Report: Developing Strategic Relationships with Major Customers

This report, focusing on developing strategic relationships with major customers, begins with identifying criteria for major customers and analyzing their businesses, corporate strategies, and challenges. It outlines common business objectives and strategic options for achieving them, including communication plans and teamwork. The report further examines the expertise needed by the sales team, coordination of business functions, and opportunities for creating long-term value. It also addresses methods for reducing risk and ways to evaluate activities' outcomes. The report concludes with a plan to address potential issues, a succession plan for maintaining customer relationships, and an evaluation of systems for storing customer information, all supported by relevant references.

Running head: DEVELOPING STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIPS WITH MAJOR
CUSTOMERS
DEVELOPING STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIPS WITH MAJOR CUSTOMERS
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

1
DEVELOPING STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIPS WITH MAJOR CUSTOMERS
Table of Contents
Task 2................................................................................................................................1
List of Customers that fulfill criteria for Major Customer...........................................1
Analysis of Major customer’s business........................................................................1
Analysis of Corporate Business and Marketing Strategy for Major Customer............1
Analysis of current and future strategic and operational business challenges..............2
List of common business objectives.............................................................................2
Strategic options that will enable achievement of the common business objectives....2
Relevant actions............................................................................................................3
Task 3................................................................................................................................3
Briefing Paper...................................................................................................................3
Expertise Required by Sales Team...............................................................................3
Coordination of Business Functions.............................................................................3
Opportunities for Creating Long Term Value with Major Customers..........................4
Methods of Reducing Risk of major customer’s own products and services...............4
Task 4................................................................................................................................4
Ways to evaluate the outcomes of Activities................................................................4
Plan to address issues....................................................................................................5
Succession Plan for maintaining Relationship with Customer.....................................5
Evaluation of systems for storing customer information..............................................5
References.........................................................................................................................6

2
DEVELOPING STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIPS WITH MAJOR CUSTOMERS

3
DEVELOPING STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIPS WITH MAJOR CUSTOMERS
Task 2
List of Customers that fulfill criteria for Major Customer
Depending on the segmentation of the customers and the portfolio it can be said that
customers in the organization are classified in various way such as postcode, contract
value, contract volume and frequency (Piercy, 2002). The customers that can be a part
of the major customers of the business by fulfilling the designed criteria are:
 Customers that engage in a positive and frequent manners with the suppliers
 Customers that are assertive in nature
 Customers that always have a last minute requirement and needs attention
 Customers that are structured and formal
 Customers that are open to new idea and has collaborative approach
Analysis of Major customer’s business
The major customer’s business can be analyzed based on the details about their
operations. The most important major customer’s business in this case will be the
opening and management of key accounts which is very different from other accounts.
The business from major customers to the organization will come from loyalty the
customer holds by offering them their needs and exceeding their expectations (Porter,
1980). This will have a significant impact on profit level and customer retention.
Analysis of Corporate Business and Marketing Strategy for Major Customer
The corporate business of major customers in the organization include entering into a
contract, borrowing or lending money, opening key accounts and others. The more the
potential key accounts opened by a major customers the more business or profit they
will give. The major customer’s marketing strategy includes indulging into market

4
DEVELOPING STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIPS WITH MAJOR CUSTOMERS
research on major customers’ needs by collecting, collating and analyzing the data on
the customers (Smith, 2004).
Analysis of current and future strategic and operational business challenges
The current and future strategic and operational business challenges faced by the major
customers include pressure from external environment such as inflation, technological
development, tighter regulations and others (Porter, 1980). Further, the operational
business challenges might include competitive rivalry to the firm, analysis of
customer’s objectives and others all contribute to the challenges faced by major
customers.
List of common business objectives
The common business objectives of the organization and major customers include:
 To maximize opportunities to the major customers as well as the business
 The other shared objectives are
o Work in collaboration for product development process
o Market development objectives
o Indulging in product and service related and unrelated diversification;
Strategic options that will enable achievement of the common business objectives
The strategic options that is available to the organization to achieve common business
objectives identified above are creation of a strong communication plan to achieve
common objectives of planning, collaboration and other. This strategy is suitable,
feasible and acceptable at the same time (West, Ford and Ibrahim, 2010). The second
strategic option is to form team work so that effective planning is done on product
diversification and market development.

