Lawyer and Partner, Gerald Couldrake, of Howes Percival solicitors outlines the advantages of nurturing local customer and supplier relationships
AS the world’s economy becomes ever more internationalised, as it becomes easier and easier to buy goods and services with a click on an internet site without any knowledge of who is your supplier, it is still worthwhile considering whether the more traditional methods of buying and selling have any relevance in the 21st century.
The traditions I refer to are things like:
* building a long-term relationship with your customer or supplier
Lawyer and Partner, Gerald Couldrake, of Howes Percival solicitors outlines the advantages of nurturing local customer and supplier relationships
AS the world’s economy becomes ever more internationalised, as it becomes easier and easier to buy goods and services with a click on an internet site without any knowledge of who is your supplier, it is still worthwhile considering whether the more traditional methods of buying and selling have any relevance in the 21st century.
The traditions I refer to are things like:
* building a long-term relationship with your customer or supplier
* knowing who they are and where they are; and
* making a judgement on whether to buy based on criteria other than just price.
In my world, that of a provider of legal and commercial advice, these traditions are still as vitally important as they were over 200 years ago when my firm’s founder Richard Howes first set up in business as a lawyer in Towcester.
A successful business requires a sustainable business model, and whatever your business, that depends on building sustainable relationships with your customers and suppliers.
It means getting to know them, and understanding what they really want from you. You only have to look at retailers to understand that those that fail to understand their customers and fail to provide what they want, do not have a long term future, however well-known and trusted their brand is.
And where is your easiest market to build these relationships? I think a good place to start is your immediate locality. Northamptonshire has an extremely diverse economy. I love the fact that my job, in any day, can involve helping manufacturers, services providers, charities and government agencies. The one thing in common? They are local to me and I really know them, what they need from me, and how they like their service delivered. Not so easy to achieve when the customer is located in another country.
So please don’t ignore our local, Northamptonshire economy. The stronger our local economy is, the more prosperous and successful our county will become. We can help each other to succeed and when things don’t quite go to plan, it is much easier to find a solution that works if your counter-party is only a short drive away.
Sometimes, the answer is right in front of us!
For further details contact Gerald Couldrake at Howes Percival on 01604 258011 or email