Lead Account Manager

Brighton, Sussex
BrightLocal Ltd

As a Senior Account Manager in our newly formed Local SEO Services team, you will be the primary point of contact for a diverse portfolio of customers that includes marketing agencies & SMBs. You will handle all aspects of the customer relationship from onboarding to regular reporting and contract renewal. You will ensure every customer has the best possible experience working with BrightLocal, and sees us as a valuable and trusted partner, integral to their business growth.

Your role will be pivotal in building strong, long-term relationships, coordinating with junior account managers, and collaborating closely with SEO managers to adapt strategies and maximize value for all your customers.

You will lead and mentor a team of junior account managers, providing structured feedback and ensuring they remain motivated, perform to the highest standards, and meet mutually agreed KPIs.

As a natural problem-solver, you will proactively address issues and identify opportunities for growth, delivering value for customers and driving business growth for BrightLocal. With a strong customer-centric focus, a commercial mindset, and exceptional communication skills, you will thrive in this dynamic, fast-paced environment.

If you are a proactive collaborator with a passion for driving results and delivering exceptional service, this role is for you!

Customer Relationship Management

• Oversee and coordinate the communication with an assigned portfolio of SEO Services customers (agency & SMB);
• Coordinate daily with junior account managers (Philippines-based) to ensure that all customer tickets & chats are answered on-time and to high degree of accuracy to resolve customer questions;
• Proactively identify and resolve any issues or challenges during campaigns;
• Maintain detailed records of client interactions, project plans, and campaign progress in the correct tools & software (Planhat, Gdrive);
• Relay any changes in the customers’ business activities or seasonal opportunities to SEO managers to enable them to adapt their SEO plans to support the customer’s business.

Customer Onboarding

• Conduct all onboarding calls and meetings to ensure new customers are onboarded quickly and completely;
• Work with clients to define clear, measurable objectives for their SEO campaigns;
• Ensure all new customers have clear and complete expectations of the work we’ll do for them and the results they can expect to see;
• Ensure Jnr Account Managers correctly complete data gathering and account set-up for new customers;
• Provide detailed and complete handover notes on new customers to the SEO managers to enable them to efficiently create an SEO strategy and content plan for each customer.

Customer Performance Reporting

• Coordinate daily with junior account managers to ensure that every customer receives their monthly performance report on time;
• Regularly review customer performance & reports before they are shared to identify potential issues and discuss ahead of time with SEO managers;
• Conduct monthly &/or quarterly reporting calls with every customer in your portfolio to ensure they understand the value of the work delivered and view BrightLocal as a positive and trusted partner;
• Deliver feedback on any customer questions or concerns to the SEO managers to enable them to understand and adapt their SEO strategies to better meet customer needs.

Line Management & Leadership

• Line manage the UK-based Account Managers as the team grows.
• Take ownership of overall performance management for the Local SEO Account Management team (UK + PH), ensuring individuals are supported, coached, and held accountable for retention and expansion KPIs.
• Lead the creation, maintenance, and continuous improvement of all Planhat SOPs, playbooks, and renewal processes within the Local SEO Services team.
• Coach AMs in commercial skills, including having confident conversations around upsell opportunities, managing churn risks, and leading renewals with confidence.
• Act as the escalation point for customer or process issues that cannot be resolved by AMs or junior AMs, ensuring swift resolution and clear communication to all stakeholders.
• Conduct bi-weekly 1-1s to ensure Jnr Account Managers are positive, motivated, and hitting their expected KPIs;
• Foster a collaborative environment within the Account Management team that encourages teamwork, speaking up, and shared success at all times;
• Embody and champion our company beliefs every day and be a role model to everyone in the team and business.

Process Improvements

• Streamline internal workflows to improve efficiency in onboarding, reporting, and customer communication;
• Work with Operations and Product teams to automate steps in the onboarding and reporting processes that reduce time & human effort on the part of customers & BrightLocal team members;
• Gather and act on customer feedback to implement improvements that boost customer satisfaction and performance.

Account & Revenue Growth

• Identify and nurture opportunities to expand or upsell additional services to customers within your portfolio;
• Protectively prepare and lead the quarterly renewal process with each customer to deliver healthy, long term partnerships that maximise LTV;
• Develop new case studies and testimonials to assist the marketing and sales teams position and pitch our Services effectively to new customers.

You’ll need to be:

• Customer-Centric Passion: Deeply committed to understanding and meeting customer needs, always acting as their advocate.
• Commercially minded: Possessing a natural curiosity and a strong commercial mindset, consistently seeking out opportunities to drive business growth and enhance profitability.
• Communication Champion: Your verbal and written skills are top-notch, making every word count and every interaction meaningful.
• A great collaborator: You love to collaborate with others, and will develop strong relationships across the business, especially with SEO managers, SEO operations, sales managers, customer support and product, helping them to build great products that our customers love.
• A strong bias for action: You’re comfortable working with ambiguity and lean on your creative problem-solving skills to generate ideas and move them forward quickly.
• Innovative thinker: You have a keen eye for identifying gaps and opportunities, consistently offering new suggestions to drive success for your customers, and growth for the business.
• Genuine and Driven: Authenticity is your middle name; motivated and resilient, you’re all about lending a helping hand.
• Passionate Learner: Fueled by a desire to grow, you’re constantly seizing every opportunity to develop your skills and soak up knowledge.

Experience and skills required

• A minimum 3 years experience working in an digital account management or digital customer support or success role;
• Excellent understanding of principles and tenets of digital marketing and/or local search engine optimisation;
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills – in English;
• Track record of identifying & nurturing revenue growth opportunities with existing customer accounts;
• A clear passion and ability to help customers get clear value & ROI through Services;
• Great attention to detail and ability to keep thorough and accurate records of customer needs and interactions;
• Experience collaborating and leading offshore teams, working with different cultures and timezones;
• Good knowledge of cloud & business software (e.g. CRMs, SEO Tools, Google docs, Excel, PowerPoint)
• Has excellent time management skills and can think on their feet whilst prioritising their workload;
• The ability to self manage and motivate and work in a fast paced environment;
• Previous line management experience is essential.

What you get in return

• Salary: Competitive
• Hybrid Working – 2 days from our central Brighton office and 3 from home
• Holiday: 25 days + bank holidays + your birthday off!
• Duvet days: 3 duvet days per year
• Healthcare: Vitality Healthcare
• Learning & Development: £1000 per annum personal learning budget + other development.

Who we are

Founded in 2009, BrightLocal has grown into a powerhouse name in the world of Local SEO and digital marketing. We provide invaluable insights and custom fit services to both big and small brands alike. Enabling businesses to understand, develop, and utilise their Local strategies to help them grow.

We live and breathe everything Google and search engine. We have a very welcoming and talented team we are really proud of, we are protective of our company values and want our teams to love coming to work.

In office entertainment includes things like: table tennis, foosball, consoles, food & drink.

Headquartered in central Brighton, we have a plethora of tempting lunch choices and convenient transport connections right on our doorstep.