Riding the Storm as Recession Fears Grow
03/07/2008
There is a well known saying “May you live in interesting times”, which is reported to be a curse. Well, if it is a curse, we are all cursed because we are living in very interesting times.
Like all things in life there are always two sides to the coin. A time of change is an opportunity for some and a disaster for others, and very large changes mean very large opportunities. As the UK economy stalls along with the majority of other countries', consumer behaviour changes. As recession or stagnation looms the market that was will change and change radically. New paradigms are born and those who “seize the moment” will succeed while those that don’t may fail.
It is a “Who dares wins” time where false markets appear attractive only to vanish into a hole of wasted expenditure and real new markets go unsatisfied because no investment is made to capture them.
As our markets change reactions vary from spending more on marketing, trying to attract customers that are no longer there to massive cutbacks in areas such as quality assurance.
There is clearly a balance that needs to be struck between cutbacks and grasping opportunities. The secret is focusing on the fundamentals and keeping your existing customers while grasping opportunities that are recognised as the markets change.
This is where the Customer First Standard comes into play as a significant tool in an organisations armoury.
The three core elements and 32 statements focus your organisation on what is important in challenging times: Customer Relationships, Market Awareness and your People.
We survive in a recession by keeping our existing customers, while new customers come from the failure of others to look after them rather than market growth. Therefore the 14 statements in customer relations make a huge difference to your ability to retain customers while the 10 market awareness statements allow you to focus on the new market opportunities as they emerge and tailor services/products to them, well ahead of the competition. Finally the People section’s 8 statements means that we can deliver on the customer promise.
The individual statements can be found on the Customer First website I strongly urge you to take them seriously.
As my grandmother used to say “As one door closes another opens”. Is your organisation ready to go through the new door or is it going to be left out in the cold?
Author: Gerald Michaluk
BSc DipH-WU Dip M MSc FCIM MMRS GITP
Author of “Riding the Storm” and “The Marketing Managers Role”
The Managing Director of Marketing Management Services International.
www.marketingms.com
Author: Gerald Michaluk
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