81964 - Key Account Management and Trade Marketing

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the student is able to understand the theoretical concepts and empirically apply models, tools and techniques for customer analysis and for the functioning of the marketing of product companies towards intermediaries, marketing of commercial enterprises and carried out by goods and services companies offered to other companies.

Course contents

The increasing level of competition that organizations continually face has drastically changed the traditional personal sales system. Key or strategic accounts have become one of the most important corporate assets and fortunately this in the current emergency phase is helping many companies to sustain themselves.

Moreover, the "80/20" rule (according to which 80% of sales is achieved by 20% of the customer portfolio) means that "key customers" require more careful management than others, due to their "weight" and the need to maintain a very high level of satisfaction to give greater guarantees for the future. Building a strong relationship, which is the basis of a lasting relationship, involves a level of attention and "customization" that cannot be guaranteed to the same extent to all the company's customers.

These are the main issues that will be addressed during the course:

Customer orientation in the KAM

The KAM relational model

Building loyalty and managing the Customer Plan

The focus on the retailer customer

The characteristics of trade marketing

How to analyze and manage relationships with distributors

Readings/Bibliography

The readings and bibliography will be communicated at the start of the course.

Teaching methods

During the course, traditional lessons will be alternated with case discussion and exercises. The intervention of guest speakers and company witnesses is also foreseen.

Assessment methods

The final evaluation will consist of an assessment of assigment and group work that will be assigned during the lessons and an evaluation of a final written test.

The weights of the assessments will be communicated at the start of the course.

Office hours

See the website of Daniele Rimini