Soap Box blog: Why you should keep your customers close

The recession continues to dominate the headlines on a daily basis, and in a number of guises, but generally it seems to focus on those who are struggling. Without wanting to belittle those battling it, there are also positives to be found in this tough climate. Businesses have been forced to adapt and evolve what they do. These adaptations, made in order to survive in a changing market, can actually have long lasting benefits to a business. In my opinion now, more than ever, it is important to find ways to work more closely with suppliers.

Over the last six months consumers have been reacting strongly against institutions and businesses they perceive to have broken their trust; and these feelings have spilt over into B2B relationships between client and supplier as well.  Every aspect of spend is being scrutinised, from sterling to time.

In order to reassure clients that their investment is being spent efficiently, more transparency in our systems and communications is needed. Trust becomes almost a non issue when everyone feels they are being kept in the loop and aware of every stage of the fulfilment process.

Clients and suppliers can also save time and energy by starting discussions about particular projects in the early stages of the planning process. This means the supplier is able to provide invaluable advice at the start before time has been spent pursuing different options.

Suppliers must also help their clients by ensuring their own businesses are operating as smoothly as possible. Contrary to what you might expect this might involve areas that are sometimes thought of as “nice to have” extras. Improving our environmental credentials, with measures like the ISO 14001, can actually be a brilliant way to develop your client relationships.

The reality is clients are being more selective over suppliers they use and how environmentally responsible they are, so it is paramount that suppliers can show they are ahead of the pack and investing in greener processes and technologies. This isn’t just a tool to help win new business either; we’ve found many of our existing clients were also keen to discuss how we could jointly make projects more environmentally friendly.

Finally and arguably the most important area which helps clients and suppliers develop closer relationships is the supplier’s ability to be flexible. Often clients need bespoke services that cater to their specific requirements. So for example a client may need their supplier to have a very specialist piece of equipment to complete a job.

Rather than struggling to find someone with this equipment or having to compromise on which supplier you use, it’s often possible to come to some arrangement whereby the client purchases the desired equipment needed to carry out a job but stores it at their supplier’s warehouse to enable them to complete the project. 

It’s clear that for many brands and businesses times are tough at the moment – this is why a supplier that understands business objectives and delivers on brief and on budget in the most efficient way possible has never been more essential.

Do you agree with Stephen Bentley? How are you seeing client and supplier relationships change in the recession? Log in and give us your views below.

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