Supercharge Key Account Management with Customer Feedback
Key account management or KAM is not a new concept; it was first introduced in the 1970s and is more relevant than ever in today’s complex and increasingly competitive business environment. If you take a closer look at your company’s client list, you will undoubtedly realize that losing some of these customers would be really bad news for your organization. That might be because certain customer accounts represent a disproportionately large chunk of your revenue, add to your credibility in their industry, are a valuable prospect referral source – or, all of the above.
So how do you make sure you don’t lose any of your key clients to your competitors?
The answer: Key account management.
And how can you tell your KAM strategy is delivering results?
The answer: Customer feedback.
The role of customer feedback in key account management
Key account managers are tasked with developing and maintaining vital relationships but, for how long can you keep a key account without engaging in conversation with them? The element of effective communication is vital for KAM to deliver the results it promises. On that note,?active listening?is one of the main components of any information exchange and as a KAM you can rely on feedback and its many applications to carry out your duties and stay on top of things with your strategic business partners.
How to use feedback to develop your account management strategy
Initiating a feedback dialogue with your clients will allow you access to new information, clarify their needs, and enable you to translate feedback data into a plan of action to back up your overall key account management strategy. Let’s take a closer look at how feedback can help further develop your KAM strategy.
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Identify dissatisfied customers
Many times, dissatisfied customers won’t reveal they’re not happy unless they are nudged to do so. In other instances, clients sense dissatisfaction with your product or service but can’t quite pinpoint the reasons behind it. It’s your job to understand the level of?customer satisfaction ?your key accounts are experiencing, dig deeper into the reasons behind it, and figure out ways to overturn the situation before you are replaced by a competitor.
Anticipate clients’ needs
As mentioned earlier, key accounts expect full-fledged solutions to their problems. The development of solutions not only creates innovation but, also fortifies the extent to which you’re linking your future to that of your client. In order to achieve mutual value, you need to put yourself in a position where you can predict clients’ needs and inspire confidence in your ability to be there for them in challenging times.
Establishing feedback processes will enable you to reach out to your customers, figure out how to tailor your service to their needs, identify potential issues, accommodate market shifts, and more. The key is to be consistent, address issues before they become too much to handle, and proactively manage the relationship.
Develop solutions
Customer feedback is a great source of information. Successful feedback analysis might lead you to uncover customer pain points and develop solutions to not only address them but, but also enhance your offering. What’s more, acknowledging the feedback you receive and developing solutions based on it will score you extra points as:
The impact of the customer experience on KAM
Key account management is all about developing and managing long-term customer relationships. The?customer experience?is all about how your clients perceive their interactions with your business. Based on this, it’s easy to understand that a great customer experience on different touchpoints across the customer journey has an immediate impact on the success of key account management. After all, KAM aims to make the customer journey last for a long time. As a result, systematically?measuring the customer experience?of your key accounts will shed some light on how your most prized customers really feel about interacting with your business and to which degree you have made good on your promises to them.