A new year, more of the same or a new approach?

For 4 years now, Budd has been championing the cause, developed at Amazon, of "The Best Service is No Service".

With our passion for "How do we stop doing dumb things to our customers and people?" we remain focused on how companies can drastically improve their customer experiences by reducing contact by 20%+ per annum, with its consequent impact on operating budgets.
But, and there is a but, many companies appear to be adopting the strategy of saving 20% of their operating costs without a good understanding of what it takes to avoid inflicting pain on their customers.

So - your strategy is to reduce unnecessary contact by 20% in 2008 - but how much damage or how much good will you do for your customers?

The most common problems are:
--- A focus on cost not the experience. The focus must be on the experience first with cost savings as a consequence
--- Starting projects to fix the problem. It's about implementing proven, sustainable processes that constantly take out unnecessary contact. Projects rarely sustain the behaviours required over years
--- Trying to do too much too fast. The first wins are critical but they need to be part of a coherent approach
--- Leaving out the frontline staff. Regardless of new tools to gather data, tapping into what the frontline staff know and their engagement is key to sustainable success
--- Doing again what worked a year or two ago but lapsed as soon as the next focus appeared

Budd brings proven processes that can be embedded to make the savings year on year. Our top clients are saving 80% of their operating budgets now.

On a £100m operating budget, you'd be saving £20m per annum in the first year. That's £1.67m per month, £400k per week. If it's done well you'll be a hero. If its done badly it will cost another £100m to regain your brand's reputation. Do you feel lucky? Or do you need to get it right first time?

Contact us if you'd like to talk through your ideas - peter.massey@budd.uk.com