Yup…you read that right. Account Management Ambiguity is the title of this post.
From the Oxford Dictionary:
am·bi·gu·i·ty – /ˌambəˈɡyo͞oədē/ – the quality of being open to more than one interpretation; inexactness.
If you are familiar with digital account management in the web services industry then you’ll understand this concept. Account Management is different depending on what agency, firm, or company your work with or for. Many companies will call account managers by different names but they all do the same thing (kind of).
Different Titles of the Account Manager
Digital Account Managers have different titles depending on what company or industry you work with or in. They’re often referred to as the following (and I’ve probably missed one or two):
- Account Manager
- Digital Account Manager
- Key Account Manager
- Program Manager
- Project Manager
- Client Success Manager
- Customer Satisfaction Manager
- Client Happiness Manager
- Client Relationship Manager
- Client Advocate
- Digital Strategist
- Client Strategist
- Innovation Strategist
- Digital Strategy Manager
- Account Executive
- Results Driver
- Relationship Lead
- Collaborator
Again, I’ve probably missed a few. But account managers come in many shapes and sizes, which is why you, as an Account Manager, will need to be comfortable living (or working) in the land of ambiguity. Account Managers also wear many different “hats” or partake in many different roles within a specific company – of course, that does depend on what type of company you work for, how many resources you have, and what type of services/products you sell.
The Many Different ‘Hats’ of a Digital Account Manager
Digital Account Managers take on many different roles to effectively service their clients and they have to wear many different hats, those hats can inlcude:
- Account Manager
- Project Manager
- Strategist
- Salesperson
- Digital Marketer
- Researcher
- Analyst
- Client Advocate
- Negotiator
- Mediator
- Optimizer or Enhancer
- Consultant
You may also need to service your clients in “unofficial” ways like the following:
- Listener
- Friend
- Confidant
- A person they can bounce stuff off or or be able to “vent” to
- A Facebook friend
- An Instagram follower
What ever the case is with your company or agency – Digital Account Managers have a very ambiguous role and therefore it’s sometimes hard to show real value. We’ll go into all the different things account managers should be up to speed to work with clients to make things less ambiguous – but that is a post for another day.