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?