- "In the last 20 years our business has changed considerably…and as the focus of our business has changed, Bird Luckin have moved with us."
Alex Tanner, George Tanner (Shalford) Ltd - "Bird Luckin has looked after us incredibly well for over 60 years, they are pro-active and innovational - meeting all our needs to help us achieve our aims."
Richard Stubbings, Cliffords Limited - "I can honestly say that Bird Luckin are the best firm of accountants and auditors I have ever dealt with - and I don't say that lightly!"
Colin Webb, Walthamstow Stadium - "It's important for us to know that we will always be able to contact the right people to give us the right advice and support."
Jane Bennett, Bennetts Funeral Directors - "Although we deal mainly with one Partner … we also know that if we need to contact someone else who is a specialist in another area, we can get the advice we need quickly and easily"
Jeremy Ruggles, J.S. Wright & Sons Ltd - "Bird Luckin got us to a stage which would have taken us months - if not years - to reach on our own, and they got us there in a matter of weeks"
Matthew Sullivan, SNC Ltd - "You can be a good accountant, but if you don't have an understanding of the industry it can be very difficult. "There are two or three people we have regular contact with at Bird Luckin who know our business well, and it makes a difference.""
Robert Church, W A Church (Bures) Ltd - "The work which Bird Luckin has done for Boddingtons over the past few months has helped shape our future direction for the better."
John Warner, Chief Executive, Boddingtons Ltd - "Bird Luckin has acted for us since our inception 10 years ago. They have a very 'can do' yet highly professional attitude - we are very appreciative of their support and advice over the years."
Marlon Fox, Outlook Property Ltd
Meeting your customers' expectations
In many ways, developments in electronic commerce are setting the standards for the rest of the business world to follow. Nowhere is this truer than in the area of customer relations.
Advantages
Doing business online has a number of advantages for customers and clients:
- A personalised environment over which they have a high degree of control
- Easy access to detailed product/service information
- The space to 'browse' at their leisure, free from the intrusions of predatory sales staff
- Extended choice and the ability to personalise products and services
- Fast and efficient transactions
- Increasingly sophisticated after sales support services
As customers and clients grow used to these benefits, they are coming to expect them across the board - even in more conventional business settings such as the shop and the office. Today's customers and clients demand more recognition, more choice, and more control over the purchasing process.
Customer driven strategies
Businesses that want to survive in the new millennium must develop customer driven rather than product or service driven strategies:
- Products and services must be designed to meet the specific needs of the customer/client
- Impersonal, mass marketing must give way to 'permission marketing,' in which the prospect has a say in what information he or she receives
- Traditional, predatory sales techniques must be replaced by 'consultative selling,' in which the customer is treated more as a partner than as prey
These trends are set to continue throughout what has been dubbed the 'Customer century'. Businesses will ignore them at their peril.