key strongaccountstrong planning benefits, barriers and best practice.pdf

Journal of Strategic Marketing, Volume 15, Numbers 2-3, May 2007, pp209-222 Key Account Planning: Benefits, Barriers and Best Practice Lynette Ryals and Beth Rogers Professor Lynette J. Ryals* Beth Rogers Professor of Strategic Sales and Account Senior Lecturer Management Portsmouth Business School Cranfield School of Management Richmond Building Cranfield Portland Street Beds Portsmouth PO1 3DE MK43 0AL Tel: 02392 844600 Tel: 01234 758087 Fax: 02392 844037 Fax: 01234 752441 Lynette.ryals@cranfield.ac.uk Beth.rogers@port.ac.uk * Lead author for correspondence Accepted by: Journal of Strategic Marketing 1 Key Account Planning: Benefits, Barriers and Best Practice Although strategic planning has been part of the management function for as long as anyone can remember, the emergence of key account plans as a critical subset of the marketing plan in business-to-business markets has not attracted much analysis. This gap needs to be addressed, as key account plans have their own unique complexities. Moreover, the importance of key account plans is increasing. There is a need for a more widespread understanding of the benefits of key account planning, encompassing both processes and outputs. Based on a four-phase research project in 78 international companies, this paper describes current best practice in key account planning. The research demonstrates the benefits of key account planning and sets out a framework for implementing key account planning as a business process. The paper goes on to describe the contents of a key account plan and to note some common defects found in such plans. KEYWORDS: