Key Account Management Best Practice
Research Club
What is Key Account Management?
Key accounts are business-to-business customers that are strategically important to their suppliers. Typically, this is because of their size and market position. Key account management (KAM) is the process that supplier companies need to adopt to manage these relationships successfully and profitably. KAM is one of the most important developments in business-to-business selling and relationship management in recent years.
The KAM Best Practice Research Club
The KAM Best Practice Research Club is a network of companies who are interested in implementing and/or improving KAM. The Club offers them the opportunity to access and influence research into KAM Best Practice and to network with best-in-class organisations and leading academics and practitioners in the field.
Club Objectives
The objective of the Club is to help members understand the real purchase motivators for
these critical customers. In turn, this will improve the supplier's ability to manage their most
important relationships.
UNDERSTANDING THE CUSTOMER'S REAL
PURCHASE MOTIVATORS
Member Benefits
Each year, KAM Club members receive:
- Quarterly Club meetings with guest speakers exploring best practice in KAM
- Small group benchmarking and research activities hosted by member companies
- Pre-dinner - 'Meet the Speakers' and network with your fellow KAM Club members the night before
- Unique website and knowledgebase including all past presentations
- Research reports and Executive Briefings on KAM best practice (free to club members)
- Ground breaking articles at least 6 months prior to publication
- As a member your attendance to every meeting counts as 5 hours towards your Chartered Institute of Marketing Professional Development (CIM / CPD)
- Discounts on Cranfield marketing courses
Research Topics
Research topics are agreed each year in consultation with members, in response to their main issues and topics raised by visiting speakers. Recently, the KAM Club has been researching how to implement KAM successfully, customer centricity, and the actual behaviours of sales people in live sales meetings.
Previous research includes analysis of how to build a key account portfolio and how to manage it profitably.
PROFITABILITY IN THE KEY ACCOUNT PORTFOLIO
How the Club Operates
Membership is on a company basis and the club currently has 14 corporate members. The annual membership fee entitles member firms to send up to 6 people on Club activities. The Club operates on a non-competitive basis, enabling Club members to meet and share best practice in an open and supportive atmosphere. Typically, between 40 and 60 people attend Club meetings. The Club is directed by Lynette Ryals, Professor of Strategic Sales and Account Management at Cranfield School of Management (lynette.ryals@cranfield.ac.uk), tel: 01234 758087.
How to Join
Subject to member agreement, you can join the KAM Club at any time. You can also attend one of the Club meetings first. Twelve months membership costs £6,000 +VAT and entitles you to all member benefits. To join, you will need to sign a membership contract, which can be obtained from Hayley Tedder, KAM Club Administrator (h.tedder@cranfield.ac.uk) or call us for more information on 01234 751122.
Some Past and Present Members
Addleshaw Goddard, Actavis, Allied Mills, AMEC, Astra Zeneca, AXA Insurance, BDO Stoy Hayward, BOC, BNP Paribas Real Estate, BP, BT, Dun & Bradstreet, E-ON, Geodis Wilson, Halcrow, Hewlett Packard, IMI, International Nuclear Services, Intervet Schering-Plough, Lex Vehicle Leasing, Lloyds TSB, Manchester Airports Group, Norwich Union, Ordnance Survey, Panalpina Logistics, Pfizer, Rolls Royce, Royal London Asset Management, RS Components, SCA, Schenker, SKF UK Ltd, Sun Chemical, Thorn Lighting and Trend Control Systems Ltd.