5
DEVELOPING STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIPS WITH MAJOR CUSTOMERS
Relevant actions
To overcome challenges such as external situation and operational challenges it is
important to take up active planning and control action which will help in overcome
negative external situation and also fight operational challenges by overcoming
competitive pressure.
To address common business objectives the major actions includes Engaging in
planning and control, Indulging in timely performance management and sharing
financial information.

6
DEVELOPING STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIPS WITH MAJOR CUSTOMERS
Task 3
Briefing Paper
Expertise Required by Sales Team
The expertise required by the sales team to work with the major customers include
physical makeup such as mental strength, logical interpretation skills, listening and
speaking capabilities. Further, expertise in also required in related to qualifications,
technical knowledge on accounts, trained and informed team members and others. The
sales team should be active in nature to explain about the details of the key accounts to
the major customers and take interest in the job to encourage the same interest to the
customers.
Coordination of Business Functions
Different business functions can be coordinated to develop strategic relationship with
the major customers of the business. Different business functions can be coordinated
with the help of integrity, transparency, honesty, consistency and loyalty. The
marketing function should work in coordination with the product development team so
that a strong and positive brand image is formed in front of major customers (Wilson
and Gilligan, 2012). The coordination can also be formed by developing
professionalism throughout the business functions and deliver good service to the
customers.
Opportunities for Creating Long Term Value with Major Customers
The opportunities for creating long term value with the major customers of the business
includes attaining operational excellence, develop product leadership and excel in
customer intimacy. All these process will offer opportunities to the business to create

7
DEVELOPING STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIPS WITH MAJOR CUSTOMERS
long team value in front of major customers by letting them gain a good value for their
money.
Methods of Reducing Risk of major customer’s own products and services
The methods of reducing risks of major customer’s products and services is to develop
risk and control policies so that the organization is protected in case of performance
issues and customers are valued (Kotler, 1988). Further, methods like price control,
innovation clauses, and limitations on the volume of products and guarantees on
contract are also used to reduce the risk on products and services offers.

8
DEVELOPING STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIPS WITH MAJOR CUSTOMERS
Task 4
Ways to evaluate the outcomes of Activities
The organization can use methods like quality evaluation methods such as the Total
Quality Management activities to evaluate the outcome of every activities that takes
place in the organization. The quality management will help analyzing the quality of the
service offered and the projects in which money of the major customers being invested
to help them gain increase return on investment.
Plan to address issues
In case of any issues regarding the outcomes of the strategic relationship activities it is
important to follow an improvement plan such as analyzing the issue being faced, the
areas the issue is existing such as quality, communication and others, develop an
improvement plan, implementation of the improvement action and monitoring
outcomes.
Succession Plan for maintaining Relationship with Customer
The succession plan for maintaining relationship with the customer is through planning
monthly face to face communication with the customers and involving them in product
and service development, sharing of ideas and others. This will help in bringing the
major customers closer to the organization and work in offering them better satisfaction
(Drummond and Ensor, 2001). Customer involvement will also help in gaining trust
from the customers.
Evaluation of systems for storing customer information
The organization will make use of management information system or the MIS to store
the information of the major customer of their business. This system will be an effective

9
DEVELOPING STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIPS WITH MAJOR CUSTOMERS
one to store information and make it available when required. Further, MIS will help in
creating and sharing documents and help in supporting day to day activities of the
business (Jobber and Lancaster, 2009). Further, it will improve accessibility of the
information to various business department.

10
DEVELOPING STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIPS WITH MAJOR CUSTOMERS
References
Drummond, G. and Ensor, J. (2001). Strategic Marketing: planning and control.
Butterworth-Heinemann.
Jobber, D. and Lancaster, G. (2009). Selling and Sales Management, Prentice-Hall
Kotler, P. (1988) Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning, Implementation and
Control, Prentice-Hall
Meek, H., Meek, R., Palmer, R., and Parkinson, L. (2008) Managing Marketing
Performance, Butterworth-Heinemann
Munro, R.J.B. and Cooper, P. (1989), The Impact of Changes in Strategic Thinking,
British Accounting Association
Piercy, N.F. (2002) Market-led Strategic Change, Butterworth Heinemann
Porter, M.E. (1980) Competitive Strategy, Free Press
Smith, P.R. (2004) SOSTAC® Model of Marketing
West, D. Ford, J. and Ibrahim, E. (2010) Strategic Marketing: Creating Competitive
Advantage, Oxford University Press
Wilson, R.M.S and Gilligan, C. (2012) Strategic marketing management, planning
implementation and control, Routledge.

11
DEVELOPING STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIPS WITH MAJOR CUSTOMERS