How do you use data to grow your accounts?

1 Collect relevant data

The first step to using data to grow your accounts is to collect relevant data from various sources, such as your CRM, analytics tools, surveys, feedback, and reports. This data should be both quantitative and qualitative to help answer questions like who your clients are, what their pain points are, how they use your product or service, how satisfied they are with it, and how they perceive your value proposition. Additionally, you should also collect information about trends and challenges in their industry and market. Gathering this data can give you a better understanding of your customers' personas, segments, profiles, goals, expectations, outcomes, benefits, retention and loyalty rates, and competitive advantage.

2 Analyze and interpret data

The next step is to analyze and interpret the data you collected to gain insights and action plans. Various methods and tools can be used to analyze and visualize the data, such as charts, graphs, dashboards, and reports. It's also important to apply critical thinking and problem-solving skills to interpret the data and find patterns, correlations, gaps, and opportunities. To gain a deeper understanding of your account performance and relationship, consider the strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats for growth and retention, best practices and benchmarks for account management, key drivers and indicators of success and value, as well as recommendations and priorities for your account strategy.

3 Communicate and share data

The third step is to communicate and share your data with your clients and stakeholders in an effective way. You should use data to tell a story that shows how you understand their needs, goals, and challenges, as well as demonstrate your value proposition. Data can also be used to build trust and credibility , solicit feedback and input, support upselling and cross-selling pitches, educate and inform clients about trends and challenges in their industry, align goals with clients , set SMART objectives and KPIs, monitor progress, track performance, celebrate wins, and address issues. To do this, create data-driven reports, proposals, and case studies that highlight your achievements. Utilize data to demonstrate your ROI and competitive edge. Leverage data to provide insights and solutions.

4 Learn and improve from data

The final step is to learn and improve from your data and use it to continuously optimize your account management. Evaluate your results and outcomes, identify strengths and weaknesses, best practices and lessons learned , as well as areas for improvement and innovation. Utilize data to test and validate hypotheses and assumptions , experiment with new approaches, and explore opportunities and trends. Ask yourself questions such as: How did you perform against objectives and KPIs? What were the feedback and satisfaction levels of clients? What were the best practices and success stories? What challenges can be avoided in the future? And what trends can be leveraged to grow accounts? Data should not be used just once, but on a continuous basis to enhance account management skills, improve client relationships, and increase account revenue and retention.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?