#021 CX – A serious opportunity to add value as a KAM Pro

KAMCast - Key Account Management Strategies for Business Leaders

IN THIS EPISODE

How much attention are you paying to the customer experience with your Key Accounts?

Do you surprise and delight your clients on a regular basis or, have you fallen into the trap of leaving this up to marketing at the front end of the sales cycle?

With customers experiencing thousands of ‘moments’ every day in all areas of their lives, what are you doing to ensure the moments they share with you, exceed their expectations?

For me, the thing about experience is that it is too important to be left to chance. Too important to rely on us simply being good at what we do and going the extra mile from time to time.

We need to be intentional. We need to take a step back and examine the moments we share with key customers and identify areas of improvement, ensuring we maximise the chances of being rewarded with long-term loyalty.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS EPISODE

I invited Experience Consultant, Victoria Taylor, to join me on this episode, to dig into this topic.

Having worked in a wide variety of industries including bespoke travel, media, and advertising, Victoria now works with her own clients including Warner Entertainment Group, Lamborghini, Disney, P&O Cruises, Experian, and a host of independent hospitality brands. She is on a mission to help them to raise the bar in their customer experiences.

In our conversation, you’ll hear us talk about:

• Why Account Managers need to be involved in crafting special moments for key customers (rather than leaving it to the marketing or customer experience team)
• Flesh out some examples of great customer experience (and what makes it great)
• The link between the employee experience and the customer experience

Creating an EXPERIENCE for your Key Accounts

What are your thoughts and reflections on the customer experience you currently create for your key accounts?

If you were a client of yours, would you be delighted in the moments you shared?

Do you personalise your client interactions so that they truly feel special and valued?

When the moments you create for your customers are not driven by the brand, they are driven by you!

How would you personally score in a customer feedback conversation?

With any experience being personal, how often do you proactively seek a conversation to gain feedback for your key contacts, on a mission to clarify their expectations and how you are performing against them?

How are you reflecting your brand?

Are you a walking, talking ambassador for your company, LIVING its values rather than just laminating them on the wall?

Remember that the employee experience and the moments we share with each other will directly affect the moments we share with the customer.

To create intentional, well-crafted, brilliant experiences for our customers, we cannot leave it to chance.

Take a moment to reflect and ask yourself: what do we do now, and how can we make it better?

I’ll be exploring this more in upcoming episodes of KAMCast so please do get in touch and let us know your thoughts on this topic and any specific questions you have, which you’d love to see answered in an episode.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MY GUEST: VICTORIA TAYLOR

Victoria describes herself as human-centred experience consultant who works with brands to ‘raise the bar’ in experience by differentiating themselves through thinking, creating, and ‘doing’ customer experience differently.

Her areas of consulting specialism focus on: audience definition; employee, customer & brand experience. She works exclusively with luxury brands in the hospitality and travel sectors with her clients ranging from independent entrepreneurs with boutique businesses to high-end hotel chains in sunny climes like Dubai.

She has enjoyed working with brands like Warner Entertainment Group, Lamborghini, Disney, P&O Cruises, and well as passionate smaller brands like oldpostoffice.uk (boutique holiday studios).

Victoria believes that experience is not about the size of the business - it’s always about how well it’s done. She strongly advocates that details matter…especially in the experience of anyone coming into contact with your brand. In today’s world, you can’t dismiss the full journey – whether the touchpoint is a visible action or an intangible emotion.

You can find out more about her on her website, connect with her on LinkedIn, follow her on Twitter or join her on Instagram. Download her FREE e-book ‘Points of Entry’ strategy or signup for her monthly ‘In My Experience’ email.