Business to business public relations by Nigel Lawrence

There was a time – and not that long ago – when banks didn’t have ATM machines^* located outside. When you wanted money out of your account you took your cheque book and ‘bank card’ and joined the queue inside your nearest branch – usually in your lunch hour because that was the only chance you’d get in the days when they closed at three in the afternoon. If you didn’t manage to make it on Friday you’d be reduced to buying something with a cheque at Marks & Spencer and then taking it back an hour later with some feeble excuse so you could get a cash refund.

And it’s not just ATMs that have revolutionized the way money is handled. Financial services, one of the most competitive areas, has been opened up beyond recognition by the development of telephone banking and insurance. It’s suddenly a very different world out there.

But what’s this got to do with business to business public relations? The answer is, quite a lot actually. For one thing it shows just what competition has done to push customer service higher and higher up the agenda until, for many firms, it becomes the number one driver of strategy. That’s not just in financial services either; almost all companies are having to provide increased levels of customer service both to attract new buyers and maintain the loyalty of existing customers.

Second, it should get thoughts going about how much further things may change in the future. How many people waiting in that bank queue were dreaming of the day they’d just have to slot a bit of plastic into a machine and gain access to instant cash? How many motorists 30 years ago would have seen the day coming when they could simply call up a free number and get an instant quote for their motor insurance? You’d have to say not many. But such things are now a reality. It’s as if they’ve always been there. How many other things are yet to appear which will change existing worlds out of all recognition?

The customer rules

The customers are now the rulers – and that goes for business to business as much as for customer markets. Like their High Street counterparts, the business customer wants all the same things: better access to products and services; more competitive prices; better customer service; wider range and more choice; bespoke products; better sales follow-up; and a complaints handling process which is second to none. And they want it all by yesterday. If they don’t get it they’ll demand compensation.

Not only that, but in business there’s a great deal more to think about. What effect will that story have on share prices? How will your own co-suppliers react when they hear all about that deal you’ve struck? Will confidence in your financial state suffer when the news leaks out? Will your customers start to look for an alternative supplier just in case you can’t deliver? How are you going to attract the best, most motivated employees with nasty rumours and horrible stories about your employment practices floating around the trade press? All these things could become problems in business to business public relations.

Clearly if lip-service is paid to customer service not much will be achieved. There might be an impressive cuttings file in volume terms at least, but it’ll largely be negative stuff. It goes without saying, therefore, that if the customer isn’t offered what they want, public relations isn’t really going to be of much use except in ‘putting the record straight’ with enquiring journalists.

In many areas of business, customer service has become a marketing tool – one which is being lined up alongside issues like price and quality as a way of differentiating one company from another in marketplaces which are increasingly crowded. Even then, for every innovator there are soon half a dozen copycat competitors ready to erode their position. If you are going to make a big thing about service levels, you are going to have to get it right, and maintain and build customer perceptions of service. Public relations, naturally enough, is a valuable tool to help achieve that end, although in the business to business environment it’s going to take more than just public relations to achieve your overall goals.

So, just what can business to business PR achieve? What are its limitations and how can you get the best out of it?