Credit Matters Newsletters

Have you visited our Members Area lately? There are interesting offerings which can help you develop the best financial risk management processes for your business. To assist in your decision making about joining, we have added details to our Homepage of what is currently available in the Members Area.

Advertising via Credit Matters

If you are interested in reaching a wider group of business prospects, contact Kim to see what we can do for you. There are many different opportunities to advertise your business. However Credit Matters offers one of the few opportunities to reach a broad marketplace of customers with financial risk management requirements.

This month, we have listed an advertisement by one of our overseas associates, The Kaplan Group. Dean Kaplan and his team have put together a free e-booklet comparing seven agencies which offer credit reports in the US.

If you are doing business or about to do business in the US, and want to know who you are dealing with, this product is a useful guide to help you complete your due diligence.

Attached this month are brochures from (creditor)watch, CMARS, Investigator Upgrade and Express Mercantile.

Previously I have discussed the problem of the mounting costs which occur when there are not enough employees to do the work in a timely and efficient manner. This short-staffing problem generally occurs because (i) there is a deliberate decision to avoid employing more people or (ii) workload creep via the implementation of new procedures and customer requirements.

Irrespective of why you are short-staffed, if problems escalate to the point customers and suppliers start venting their anger and frustrations, your brand is damaged. It goes without saying the costs of trying to repair a damaged brand are considerable.

Therefore this month's conundrum is as follows. Do you keep your employee numbers down to save on upfront expenses and risk damage to your brand and the later unknown costs to repair your brand? Or do you pay for enough employees at a known upfront cost to avoid brand damage and the unknown repair costs later?

The choice is yours!

Paul McCarthy's quotation is so apt in today's fast paced world. The idea that people will just wait around anymore for you waiting for service or an answer to their problems, is out-dated. Therefore the concept of respecting peoples' time should be an important component of your brand protection strategy.

It is also wise to remember, your brand is viewed exactly as is your word as a person. If your brand does not inspire confidence, then your business's survival and opportunity to maximise profits is compromised. Likewise, as an individual, your word is only valuable if other people believe it is worth something.

Developing and protecting your brand is not just about creating a pretty image and being able to sell a great product or service. A brand is something much more than pure dollars in and out, or selling products and services. It has a perception and an intrinsic value for those which interact with your business.

This works both for and against you in business. For instance, you might have a valued brand product or service. However your business brand might be damaged by operating mistakes and inefficiencies.

Two examples for your consideration

1  Your business is deemed to have a "good name". However, the treatment of your firm's suppliers' needs is abysmal because there are not enough employees to promptly answer their enquiries.

For instance, we often see a response to suppliers' emails which advises:

"Thank you, we will respond to your email within 48 or 72 hours ..."

Or you might see:

"Thank you, your email will be dealt with shortly. However if you do not receive a reply within 10 days, please contact us again"

Alternatively, the supplier contacts the customer by telephone, providing a telephone number can be found of course. The supplier is then advised to start pressing buttons, wait in the queue or leave a message which will be responded to within 48 hours etc.

If the supplier cannot get the information they want, they often have no alternative but to place the customer on stop supply/credit and wait until they are contacted. In this case, the customer's brand, and possibly their creditability, as a reliable business partner is at risk.

2  Customer service departments exist with an impressive range of listed email contacts. However there are NO telephone contact details which allow your suppliers and customers to interact and quckly find answers to their questions.

Does your customer now send an email, or just move on to your competitor? Alternatively, does you customer refuse to send payments for outstanding invoices?

In summary and in a world where "... instant coffee is too slow" we see many positive statements on the importance on customer service. Equally however, we soon see the incongruence of such statements being undone when we make contact for assistance. Too often the harsh operating realities of the modern business, results in the stakeholder being left without an answer or a speedy resolution of their problem. Unfortunately, such experiences appear increasingly to be the norm in the modern business world. 

In light of such experiences, it would seem reasonable to suggest a focus on improving your stakeholder's interactions with your business, could be a brand winner.