Key Account Management

Key Account Management is a strategic planning approach that goes beyond traditional selling to tackle today's customer issues. It reaches inside both seller and buyer organisations, so KAM is undoubtedly more complex and more difficult than simple sales activity. But the stakes are high, and powerful customers expect no less from their suppliers now. The Marketing Process Company has a number of KAM consulting packages, and the Key Account Selection Matrix software.

High-involvement relationships with key customers offer major opportunities to grow business and move forward in the market, and to save costs for both sides. They also require innovation, major investment, and high running costs. Your capacity for high-cost, intimate relationships is limited, so the first, crucial decisions focus on the selection and prioritisation of key accounts.

The Marketing Process Company has developed a range of consulting packages around Key Account Management, all supported by the Key Account Selection Matrix.

The competitive differentiation derived from Key Account Management has been the subject of extensive research by Cranfield School of Management and can be summarised as follows:

•  Understand each customer and anticipate their needs

•  Appraise their potential

•  Appreciate sources of risk, cost and profit

•  Develop appropriate strategies for each customer

•  Develop better implementation processes

•  Monitor actions and improve results

A typical KAM package is outlined above. To find out more about the Key Account Management consulting packages see our example KAM proposal document.