Publisher's Synopsis
The need for a more efficient management of customer relationships is the driving force beyond the increasing efforts to optimize the approach of the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) concept and therefore the Account Management Processes. 70% out of 280 companies state that the establishment of a Key Account Management (KAM) concept has lead to an increase of the annual turnover up to 25%, according to a market research study of the Mercuri International and the University of St. Gallen in 2003. Another 66% out of 262 companies announce that the implementation of an Account Management Organization has increased the company profit up to 25%.The average effects concerning turnover and profit, reasoned by the implementation of an professional Customer Management concept, lie between 27,2% (turnover) and 28,6% (profit), according the named study (Zupancic/Belz/Bumann 2005, p.34). The Account Planning as an essential part of the Key Account Management Process influences all phases of the Customer Relationship Process and therefore has a direct impact on the creation of profitable growth. The Customer Relationship Management Process consists of three major phases, the Acquisition Phase, the Sales Phase and the Customer Retention Phase. Each of these phases faces different challenges and follows different objectives, in order to realize profitable and sustainable customer relationships (Hofbauer/Hellwig 2005, p.29). The results of the Account Planning determine the acquisition, the sales and the customer retention efforts by the means of customer specific resource allocation and strategy setting. Consequently, the Account Planning is an important and practicable instrument to realize the Customer Relationship Management approach by practical means. Besides the positive effects of the establishment of professional Customer Management concepts in companies, it is also proven that there is still a big potential for the improvement of the Account Management Processes. T
