Success Factors in Key Accounts - Essay Example

CRITIQUE Research A qualitative and quantitative research is must in developing a system for marketing analyses. Qualitative research is more of collecting data, conducting interviews, using documents and to understand and explain social phenomenon. Quantitative research involves is of development of natural sciences to study natural phenomenon. Survey methods, formal methods, econometrics, etc., are some of the examples of quantitative research. It's the research and analysis done by the scientists in different kinds of fields like engineering, marketing, etc., yielded fruitful results in the development of different industries, which became more and more consumer friendly. The main purpose of these developments was to develop products that could be used in everyday life. The research involves finding potential problems in the present applications used and resolving them by updating them or using new products. The researchers found the flexibility of a product enables it to be used by more clients. Another important factor probably the most important one is the cost. If the final product is expensive there will be only few takers for it. Therefore research has been done to use cost effective products. Qualitative research methods are more often used as it involves observation of data that helps in finding solutions to the problems. Qualitative research has been categorised into three categories named as positivist, interpretive and critical. Positivist research methods involves attempt to test theory that to understand the predictive element of the phenomena. It involves formal propositions, hypothesis testing, measuring of quantifiable variables, etc. In this type of research it is assumed that the objectives are given in reality and can be measured by their properties. Interpretive research method involves sharing of information and social constructions such as language. Interpretive method is used to understand the meaning of the given information that was assigned to the researchers. Critical research as the name implies concentrates more on the critical view of the subject. It highlights the critical viewpoint of the situation that has to be analysed. Action research and Case study research methods are as important as above-mentioned methods. The action research method describes what problems an organization is facing; what appropriate steps should be taken to resolve these kinds of situations. It is more often action-oriented method. Case study method involves studying the main object of the organization, how the situation is related to the real life context, etc. Case study can be positivist, interpretive and critical. Planning In any marketing sector key account marketing plan is considered to be very important and a thoughtful business plan cannot be overemphasizes because much hinges on it: financial support, management of the available resources like operation and finances, credit from suppliers, promotion and marketing and last but not the least company's goals and achievements. Before writing a key account marketing plan some of the important questions that has to be addressed are: 1. What service does the business provide to the clients 2. Who are the potential customer and reasons for purchasing the service or product 3. What are the steps or ways you reach the potential customer 4. From whom or where the funds come The important elements of marketing plan are to precisely define the business, identify the goals and serve as the firm's resume. Pro forma balance sheet, an income statement, planning precise strategies and cash flow analyses comprises the basic components of a marketing plan. Preparing a marketing plan helps in the allocation of resources properly, making good decisions and handling of unseen or unexpected complications that may become hurdle in the future development of the business. One of the important aspects of marketing plan is that it provides organised information about the company and importantly a good business plan helps in attaining a loan application. Other important applications include informing the details of the company to the sales personnel, suppliers and others so that they become aware of company's goals and achievements. To stay in the present marketing world a company should have good customer support services. The competition among companies is high and to stay at the top they are using aggressive key account marketing strategies. The key account management and the Human Resource (HR) departments have a bigger role to play in the development of the respective companies. The quality of the product should always be of high standard. Success factors Service The service side concentrates mainly on providing services to the customer. Customer care section plays an important role on deciding how good a company and should be taken seriously at all times. To become a multinational company the management has to expand its units across the country. As company and its other units are slowly expanding so does the problems are increasing day by day. One of the important factors that should be concentrated is on customer care service. The staff should be trained and should be at best when dealing with customers. The quality of the service should be of high degree. On the manufacturing side the company has to speedup its operations because if it won't meet the market demand it would loose potential ground. The best way is to lease some equipment for sometime so that business continues and after completion of manufacturing they can introduce the products in the market. Since costs are soaring high remedial steps should be taken immediately. Whether we agree or not the daily rise in prices is due to increase in oil per barrel in the gulf. Alternate steps should be taken to cope this problem. One suggestion is to cut the jobs, which is ethically incorrect. Other option is to shift the production base to any other place that offers the basic facilities at cheaper rate. In other words outsourcing is the best way to deal with rising costs. The key account management division plays an important role in any organizational plans. It is the think tank of the company; they are the one who takes important decisions that comprises the management. Able and qualifies managers are the heart and soul of the company; therefore recruitment of qualified personnel is the requirement that should be fulfilled immediately. Trade Trade involves exchange of goods or services for cash or on credit. There are several other activities, which facilitate trade, and these along with trades are known as commercial activities. Commerce includes all those activities, which are connected with trade and auxiliaries to trade such as transport, warehousing, insurance and banking and finance. Trade involves buying and selling of goods and its purpose is to bridge the gap between persons, i.e. the producers and the consumers can concentrate on their own occupations and at the same time buy goods to satisfy their consumption needs. The farmers can both enjoy each other's products with the help of traders. For example there are different types of cotton; jute, hides and skins are supplies to the producers of cotton textiles, gunny bags and shoes respectively. At the same time manufactured goods, which have been produced with the raw materials, are supplied to the consumers. Producers buy raw materials, machinery and equipment as well as stores and spare parts for machinery fro trading agencies and consumers buy practically all articles required for their daily use from traders. Goods are produced on a large scale in anticipation of demand. The markets for products are now spread over the length and breadth of the country and even extended to countries across the international borders. Hence direct sale of goods by the producers to the consumers is not possible. Without the help of traders and merchants engaged in trade it would be impossible for the system of large-scale production to continue. The trader involved in the actual operation of purchasing goods from producers and selling them to consumers. Traders and consumers are interdependent. One of the important areas of development in consumer marketing section is attracting customers. According to marketing and advertising rules and guidelines, customers always impress upon to buy something for themselves. The marketing agencies to attract the customers, they make publicity of their product through media. The products may be of cars, TV sets and games etc.; the producers and marketers display their produce in supermarkets and departmental stores for sale. Conclusion In the society, the marketers are expected to put up good brand name products for sale. The purchaser desires to have or own a good brand name product and material with good quality at reasonable and cheaper rate. If the marketers were able to meet this demand of people of the society, definitely there would be a souring business for their product. The advertisers and marketers say that they would be able supply anything to customers what they want. It may be right to say that marketers and advertisers are in a position to meet the desires of customers up to some level. In a passage of time, the culture of customer has absolutely become indistinguishable from the consumer culture during the last century. The customer want to have a brand name shoe, skirt etc., the parents are put in such a dilemma either to meet the demands of children to purchase or risking the children to be seen out-casting on the play ground. The marketing of consumer items and children's relationship is reciprocal. Childhood is a creative, innovative and generative. In the society the children consumers are more than adult consumers. The kid's consumer's culture fuses it with a most distant system in the market. In a passage of time we have become the conspirators of reproduction generation by generation. The children have become adults by passage of item and bonded with memories of commercial culture of youth. At present, the marketing strategy for selling children product is to lure the children for branded products such as food items; play in branded spaces and exposing them to TV channel. The marketers and advertising agencies work and trade on psychology of our children for marketing their product. References Arun Sharma. (2006) "Success factors in key accounts". Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing. Vol. 21 No. 3, pp. 141-150. Derrick Phillipe Gosselin. "Strategic account management: customer value creation through customer alignment". Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing Vol. 21, No. 26, pp. 376-385. Jukka Ojasalo. (2001) "Key account management at company and individual levels in business-to-business relationships". Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing. Vol. 16, No.3, 199-218. Read More