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Like it or not, the credit crunch is biting and, while it might be homeowners that are championed as the victims in the media, businesses need to ensure they have strategies in place to compete in a much tougher marketplace.

In an ideal world, we鈥檇 all have a hero product we could rely on to see us through the downturn, but in this age of global competition we鈥檇 be foolish to rely solely on product differentiation.

We could cut costs. Of course wasting capital or assets (including people) is foolish during times of economic hardship, but no more foolish than it is at any other time. A well-run business will already be optimising its assets, spending its cash wisely and ensuring it has the best people in position to deliver for the customer.

If all that鈥檚 already in place, finding new ways to cut costs further means you risk reducing your investment in the customer experience 鈥� and an excellent customer experience is the biggest opportunity you have to differentiate.

In a sector that has been characterised by consolidation over the past few years, with many of the industry鈥檚 specialist minnows being eaten up by giants keen to take a faster route to diversification, rationalising has often taken precedence over customer care.

All too often the culture of service, relationship-building and quality that lies at the heart of small businesses is lost somewhere along the road to business integration. Now that things are tougher, perhaps it鈥檚 time to find those customer-focused cultures again and make quality rather than cutting costs the raison d鈥櫭猼re.

What does quality actually mean? Ask a dozen management gurus and no doubt you鈥檒l get a dozen answers. But once again, that鈥檚 part of the problem. There鈥檚 not a credible business out there that isn鈥檛 putting serious time, effort and money into examining its business processes and trying to devise ways to improve quality.

The problem is that sometimes all the carefully crafted processes, intelligent strategies and integrated systems in the world are no substitute for what lies at the heart of a quality approach to business 鈥� quality people.

Many line managers reading this will probably be thinking, 鈥淕reat, but where does he expect us to get these quality people from?鈥�

The answer is, they鈥檙e probably sitting opposite you right now, but have been so de-motivated by picking up new systems, adhering to square-peg processes and fighting to achieve targets rather than customer satisfaction that they simply don鈥檛 show it any more.

Businesses can only differentiate through customer service if that provision allows individuals to respond to bespoke customer requirements

Of course, in a smaller company, where the head count is lower and managing individuals is easier, allowing people to follow their judgement instead of a process manual is more straightforward.

Customers respond to individuals, and no customer wants to be told, 鈥淲e can鈥檛 do that because it鈥檚 not company policy.鈥�

What they want to hear is, 鈥淵ou鈥檙e a valued customer so I鈥檒l try x, y and z for you.鈥�

Businesses can only differentiate through customer service if that provision allows individuals to respond to bespoke customer requirements.

If you鈥檝e got a one-size-fits-all approach, it doesn鈥檛 matter how slick or well-managed that approach to customer service is.

There is no secret formula to making the customer feel valued, because they are all unique. That鈥檚 the downside to the quality approach 鈥� it requires effort. It takes someone within your organisation to really understand the customer鈥檚 organisation, what drives it, what obstacles it faces and what you can do to help.

You may be able to add value by doing something as simple as issuing invoices on a specific day of the month. Or they may want something more complex, like a change to product specification. Either way, if you don鈥檛 know, you can鈥檛 deliver, and you鈥檒l only find out by prioritising the customer鈥檚 experience.

A quality approach to customer satisfaction is no panacea for the economic slowdown, but it is, perhaps, our best defence. For me, that鈥檚 a message that needs to be heard not just at board or even managerial level, but throughout an organisation.

People at all levels are nervous about the commercial climate and about their own job security. That can go one of two ways. Either they can be targeted with helping to deliver increased productivity and reducing costs, or they can be challenged to step up to the mark for both the company and the customer and deliver excellence across the customer experience. No prizes for guessing which option I would choose.