Customers are crucial to the success of a company. In just about every organisation, a great deal of hard work is invested into improving customer relations. The 11th Dutch Credit Management Trendmeter by OnGuard shows that credit managers are also committed to their customers. That said, most Credit Management departments have yet to establish guidelines for customer relations.
Customer retention more important than a good DSO
Most credit managers understand the importance of good customer relations. A good relationship with the customer contributes to high customer satisfaction and a lower DSO. Half of the credit managers even stated that customer retention is more important than a good DSO.
Despite this, 42% of credit managers confess to giving to little attention to relationship management. Although the Credit Management department is in contact with customers on a daily basis, conversations tend to focus on invoices being paid, rather than on reinforcing customer relations. Only 3 in 10 credit managers have established guidelines for customer satisfaction.
Sharing information
Social media can be deployed effectively to enhance relationships with customers. Over half of the credit managers expect social media to be used in the future to notify debtors.
Sharing customer information within the organisation is also gaining in importance. Almost all credit managers state that their department shares customer information with the rest of the organisation (94%). However, few credit managers have established a link between the CRM system (Customer Relationship Management System) and credit management software.
Penalise customers?
The new EU guidelines for late payment could have many repercussions for the relationship between customers and suppliers. The guidelines state that companies in the EU that are late in paying their invoices, must pay a penalty interest rate of 8%. This measure does not favour customers. Despite this, two thirds of the credit managers think this is a good proposal. They think the proposal will primarily stimulate payment behaviour, with this extra impetus helping to keep companies in a healthy condition. ‘By extending the payment terms, customers have access to a cheap loan – so payment in return is not a bad thing’, states a respondent. Opponents of the measure think that a penalty interest rate will be bad for customer relations. ‘If companies with poor payment habits have to pay even more, then there is a risk of them ordering elsewhere’. ‘You also have to look into the reasons why a company pays too late; even fines can be paid too late – then what?’
Trendmeter Results
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