Relationships matter - and that's what Account Management is all about. Account management is the practice of managing relationships between a company and its customers. Account managers are single point of contact (SPC) for your key clients and their role involves building and nurturing client relationships, understanding a client's unique needs and goals, identifying opportunities for growth, and negotiating contracts. The best account managers have the mindset that they collect their paychecks from their employer, but they work for their customer. The main aim? Turning customers into long-term partners who consistently choose your business over the competition.

• Customer Retention: Acquiring new customers can cost up to five times more than retaining existing ones. Account Management focuses on building and nurturing relationships with your current customers, keeping them satisfied, and increasing retention rates.

• Revenue Growth: Account managers spot upselling and cross-selling opportunities, generating new revenue streams from existing customers.

• Customer Loyalty: Good account managers build strong relationships with their customer and go above and beyond to deliver results. Coupling this with good people management skills fosters customer loyalty, leading to repeat business and referrals.

• Feedback Loop: Account Managers are in a unique position to gather valuable customer feedback, helping your company improve its current offerings and identifying opportunities to create new offerings.

• Software Company: An account Manager at a software company might work closely with clients to understand their tech needs, recommend software upgrades, and identify opportunities for new software solutions. They'll work closely with the tech team to ensure customer needs are met, while also providing the customer with regular updates and handling any concerns or issues.

• Hardware Company: For a hardware manufacturer, an account manager might be involved in negotiating contracts for bulk orders, maintaining relationships with distributors, understanding market trends, and identifying opportunities for new or improved hardware products.

• Service Provider: In a service-oriented business, an account manager may focus on fulfilling a long term service contract. This may involve tasks such as project managment for the contracted services, handling warranty claims, troubleshooting issues, and financial management.