Beyond Sales: Key Account Management as a Driver for Long-Term Business Growth
- Hayk Petrosyan
- Oct 6
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 6
Sales have always been a primary source of business growth; without new customers, no company can ensure long-term development. However, studies show that B2B sales processes are becoming increasingly complex year by year.
Some of the main contributors to this complexity include the growing number of decision-makers in the buying process, longer sales cycles, and the increasing customer acquisition costs (CAC).
A 2024 study by Mercury International Research shows that even in medium-complexity B2B deals, an average of 4–5 decision-makers from the buying company are involved, and the sales cycle lasts around five months. By comparison, research from 2007 reported just two decision-makers and a two-month sales cycle.
By comparison, Gartner reports that, on average, 6–10 decision-makers are involved in the B2B purchasing process, while data from Raconteur and LinkedIn indicate that this number can reach as many as 11.
This means that it is no longer enough for selling companies to persuade a single decision-maker; they must influence all members of the buying committee to successfully close a B2B deal.
At the same time, customer acquisition costs are on the rise. In various industries, it is continuously rising and, in some cases, has doubled or even tripled compared to the previous decade. According to Paddle’s analysis, B2B customer acquisition costs for Software as a Service (SaaS) companies increased by about 50% between 2015 and 2019.
Although the use of artificial intelligence in sales and marketing appears to have lowered customer acquisition costs in recent years, the overall trend is clear: generating new B2B sales has become slower, more complex, and more expensive.
From Sales to Key Account Management
Of course, this does not mean abandoning sales—sales remain a key source of organizational growth. At the same time, these trends highlight the risks of focusing solely on new sales and underscore the importance of maximizing the value of relationships with existing customers, particularly strategic accounts, through Key Account Management (KAM).
Key or Strategic Account Management (KAM) is a strategic approach focused on building mutually beneficial, long-term, and profitable relationships with a company’s most important business customers.
Some of the main drivers behind implementing KAM are:
High revenue concentration: In many companies, a relatively small number of customers generate the majority of revenue. This pattern often reflects the well-known Pareto principle, or the so-called 80/20 rule.
Customer acquisition costs: Acquiring a new customer is estimated to cost 5–25 times more than retaining an existing one.
Competitive pressure: Retaining key or high-value customers is becoming increasingly challenging due to rising competition in most industries.
Expectations of major clients: Major customers expect personalized attention and often require customized solutions.
It should be noted that KAM is not an abstract concept; it is a strategic, cross-functional approach focused on a single primary goal — developing continuous, mutually beneficial relationships with an organization’s most important customers by creating and delivering genuine value. In other words, it’s about making the customer measurably better off — helping them achieve tangible improvements in their performance, efficiency, or profitability.
Key Account Management encompasses multiple processes, among which the following can be highlighted:
Segmentation: Identify the “true” key accounts based on current and potential revenue, growth opportunities, strategic fit, and other quantitative and qualitative criteria.
Planning: Define a clear growth strategy and action plan for each key account.
Stakeholder mapping: Identify and build multi-layered relationships within the customer’s organization, engaging decision-makers at various levels.
Value creation: Continuously study the customer’s business priorities and propose solutions that support their objectives.
Internal collaboration: Align and coordinate the company’s cross-functional teams to deliver structured, high-quality services that ensure the customer’s long-term success.
Performance measurement and monitoring: Set clear metrics for the development of customer relationships and track them continuously.
Implementing KAM is beneficial not only for the supplier or selling company but also for the buyer.
This approach enables companies not only to respond to customer needs but also to proactively initiate and cultivate long-term, profitable partnerships.
Sales and KAM: Two Sides of the Same Coin
Importantly, this is not a “sales or KAM” dilemma—businesses need both. Sales bring new opportunities and maintain growth momentum, while Key Account Management ensures not only the retention of strategic customers but also the continuous increase in the value of these relationships.
Regardless of whether an organization is an SME or a large enterprise, the consistent growth of the value of existing customer relationships should be approached with the same strategic seriousness as acquiring new customers.
Long-term sustainable profitability is achieved by companies that can balance the allocation of the organization’s limited resources between these two crucial functions.
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At Praxyma, we help companies build Key Account Management capabilities or develop existing teams and processes through customized programs grounded in years of KAM expertise and international best practices. Get in touch today for a free consultation.
