Epley’s more than 20 years of strategic account research reveals that even across diverse industries, strategic and national accounts share some fundamental similarities.

• Their needs are unique
• Their expectations are higher
• They are organizationally complex
• They are geographically dispersed
• They are “experts” and a rich source of information
• They bring a significant amount of value to your business

Understanding strategic accounts / national accounts

Call them strategic accounts, national accounts, key accounts or high-value accounts. No matter the name, these customers are central to the success of your business and the caliber of your relationship with them is vital.

Why is it important?

Companies invest significant time and resources with the goal of cultivating and maintaining these important relationships. But without a true understanding of your strategic accounts and national accounts, your investment—or worse, your customer—may be lost.

How can Epley help?

Our portfolio of customer feedback tools helps you better understand your strategic accounts / national accounts. Here are two examples:

The Business Challenge	Assessing Customer Satisfaction at Critical Points of the Relationship	How to Maintain Existing Customers and Attract New Ones
The Tool	Epley’s Customer Assessment Analysis	Epley’s Competitive Sales Win/Loss Analysis
What You Learn	What your strategic accounts / national accounts need and expect How well you are doing in relation to your customers’ needs How well the individual components of the relationship are being addressed How loyalty enters into the relationship	How well you are targeting your prospects How successful you are in managing the sales process Identification of the value and strengths of your offering, as well as weaknesses and areas for improvement The appeals of your competition What places your strategic accounts / national accounts at risk How you are handling at-risk customers What makes your customers want to leave
When You Might Need It	Approaching contract renewal After significant decline in the business As a supplemental component of the internal account management process Times of change (e.g., personnel, product) General concerns with the relationship Desire to understand customer needs more intimately	Following existing customers’ decision cycle Following prospective customers’ decision cycle
Impact On Your Business	Improve processes and product offerings Stimulate growth in the relationship Prevent loss or decline Facilitate a positive sales outcome	Improve the sales process to satisfy the needs and expectations of strategic accounts / national accounts Learn how to prevent loss and potentially win back lost customers

Discover additional ways Epley Research & Consulting helps you understand your customer

What makes Epley different?

Our work with strategic accounts / national accounts is based on intensive, one-on-one interviews that get below the surface to obtain clear, actionable insights. What you get:

• Knowledge of the science of customer relationships
• Objective, third-party analysis and consultation
• A singular dedication to business outcomes
• Established and well defined work processes
• A tool developed specifically for strategic accounts / national accounts
• Flexibility to tailor our offering to your specific needs
• A complete account of the customer feedback in their own words (with multiple respondents per customer account, if necessary)

Learn more about the Epley Research & Consulting approach

What types of clients or industries has Epley served?

Our experience with strategic accounts / national accounts research not only spans multiple decades, but multiple industries as well. While each client has individual needs and concerns, all share the same need for understanding customers. Contact us to learn about the work we’ve done in your specific industry.

How do I get started?

Clients turn to Epley for a deeper understanding of customer needs and behaviors, and while the issues may be complex, our process for identifying and addressing them is not. Our analysis of strategic accounts / national accounts typically begins by:

• Clarifying business/strategic issues
• Defining the user of the research and expected outcomes
• Offering several options of the depth and scale of the engagement

Simply call us at 1-800-733-7539 or send us an to put a better understanding of your strategic and national accounts within your reach.