KEY FACTS – Key accounts or big accounts?

Key Fact: Pareto's Law suggests that 80% of revenue comes from 20% of customers, and for many companies this is an accurate reflection of their customer spread. Identifying the 20% correctly and managing the accounts appropriately should be a key part of every company's strategy.

• Our research suggests many companies assume their largest accounts are inherently key accounts, despite the fact that spend alone is not an accurate indicator of a customer's status. Whilst it's vitally important to treat your big-spending customers well, there's potentially a lot more to being a key account. Effective companies take into account factors like the customer's role as an opinion former, the market in which they operate and their strategies and culture. Only accounts that meet most or all criteria are elevated to key status.


• Effective companies behave differently when dealing with key accounts. It's more than making sure that key customers get the highest service levels (or the lowest prices), it's about working together to jointly plan and execute your business strategies to achieve mutually defined and agreed business objectives.


• The role of the key account manager (KAM) is vital, yet many companies make the mistake of assuming their sales people are capable of taking on the role. We often see high achieving sellers promoted to a KAM role only to see them struggle. Quite simply, the skills of a good seller are not enough to be a good KAM. Key accounts operate at a different level to the normal buyer-seller relationship and it's vital your KAMs have these new and different skills if they are to succeed.

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