How Account Based Management Sets Clients Up for Success
If you’re a business owner or leader at a mid-size enterprise, you’re constantly striving to increase your customer base. To do this, customers need to be able to find your business on the Internet and engage with your brand on social media channels. Businesses often call on a digital marketing agency to facilitate these goals.
Some businesses have an excellent experience working with an agency. Others end up with relationships that are less productive. Multiple people at the agency may be working with the client yet the agency is unable to grasp what the client needs. This leads to missed opportunities for generating leads and driving conversions.
The root cause of this may be the way the agency is organized. Most agencies house multiple departments with specific expertise and defined responsibilities. There are staff members responsible for website design, search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns and social media marketing.
That means that, at a minimum, the client may be discussing their business with four different agency leads within each department. Throw in billing and management and clients may feel like they are managing the agency relationship rather than effectively reaching customers.
The Account Based Management Model
One solution is to select a digital marketing agency that uses an account based management model. In this model, one account manager is responsible for the client relationship. Account managers are the lead point of contact between the client and the agency. The account manager nurtures a highly collaborative relationship with the client that leads to a deeper understanding of the client’s goals.
Although clients enjoy one point of contact, they still benefit from the depth of talent housed at the agency. The account manager is supported by a leadership team that sets the vision for the agency, architects who help build strategy, and support specialists who help implement deliverables. This allows the account manager to advocate for the client within the agency, articulate the client’s priorities to the team, troubleshoot issues the client is experiencing, and ensure deliverables are executed on time and within budget.
How Does Account Based Management Drive Conversions?
The account based management model also allows for an integrated approach to digital marketing that is designed to drive conversions. The account manager confers with the client regularly to gain a solid understanding of their business. The account manager also mobilizes agency experts who assess the technical performance of the client’s digital assets (websites, social media profiles, content) and gather insights from competitive audits and customer demographics.
As a result, the agency can deploy targeted owned, earned and paid content that moves customers through the marketing funnel. The account manager leads the implementation of this integrated approach across all relevant digital channels (SEO, social media, PPC).
The account based management model delivers long-term value to the client. It facilitates a partnership based on shared goals, streamlined communication and executing strategies that drive conversions. Businesses can grow their customer base exponentially by partnering with a digital marketing agency that uses the account based management model.
