Protecting significant corporate assets.
Who owns the customer relationship? I often ask this question as I meet with business executives to assess the underlying causes of their business challenges. This is a question that many of them struggle to answer. Frequently I discover a lack of consensus among members of executive leadership teams as to who truly owns the management of their company’s key account relationships. When executive leadership teams flounder in their ability to answer this question, imagine how their staff answers the same question! Confusion, inefficiencies, and account retention challenges are created when business leaders do not invest in clearly defined business relationship management processes.
Retention and management of complex business relationships should not be left to the weak at heart
Key accounts are corporate assets. To enhance the probability of retention and growth, business relationship managers should be assigned to each key account. A clearly defined and repeatable process should be implemented to manage the relationships. Successful business relationship managers assess their customers’ business environments and invest in understanding their business strategies. They work with their customers to establish mutual goals and objectives. They are empowered, accountable and appropriately compensated for the retention and growth of significant corporate assets. They are business-savvy individuals who are often responsible for books of business representing significant top-line revenue and margin. – In essence, they are managing strategic business relationships that can have a dramatic impact on Stakeholder value. Effective senior business leaders recognize that these corporate assets should be protected and are willing to invest the necessary funds and resources to protect them.
Integrated teams with effective strategies and communications plans are critical to the success of long-term business relationships.
It is best to align team members with customer representatives based on mutual areas of responsibility. Successful business relationship managers orchestrate team meetings to communicate short and long-term goals and objectives of the business relationships within their books of business. Team members monitor progress, identify current and potential issues, and develop appropriate action plans. Annual customer review meetings ensure that both consumers and business leaders acknowledge the value of their business relationships, identify challenges and solutions, and share accountability for progress.
Implementation of internal executive business review meetings reveals progress and challenges in securing each corporate asset.
This approach enables business leaders to participate in the development and implementation of appropriate action plans. It can also enhance the accuracy of corporate revenue forecasting, strategic planning, and budgeting.
- Within your organization, who owns key customer relationships?
- Does ownership reside with sales, account services, operations, or the executive leadership team?
- Have you invested in people and processes to protect these corporate assets?
- Do you understand your customers’ business environments?
- Have you confirmed how you and your customers want your business relationships to evolve?
- How do you work together today so that both sides of the table win in a challenging economy?
Asking these questions is the first step in protecting your company’s most important assets.
