Personal touch has become important

Russell Bell PHOTO/FILE

Thank you to all those who read last week's column/open letter to our state broadcaster.

The feedback has been phenomenal with 99 per cent of it being positive - even to the extent of people inquiring directly "How do we move to Wanganui and work remotely?"

The Sunday programme and the response to it has really struck a chord within our regional limits and it is time now to make the changes, in mindset and action, that are required.

I would really enjoy, say, in five years time to have local and even international news agencies reporting about success stories emerging from here. Heck, you could already do that with businesses like Q-West, Pacific Helmets and Ali Arc (to name a few) that not only deliver value nationally but also internationally.

The change required is what some call "the long game" and it's important that we set ourselves on the right trajectory. It's also critical that everyone is heading in the same direction and that anchors to macro level progress, such as self interest and negativity, do not hold us back.

The "buy local" campaign has been in the news and it is a positive and important initiative coming out of Wanganui council. It should be a key pillar of the economic regeneration across the whole of our city. When a local business employs another local business to do work there is a twofold benefit to the Wanganui economy.

When there is expertise already resident here, it makes no sense to farm out work to "out-of-towners".

Apart from highly technical and specialist fields (or unless the people brought in have a unique skill set which cannot be replicated), most professional needs can be met by skilled people here. If you are "all about building the local economy", it makes sense to encourage local businesses rather than facilitating an environment which stunts growth. Other than the work itself leaving the district, the economic utility goes with it (and it seldom comes back, if at all).

Here at Zenith, we access a number of local experts, including legal firms, insurance and financial advisers. Combined with our own skills and experience, Wanganui providers cover 95 per cent of all business needs. The other 5 per cent comprise services which we know are not available here.

We don't (and won't) trumpet non-Wanganui businesses when there is a local who can do the job and get the results our clients require. The same goes for retail. I try to shop with locals and, unless they are unable to meet my needs, locals get my business. For example, my poor eyesight is corrected by Eyes on Victoria. If I need physical rehabilitation, I go to see my brother (Greg Bell of Bell Physiotherapy) and for a business shirt, Andersons is the first place I visit.

There are many other examples of this and, for pure customer service and experience, a local will deliver better than a national chain.

So, customer service is an ideal area for Wanganui businesses to distinguish themselves from their competition. In an age where internet-based businesses - as well as major corporates - compete with local businesses, the personal touch is becoming more important.

The one thing out-of-town businesses and web-based businesses don't do well is recognise the uniqueness of the customer. Recognising this and building on the one-on-one customer relationship can give local businesses, and Wanganui as a whole, a competitive advantage.

Russell Bell's Zenith Strategic Solutions is a specialist Wanganui business advice and consultancy practice 021 2442421.