The key to quality account management
Hear from our Business Growth Team Lead, Kate Soltane, as she discusses what makes a truly long-lasting client relationship
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your role as a Key Account Manager?
Passionate and positive, I am always keen to find the most suitable solution and believe there is always a way. In my current role as a Business Growth Team Lead, I strive to motivate and inspire my team to achieve the very best. I believe success can and will be achieved by well-coordinated teamwork in a nourishing and positive environment. I view it as my key duty to ensure such an environment is created and maintained for my team, even if that involves listening to Mariah Carey's 'Make It Happen' a lot.
What’s the most rewarding part of your job?
Meeting and connecting with people. I tailor my communication style to suit our merchants and my team, thus ensuring key merchant and team goals and objectives are achieved. I find it rewarding that I can use my set of people-influencing and motivating skills to see our merchants strive, as well as see my team grow and develop.
How long have you been with the company, and how have you seen our customer service evolve over that time?
I have been with the company for nearly seven years, my Ecommanniversary is due to take place on 1 November. Highly exciting! In terms of account management, I am still amazed by how a dedicated and personalised Client Account Manager can enhance a certain merchant account and support them in achieving increased conversion and turnover.
Why is that personal touch so important when working with clients, especially in the payments industry?
I believe that a personal touch makes a great difference in the payments industry, as it ensures that business relationships are built and maintained on a great foundation of trust, collaboration, and inspiration. A dedicated and passionate Client Account Manager can enhance a merchant's business and support the business in achieving key goals. The personal touch also ensures that a consultative approach is adopted and used, which ensures more efficient solutions are created and implemented.
How do you build long-lasting relationships with your clients?
It all comes down to being passionate about people, solutions, and achieving goals. Peppering this with effective communication and delivering on expectations will result in you having a perfect recipe for a successful, loyal, and trustworthy business relationship.
Can you share a success story where our personalised service made a real impact on a client?
I'd say that personalised Client Account Management makes an impact in many ways, most notably where speed, efficiency, and a tailored approach are of the essence.
In terms of a success story, one of the most memorable stories was when one of our travel merchants wanted to go live with a new destination using a new integration method and we were able to turn everything around in hours, which resulted in the merchant being able to process more payments with a good conversion rate and an excellent Client Account Management support. Such a tailored approach truly made a difference!
If there was a standoff between AI and human support, who would win, and why?
AI wouldn't beat the passion and dedication of personalised Client Account Management, not now, not ever.