. However, this may not be enough to drive the kind of revenue and profit growth that most organizations require today. We are often asked what other practices should be implmented along with this very basic but important practice.
Read MoreTags: Strategic Account Management, Selling Process, Key Accounts
Key account management will fail for sure without a strongly committed group of C-level executives. Employees watch C-level executives to determine what the business priorities are. It is very humbling when you are a C-level executive to recognize that. What you say is one thing, but really it's what you do that counts. C-level execs need to lead the key account management process to get the whole organization committed. They are the people that can make major commitments to key accounts and it shows the commitment as a supplier to support those accounts.
Read MoreTags: Closed Loop Marketing, marketing with limited resources, Selling Process, Key Accounts
All business functions and levels need to be involved in the key account management process to ensure short-term and long-term success. This means that everybody needs to recognize that key account management is not a sales strategy; it is a business strategy. Various business functional operations must execute the promises made by key account managers and must be involved in setting the promises being made to strategic accounts. It's VERY important that the people on the shop floor, quality, distribution, finance and so on buy in to the whole program and participate in it actively. C-level executives must be committed to key account management as a long-term business strategy. Key account management is a process that maximizes the long-term business value of the most important customers.
Tags: Strategic Account Management, marketing with limited resources, Key Accounts
Many companies who are struggling, ask us about key account management, also referred to as strategic account management. They ask what it is and how can it help them grow their sales and profitability. So we asked Brian Smith to provide a little more in-depth perspective on the topic and he has graciously agreed to write a series of articles for this blog.
Tags: Strategic Account Management, Strategic Planning, marketing with limited resources, Selling Process, Key Accounts
Many companies who are struggling with implementing key account management in their organizations. Many of these organizations have difficulty understanding what it truly is, why it is as important as any other business strategy that will help them grow their sales and profitability. So we asked Brian Smith to provide a little more in-depth perspective on the topic and he has graciously agreed to write a series of articles for this blog.
Tags: Strategic Account Management, Strategic Planning, marketing with limited resources, Lead Generation, Key Accounts
Many business owners think there are a whole host of ways to increase business and fuel their growth. Some thnk that having a great product is the only thing you need. If you build a better moustrap they will come. That may work for Apple, but more often than not, that strategy fails.
Tags: Strategic Account Management, blogging, marketing on a shoestring budget, Inbound Marketing, marketing with limited resources, Key Accounts