Top 3 Manufacturers Account Maintenance Strategies – Get it Right From the Get-Go
Pick the ideal clients for key accounts
The best strategy begins with choosing the right clients and ensuring you utilize a similar criteria when evaluating each candidate. Make it a point to assess your customers’ accounts to accurately ascertain whether they need more attention and allocation of your business’ resources. While you do this, continue tracking “non-key” accounts for more prospects. Should a client be experiencing substantial growth, they might be a practical candidate for justifying a strategic account. When you start to court such B2B customers, you’ll ensure you foster trust and loyalty prior to your competitors noticing them.
Measure your key accounts’ performance consistently
Always ensure you measure key accounts in terms of engagement and loyalty on a regular basis. Depending on the data from these 2 metrics, you can schedule recurring check-ins with the customers to obtain valuable feedback, resolve any challenges and pinpoint areas that require improvement.
Invest in the right tools
When you have the suitable tools in place, the work of your manufacturing key account maintenance team will be infinitely easier and effectual. Besides a good CRM application, you will need:
Email
Email has the distinction of being the top platform when it comes to the highest converting B2B marketing channels. Your team will need to be well conversant with email best practices including creating optimized subject lines and personalized value propositions. They will also have to be well trained in effective email sending strategies like when and how they can send emails to guarantee optimal opens and conversions. Lastly, they will have to leverage email efficiency hacks like choosing and personalizing templates which will heighten personalization within a decreased time commitment.
Phone
Granted, email is undoubtedly the communication tool of choice for key account maintenance teams. Nevertheless, the telephone is in fact making a comeback in B2B marketing particularly in the manufacturing niche. While connect rates are still low, when used in conjunction with other platforms including email and social media, the telephone can prove to be an extremely effective platform for key account management.
Dimensional Mail
As with email, B2B direct mail such as dimensional mail can play a key role in boosting personalization and even relevance in B2B marketing. This sort of mail often attracts more attention and its time-stamped proof of delivery facilitates for time-efficient follow-ups.