Exceptional relationships with customers aren’t built on transactions, they’re built on trust and understanding. Join us as we sit down with Petr Mandát, a Key Account Manager at Accace Circle, to uncover the secrets behind building strong client relationships. From understanding clients’ needs to leveraging technology and teamwork, Petr shares valuable insights on how to achieve outstanding results and foster long-term partnerships. Discover the key strategies that drive success in managing global accounts and delivering seamless service across multiple countries.
Can you provide an overview of your role as a Key Account Manager within the Accace Circle community?
As a Key Account Manager, I am responsible for project management and client’s governance, acting as an escalation point, managing risks and issues, coordinating projects across multiple countries to provide clients with streamlined and seamless service delivery.
What strategies do you employ to ensure client relationships are not just transactional, but built for the long term?
It depends, in general we focus on understanding clients’ needs and providing tailored solutions. Regular communication, prioritizing transparency, seeking feedback, and showing appreciation to ensure clients feel valued and supported are also key. The human approach helps to make relationships more than just transactional and as in life, it takes time to build such relationships. It is also important to say that clients are equally responsible for maintaining relationships as we are.
What factors contribute to building strong relationships with clients in multiple countries?
In books, you will probably find that one needs to respect and consider many aspects, cultural differences, position on the market, scope and volume of services etc. You also can’t be wrong if you keep effective, transparent communication, be responsive and proactive, build connections with stakeholders and prior the meetings, not to underestimate preparation, you also check the weather forecast, solar flare and client’s mood. In my opinion, all mentioned is useless without proper results. Jointly forged success is the way of building strong relationships with clients. At Accace Circle, in our world, results stand on teamwork and technology. For me the key factors are results achieved by dedicated and motivated people supported by top notch technology. With outstanding results, it is then easier to work on strong relationships.
Is there a specific challenge you are facing with international clients that you would like to discuss further?
Where there is will, there is a way. What can be seen as specific for multi-country projects is the requirement for cross-country process unification. Having unified processes across the region is for many practical and beneficial reasons a legitimate and logical requirement. But in practice while getting deeper on country levels, certain local legislative limitations may arise. Proper joint process design and implementation are then the key. Our teams have vast experience with balanced process design, so what could be seen by clients as challenging is then in fact helping us, through the results, building and fostering our relationships.
How do you handle critical issues in projects spanning multiple countries?
If properly handled risk becomes an issue, then it can be an issue. I am just kidding… Issues will be always in certain form presented and our roles and goals are to quickly and in given circumstances as precisely as possible assess impact and go to the roots. According to that we can act, either based on our experiences, or by creating a work group with the focus on the quick fix and development of permanent solutions, define preventive actions and recommendations. Key here is transparent communication, keeping stakeholders constantly informed and updated.
What methodologies do you use for identifying and managing risks in global projects?
It is a combination of risk assessment frameworks, regular risk reviews, and stakeholder consultations. Continuous monitoring and having contingency plans in place are essential for effective risk management.
How do you involve clients in risk and issue management discussions, and how does this transparency contribute to building trust?
It is essential to involve clients and maintain open communication, sharing risk assessments, and seek for clients input on mitigation strategies. This transparency fosters partnership and builds trust.
Can you provide an example where your crisis management efforts strengthened client trust?
We encountered a technical issue that threatened delivery. We immediately organized a cross-functional team to address the issue and kept the client constantly informed. By maintaining transparent communication and involving the client in the decision-making process, we were able to resolve the issue promptly, with minimum impact. The client appreciated our approach and transparency, which strengthened their trust in our ability to handle challenges effectively.
