Comprehensive and successful key account management enables the company to gain profits, also enhances the corporate brand, strengthens employees’ confidence in the company’s products or services, and forms a positive cycle within the company. Therefore, who are the key customers of the enterprise is the first question that the business owner must think through.

Most of the times when I asked the business owners who are the key customers of the company? They couldn’t answer, or say they just managed to describe things like “middle class” and “high consumer group”. The sales service is moving towards personalized experience, only by strengthening the customer relationship can it bring long-term development to the enterprise.

According to the “80/20 rule” of Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, 80% of a company’s profits often come from a small portion of 20% of customers. With the consideration of the limited resources, if we can identify and concentrate resources on those 20% of key customers, the benefits should be greater than the average allocation of resources. Enterprises should formulate different response methods to meet the needs and expectations of different customers for the enterprise. Customers can be classified in the following four categories.

Key customers: Small portion of the customers. Enterprises should have an in-depth understanding of the relevant information of key customers, and give priority and flexibility to products or services offered, so that customers can fully feel the unique treatment. The enterprise then becomes an important partner of customers.

Key potential customers: Have high value to the enterprise or have the potential to become key customers. Developing key potential customers can expand the market share and achieve economic scale.

Ordinary customers: Customers look for stable and popular products or services, and only require to maintain a minimum of good relationships, automated responses, fixed forms, etc.

Prospects: Prospects who are on the sidelines, neither having much attraction or importance to each other.

Enterprises should provide services that are superior to the market according to the needs of key customers, and enhance corporate value and irreplaceability. There are four directions:

1. Products: Proactively provide key customers with the high-quality products or services they need, ensuring priority and customization.
2. Price: Offer preferential pricing and flexible payment terms according to customer segments.
3. Customer experience: Adjust contact points with merchants according to customer preferences, such as online product introduction, face-to-face trial, and price inquiries, etc.
4. After-sales service: Provide flexible and fast service and respond to customers’ requests immediately.

The “Starbucks Model” creates a unique experience for customers

Let’s take Starbucks as an example to understand its customer relationship management strategy. First of all, Starbucks established the concept of the Third Living Place. Through the smell of coffee and the environment, customers regard Starbucks as the third living place outside of home and company. This is the “product” mentioned above.

“Customer experience” is a very important part of the core value. The My Starbucks Idea website is introduced to collect customer opinions through the Internet to enhance the positive experience of customers. The Starbucks Rewards™ reward program is launched. The number of accumulated “stars” determines the membership level and various rewards to collect information and promote consumption. Starbucks Rewards™ provides members with various pricing benefits invisibly.

Starbucks currently has 133 million active rewards members, and at least 75 million unique members visit Starbucks every month. In addition to the reward system, its personalized experience is an important strategy to maintain key customers. How strong the coffee is, what kind of milk to add, and the amount of flavored syrup, the Starbucks App will record the member’s order. The customer just needs to press the button to repeat the order to save time of inputting personal coffee preferences. This is a good example of “after-sales service”.

Through the Starbucks App, it’s easy to grasp the consumption preferences, frequency, location and other data of specific users, and further provide personalized in-store services and discounts. Just by being a member, Starbucks can deepen customer relationships and make them not just passers-by, but become key customers.