There is a recession don't you know..

By Lindsay
I can tell from my accounts receivable that there has been an impact on business in the current recession.  So what to do?  Well I planned for this myself by thinking through my response to the likely downturn in business.  So:

• I wanted to become even closer to my customers. I invested heavily in remote management tools so I can monitor down to the workstation level, in real time. I added value to my customers by giving this tool free to my customers.
•  I took on a part timer to ensure that when I wasn't looking at the remote management screen, someone else was.  And that the phone would be answered in the office, and that I had resource to respond in a timely manner. 
• I adopted cloud based solutions for my remote management tools so I can do this anywhere, and am not constrained by location. 
•  If I miss my office phone calls, the voice messages are turned to emails and I get them straight away. 
• And I use a cloud based email system so your emails are received on two computers, an Iphone, and an android tablet simultaneously.

To my customers I promote cloud based services so they can get the same benefit from them that I do as well.  For the accountants it means that capital costs now become operational costs.  They are non-contract, monthly, and can expand and contract as you do. 

The Christchurch earthquake was certainly a wake up call for Chritchurch business owners.  Those that couldnt get access to their computers had a hard time.  With cloud based services that doesn't matter.  You only need to get access to your data - and any web browser will do.

Yes it's hard for businesses at the moment, so business owners need all the advantages that they can get.  Remember, you only need to be 1% better than your competitors to win all the business.  So now in this recessison your competitors are also thinking through the strategies that they will implement to target your customers.  Your best strategy to counter this is to get closer to your customers, to increase responsiveness, and to be seen to be open to business 24 hours per day.  And cloud based services are one part of that strategy.