B2B Special Issue Papers: Key account management in financial services: Poised between desire and fulfilment

Abstract

Key account management (KAM) requires a more extensive engagement by suppliers than many of them originally envisaged. As a result, service providers are now reducing the numbers of customers that they consider to be key, and selecting them more carefully and on the basis of their potential rather than their past. In order to make that selection, and to manage and develop the business, a deeper understanding of the customer and its markets is required than key account managers have ever had before. In fact, financial services is not one market but several, and they are generally rather poorly understood by the people at the forefront of KAM. This paper suggests that understanding markets and market structure could be improved by using techniques such as market mapping. Changes taking place in these markets all tend to drive the need for KAM, particularly consolidation, which means fewer, larger customers demanding more serious investments in their businesses from their suppliers. Providers must follow up these investments with the relationships that will secure the payback from them. While the growth of KAM recognises this need, there are still major issues of delivery on the promises of individual treatment that KAM makes to customers.