Kiwi businesses putting customers first, says new survey

Kiwi businesses are putting customers first in order to generate revenue growth, according to a survey published by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The new "snapshot" survey of 620 New Zealanders in business, released today, showed that 44 per cent of respondents are planning to grow revenue over the next 12 months through "better customer focus".

A total of 35 per cent plan to grow through new markets and 23 per cent plan to focus primarily on cutting operating costs.

PricewaterhouseCoopers Partner Robbie Gimblett said the survey, which the company calls "Clever Company Insight" highlighted a "shift in attitude" among business leaders.

"Eight months ago, cost control was easily top of mind when we spoke to our clients - and the focus was mainly about short term survival," he said.

"Today our clients are asking us how to structure their businesses for the long-term, focussing on customers that are changing what they value, what they buy and how they buy it."

Gimblett said the results showed that there was increasing awareness among businesses that growing revenue involved a host of factors - but ultimately customer demands should guide their growth strategies.

"We've been working with our clients over the last year to ensure that their processes are in order and unnecessary costs have been cut. An internal focus has been critical to navigate the short term challenges.

The survey also revealed that the biggest positive impact on performance over the last year was gained through better customer focus (32 per cent of businesses), followed by technology improvements (23 per cent) and improving staff capability through recruitment and training (21 per cent).