What does a key account manager do?
A key account manager is a professional, who builds and nurtures solid and long-term relationships with key clients. Key clients here refer to big players and high-income clients. The role of a key account manager is to liaise with clients, on a relationship that is based on trust. By developing strategic solutions, a key account manager uses the company’s resources to meet client goals. The key account manager functions for the sake of boosting both customer satisfaction and loyalty, as well as profitability and sales. From comprehending the requirements of key clients to finding innovative solutions for the same, the job involves fostering and increasing client satisfaction through impeccable attention to detail.
You might hire a key account manager to:
- Develop and maintain sustainable, long-lasting and healthy working relationships with key clients
- Ensure customer satisfaction by bridging the gaps between customer requirements and innovative solutions
- Understand customer data to identify opportunities for growth for the key account players
- Work towards delivering the right products or services to the clients in a time-efficient and reliable manner
- Resolve issues or challenges that customers might face, within the scope of the key account manager job profile
- Serve as a key point of contact between the clients and the internal teams
Intro
Our greatest asset at [Company X] are, without a doubt, our clients. We believe that strong customer relationships are not built by accident but by a conscious choice to nurture relationships and build trust. We are seeking a highly skilled key account manager, who can lead by example and always put our clients first. The key account manager candidate must be someone who possesses great organisational skills, with a natural flair for communication. We are seeking someone who is intuitive and who can be the face of the company in front of big players. With a strong grasp of statistics and marketing strategies, the job involves being analytical. The ideal key account manager must be able to juggle multiple high-profile clients, without compromising on the quality or integrity of the services provided.
Objectives of the role
- Build, foster and maintain long-term and high-quality relationships with important clients
- Identify client needs and bridge this gap through effective solutions that increase the company’s profitability
- Improve client satisfaction, particularly in the case of key account holders
- Boost customer loyalty by developing and organising customer service initiatives that satisfy the key account holders
Responsibilities
- Develop and monitor meaningful working relationships with the designated clients
- Communicate with clients and understand their needs
- Work towards satisfying customer needs by developing the right strategies, as a key account executive
- Work with customer data to identify trends and opportunities that can benefit both the company and its clients
- Deal with customer complaints, and resolve them through negotiation
- Supervise the account teams that are assigned to specific clients and ensure that the key account holders are being handled well by the teams
Required skills and qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in business administration, finance, marketing, sales or a related area of study
- Demonstrable experience working as a key account manager or in a similar job profile
- Expert-level knowledge of MS Office, as well as common CRM software
- Outstanding negotiation and leadership skills, with the ability to juggle multiple clients
- Knowledge of customer service practices and customer loyalty programs
Preferred skills and qualifications
- Master’s degree in business administration, marketing or a related field
- Prior experience in sales and marketing as well as customer service
- Knowledge of customer segmentation and customer acquisition strategies
