It’s easy to think of clients like we think of the weather: A mysterious force over which we have no influence or control. If that’s your take, you’re probably more a vendor than a strategic advisor, no matter what you’re billing. True customer engagement means helping to guide strategy, not just helping with tactical execution. […]
Be honest: When was the last time you took a long look at your customers’ org chart? We’ve seen too many B2B companies establish customer org charts early in the relationship — and then never look at them again. On the surface, org charts may seem like busy work. But they’re the kind of work […]
The COVID crisis has forced many organizations to operate reactionally since early this year. And while the crisis is by no means over, it has become the new normal in some ways. Which means it’s time to pause, take a breath, and make the transition from reactive to proactive thinking. Last week, we talked about […]
We talk a lot about putting customers first, and that’s because we truly believe in customer-centricity as the path forward for B2B (and B2C) organizations. True customer engagement—knowing your clients, understanding their needs, and placing those needs ahead of your own—is the means by which B2B companies move from vendor to strategic partner. The benefits […]
We hold this truth to be self evident: In order to keep and grow your key accounts, you need to demonstrate value for your customers, time and time again. This is always the case, but it’s especially true in an economic recession, when budgets are tight and the cushion is gone—you have to show you’re […]
By the time you’re the Director of Client Services for an organization, you already know your stuff. Customer communication comes instinctively to you. You know how to manage a crisis. You know how to ask questions that reveal opportunities to add value, and you know how to turn the answers into action plans that keep […]
Key Account Managers are the quarterback of their team—and this role gets more complex as the team gets more complex. For example, if you’re an account manager at an advertising agency, you’ll manage your client relationships on one side, and on the other, you’ll work with an internal team comprised of creatives (art and copy), […]
We talk about customer engagement all the time. And we’re not the only ones. A recent Gallup poll advocates making customer engagement your competitive edge, demonstrating through their extensive B2B research that: Only 29% of B2B customers are fully engaged Customer impact is the single most important element of customer engagement 40% of B2B customers […]
We know from talking to B2B companies across all kinds of industries that most aren’t as customer-centric as they think they are. Turns out, companies know it, too. B2B International conducted a survey of 266 B2B marketers across North America and Europe, and only 14% of respondents said their company was totally customer-centric, meaning “the […]
Key Account Management is the art of engaging with high-value customers to promote a long-term, strategic partnership that results in organic growth. Because high-value customers appear across multiple industries, KAM is useful for many different types of organizations. For some organizations, especially product-driven companies, high-value customers are a subset of the total customer base. However, […]
