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Are close business relationships always synonymous with superior performance? Does the dark side of a business relationship spread in relationship portfolios? Based on interviews with key account managers, this research uncovers that the emergence of a ‘dark side’ in a business relationship can overshadow its benefits. This research also shows that the dark side can…
-What type of company do we want to be? -Is there a business case for sustainability? -Are we really focusing on the Key Accounts for the future, or are our Key Accounts yesterday’s news? Recent times have made obvious the issue of sustainability as an enormously important aspect for companies and management. This has also…
KAM often results in (counterproductive) stress – but where does it really come from? Research shows that no single factor induces stress, it’s about different combinations of stressors So how do you achieve ‘non-stress’ i.e. mellowness? And should you try? It’s not just the flip-side of stress.
This workshop was the second of the occasions when AKAM members – and non-members – met and talked together. Practitioner speakers stimulated lively discussion on value creation and the issues that prevent its realisation in some cultures. Our academic presenters uncovered counter-intuitive dynamics in KA teams that affect their performance, and also looked at what…
While you should have good relationships with your customers’ people, of course, there are other kinds of relationship important in KAM: Gadde and Snehota’s research identified three layers. In this short article, Diana Woodburn argues that investment in human relationships in KAM is a means to an end, not a result itself. Good relationships can get you…
There are radically different views on whether senior management should or should not be directly concerned with key customers. Sometimes challenging issues require the authority of the CEO, and senior managers in direct customer contact are generally more sympathetic to and accommodating about their needs and expectations. Customers have a view about their position with the supplier…
This very brief summary of conclusions from Victor Wullink’s Masters thesis gives a flavour of what he discovered from interviewing seven very different companies. He found that a relationship exists between the degree of KAM embeddedness in a firm and top management involvement. Its importance in terms of acquiring and retaining customers depends on customer perceptions, particularly when the product can be…
Feeling relieved to have won some business from tough conversations with their key accounts, suppliers often fail to identify the value they have missed out on as a result of poor negotiations. Many supplier organisations would benefit from a strategic, top down look at their negotiations with their high value, long term and often complex key customers. …
Strategic Alliance Management is a growing area that allows key account managers to broaden their differentiated value propositions to clients. They need to look for partners with adjacent or complimentary capability to that of their own organisations’. There are different commercial models that can be applied outside of a formal Joint Venture, including introducer, prime…
It’s difficult to grow business if your client contact is not senior enough or a major decision maker. Perhaps they are not receptive to new ideas and don’t have the authority to open the door to other people in the organisation. This podcast is about how you can reach more senior people within your customer…
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