Questions & Answers - Business Performance & Customer Opinion
Handbooks
What is the Purpose of these books? The main purpose of
these Handbooks is to provide readers with an insight of the firm's business performance,
efficiency and customer handling. The analysis of many aspects of the firm's business
activities will indicate relative current success, as well as suggesting future prospects.
What is the Audience? The main audiences for these Handbooks
are primarily Competitors; potential or existing Clients and/or major users; other Firms
seeking mergers or acquisitions; Firms entering a new geographic market; Firms wishing to
extend their existing products and services; Companies or other clients moving
into the target firm's area.
Should one buy this Handbook on one's own firm? The
short answer is, probably not.
These books would only be useful if one of the following were true:-
|
i. |
If the firm were seriously interested in business planning and
marketing. |
|
ii. |
If the firm were suffering from competitors and/or a declining market. |
|
iii. |
If the firm were thinking of moving into a new geographic market. |
|
iv. |
If the firm were thinking of moving into a new product or service area. |
What about firms which provide a good service quality?
In past decades many European companies provided a high quality
products, yet many have lost market share because the products of their Far
East competitors are equally well engineered. However well engineered are
Mercedes and BMW products, they are often let down by their distribution
channels and their after-sales service commitment.
In recent years the European Service
Industries, Real Estate, Banking, Accountancy, Law, and many other
professional and trade sectors, have tended to disappoint their customers.
In Europe the quality of products and services offered
were at one time taken for granted and high
quality of service was the norm. Now not so.
The question is, will firms survive? They will not under any circumstances
survive if they do not provide a quality product - and they will only survive if they are
good business managers, i.e. they plan; they control their products and know their
markets; they satisfy their customers; they replenish their customer bases; they innovate;
they use adequate systems and procedures; they command their cash-flow and budgets. It is
not enough to be simply an excellent Real Estate Agent or Lawyer - one firstly has to be a
good business manager.
Are these books designed to help
European firms? These books
were designed to allow firms (who provide a superior service) to enter and take-over the
local and national markets and as such
will only be of use to those firms which can interpret, understand and implement
the data contained therein.
Who are the Publishers? These are a series of books researched
and published by a large number of Professional Bodies, Associations and Companies in
Europe which have pooled and shared databases and information. The books were originally
for the use of Professional and Trades firms in Europe and SOME of the titles are
now available to selected buyers in the European Union.
What are the sources? The publishers do not supply a
methodology dissertation or identify their sources. One can speculate on the sources as
being: Surveys of customers, suppliers and staff. Data from banks, credit and financial
companies, reference agencies, public & court records, published books &
newspapers, governmental data, et cetera. In general it can be said that in this type of
data collection operation, everything which can be collected is, and is collated and
cross-referenced. The data has been collected for a period of 20 years.
