An Account Manager without an account plan is like a boat without a rudder. Account plans are living, dynamic documents that contain crucial details about the client’s industry and trends, company, contacts, decision makers, influencers and prospective buyers. Account plans map out both short-, medium- and long-term strategies for retaining and growing their accounts at a good profit margin.
I strongly recommend including a SWOT analysis in the account plan for a realistic 360-degree view of the relationship. This enables the account manager to capitalize on strengths, while addressing weaknesses and acting on opportunities and dealing with threats (and pulling in the right LSP resources to support him/her. Account plans should also highlight key performance indicators and other measurements to keep the account manager on target (see below) and ensure client retention.
Account plans for each key account should be shared with senior management so they are better able to determine how each account supports the overall account management strategy and the LSP strategy as a whole.
KPIs are essential for successful account management and should be integrated into your account plan. It goes without saying that revenue, profitability and account growth are key indicators of success. Depending on the account strategy (growth, maintain or manage for cash) there are a number of other KPIs to consider.
Since most of us want to maintain or grow our accounts, measuring value creation (or the ROI your client has realized from your services) is exceptionally important to consider and one that the LSPs struggles with. I love this KPI, because it involves input from your client. LSPs rarely ask for this kind of information from our clients, yet it is key for of us and the client to understand the impact our services have on their business. Measuring improvements in ROI would surely help account managers secure additional work and make the client less likely to explore other options, especially if you are working together to obtain, track and manage this crucial information.
I have been surprised at how many LSPs do not hold quarterly (or even annual) business reviews with their key accounts. QBRs are an essential part of account management. As my colleague Thomas Edwards puts it, “the Quarterly Business Review is perhaps the single most important tool at the disposal of the effective Strategic Account Manager. It is a special time to go over Key Performance Indicators, issues and resolutions, what is working well and what needs improvement. It is also a forum to review the forecast of upcoming work for optimum resource allocation and growth”.
QBRs also offer account managers the opportunity to include senior management and technical experts on both sides for strategic discussions, recommendations for process improvements and gaining access to other departments and decisionmakers who would benefit from your services.
These are just three of the many tools that Account Managers employ to successfully manage client relationships. Stay tuned for more thoughts on Account Management in the language services industry in future posts!
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