What are some of the internal issues companies face when implementing Strategic Account Management?
• The most important issue is insufficient resources. Companies need a rigorous process for selecting the number of strategic accounts to work with. The priority is a limited number of accounts that can be completely supported. • Organizations are like people and tend to be inherently selfish. Business functions have their own agendas and often fail to cooperate on external customer issues. Multi-functional teams are the most practical approach to bridging these gaps. • The front line people are often not well educated in strategic thinking and team leadership. Education to bridge these knowledge and skill gaps is essential. • Relationship contacts are often too narrow and trust is not well developed. These issues need to be addressed through detailed relationship mapping and joint work projects to earn trust. Effective leadership is essential for success on this issue. • Each client, who has created strategic account teams, has improved cross-functional communication and customer resp
