An archived version of this Briefing is available for playback. ITSMA members with online access may access the archived Briefing by clicking on the “Playback” button above. Nonmembers who purchase the Briefing will receive an email with a link to the archived replay.

In a downturn, your lowest-cost and most-probable source of revenue is your existing clients. Trusted relationships with strategic accounts also translate into marquee references, positive word-of-mouth, and valuable insight into the most effective new offers. In this tough economic climate together with heightened scrutiny, we may be seeing the demise of high-end hospitability programs.

Consequently, marketers need to rethink their client relationship-building programs, from user group meetings to advisory councils to reference programs to hospitality and senior-level events. Relationship-building programs for senior executives at key (named, strategic, global, etc.) accounts can no longer be one-off or hospitality activities, but must be part of a portfolio of client engagement designed to progressively develop and nurture long-term relationships.

In this Briefing, ITSMA’s Julie Schwartz and Katie Espinola address the questions that get at the heart of how to improve relationships with senior executives at your most important accounts:

• What programs and activities can be most effective in deepening relationships with senior executives?
• How should programs be managed to ensure maximum overall effectiveness?
• How can you capture the attention of busy senior executives?
• What role should sales play in customer engagement programs?

In addition, Tony Viola, Vice President of Marketing at Patni, and Bill Koff, Vice President & Chief Technology Officer in CSC’s Office of Innovation describe their best-practice client engagement programs and share their knowledge and experience in an interactive Q&A format.

The presentation was followed by a Q and A session, but time ran out before all questions were answered. So we put together a document with answers from ITSMA and our panelists – Tony Viola of Patni and Bill Koff of CSC. We hope you find these answers (PDF 0.2MB) valuable.