Value in strategic account management

This chapter discusses the importance of strategic account management (SAM). SAM is responsible for adding value to customers and capturing value for the supplier in customer relationships. It is generally accepted that effective account management is vital for generating value in relationships with strategic accounts. In marketing practice, a boundary‐spanning function such as strategic account management has an important role in relationships with customers and in creating value in these relationships. The complexity of relationships with strategic accounts makes the strategic management of these critical for a company's overall market performance and the supplier's competence and ability to manage strategic customers appears to be positively correlated with market performance. It is found that understanding the factors that influence the value of an account can help to allocate the account management efforts across various activities more effectively.