Centrally Sidelined

I spoke to a client of mine as he was working from home, desperately trying to attend to a fixer from the water board to repair his meter.  He was explaining how like any such business, their ERP-add-on reporting software user-base experienced an element of attrition each year.  Yet for 2009, he feared that this rate of lost customers was set to worsen.

Interestingly, he didn’t jump on the bandwagon that is blaming the credit crunch preceded recession.  Although he did acknowledge that this contraction was partly responsible, he instead talked about losing customers where what they provided was “not central to what they do”.

He elaborated to say that where clients used his kit as part of their everyday routines, as well as base strategic decisions on it, they would remain in place.  Where this ethos had faded, they were more likely to face anywhere from a reduction to a cancellation in charges.

So the moral is clear.  In present times where cutting is easier to contemplate than spending, if you can focus on making what you provide a central pillar of how your clients do business, then you’re more likely to stay ahead of the game.