Are any key client relationships deteriorating?
Determine if a decrease in business from long-time customers is due to poor market conditions in their industry — or poor service from you. If it is you, the corporation is probably no longer meeting the customer’s needs. Members of the board may not be privy to this information. Manage customer relationships carefully. Customer needs, like your own, change. Give specific responsibility for nurturing customer relationships to all levels of management, not just to those within the sales force. You will need to have faith in those in the company who can reach out and talk with the customer. Few customers will call to tell you that they are not going to buy your product any more, they just stop writing checks. Consultants avoid this subject like a plague, because it is controversial and hard to pin down; however, this is where the board and consultants can really help with strategy to nurture management commitment and involvement. Address the real issue of how customers perceive the comp
