ESTABLISHING a close working relationship with your customers could be key to beating the effects of the credit crunch, according to a business expert.

The message came out of a workshop entitled Do or Die – Survivors Guide to Recession, which was conducted by Paul Warren, managing director of Pierce chartered accountants, at the firm’s Blackburn headquarters off Barbara Castle Way.

More than 20 business people attended last week’s event and heard Mr Warren outline a range of tips and hints to get companies through the current problems.

He said: “Working closely with people and customers will help you get through this. Working as an island you won’t.

“If they understand the difficulties you are facing they can work with you. We have got to build confidence in everybody we are dealing with if we are going to survive. “You have also got to communicate better than you have done so before.”

Mr Warren also advised businesses relying on single suppliers to widen their supply network in order to avoid problems if one of them got into trouble.

He added: “Look to make sure there are other avenues of supply, maybe some who are more lenient when it comes to credit would be one example.”

But he warned that while there are opportunities to be head in the current climate the business community was not yet seeing the full scale of the downturn.

Mr Warren concluded: “The first quarter of next year we will really start to see the real impact of the recession.”

Survive the slump, further tips from Paul Warren • Be proactive when it comes to business, not reactive.

  • Review were you business stands and formulate a survival plan including likely scenarios that affect the firm
  • Look at functions in the business not the people carrying them out.
  • Act decisively when it comes to decision making, failure to do so could be costly