Malcolm McDonald on Key Account Management

Malcolm McDonald on Key Account Management explores the challenges of winning, retaining and developing key accounts. Key accounts are customers who help their suppliers grow, and consequently, they wield significant power. Although they are the key to market share and revenue growth, the costs of serving key accounts can erode profitability unless they are thoroughly understood and managed. Malcolm McDonald on Key Account Management takes a step-by-step approach to presenting best practice in key account management. Whether your business is starting up or well-established, there is always more to discover about improving the way value is created between you and your most important customers. Malcolm McDonald and Beth Rogers have spent over twenty years researching, teaching and consulting on key account management, and have condensed their knowledge into this book, focusing on making it clear, concise and easy to use.

Professor Malcolm McDonald enjoys a global reputation as a leading authority on marketing. Formerly Professor of Marketing and Deputy Director at Cranfield University School of Management, he is now an Emeritus Professor at the University and an Honorary Professor at Warwick Business School. He has been consultant to many major companies from the United Kingdom, Europe, USA, Far East, South-East Asia, Australasia and Africa, across strategic marketing and marketing planning, market segmentation, key account management, international marketing and marketing accountability. Malcolm is also Chairman of six companies and works with the operating boards of some of the world's leading multinationals. He has written over 40 books, including the best-selling Marketing Plans: How to prepare them, how to use them. Beth Rogers, BA, MBA, FCIM, PhD, PFHEA, is recognised internationally for her contribution to sales education. She was one of the original Cranfield research team on key account management in the 1990s, and has shared her expertise with companies and educational institutes across many sectors and geographies including the USA, China, South Africa and Europe. Formerly a business development manager in information technology, she pioneered sales teaching methodology at Portsmouth Business School, and chaired the project board which developed National Occupational Standards for UK sales. She is Director of two organisations, and writes articles for business publications. Professor Malcolm McDonald persuaded her to join him in writing this book because of her outstanding teaching and writing skills, and because she is so highly regarded internationally in the key account management domain.

Understand the balance between achieving growth through the development of key accounts and serving key accounts, without letting costs become prohibitive