Firms that took the road to lower fees without understanding the true value of their services are faced with more dramatic decisions as the economy improves. Can they simply raise their fees to pre-recession rates without clients noticing? Will firms that kept fees the same while concentrating on core services be able to once again expand services to meet growing market demands? Layoffs and unemployment in the industry have been at all time highs.
If you are familiar with the architecture firm, BLT, you know how they have survived. A recent article in the Philadelphia Inquirer identified how this firm withstood the challenges of the past three years. As the recession caused several major clients to cancel or put on hold major projects, the firm was forced to layoff valuable employees and close offices. Despite the cutbacks, the firm hired a new marketing and business development manager who convinced them to move forward with an updated, relevant business plan.
Changes were made and they weathered the storm. A couple of the projects that were put on hold have been brought back to life and the firm is on its way to positive growth. The firm’s marketing decision helped, but more important to clients was the involvement of principals in project delivery.
Principal involvement is more than showing up at interviews to close the sale. Principal involvement has to begin at marketing and business development and encompass all aspects of project delivery. Management must not be simply a cheerleader for the sale, but be in the trenches when the idea of a project is hatched in the client’s mind. There are many firms that follow this model.
Perhaps it is the elephant in the room that caused some to change focus. When the economy was humming, management and principals were “too busy” to spend time on marketing. When the low hanging fruit ceased to exist, it was too difficult to switch gears and jump start the marketing and business development machine. To make matters worse, many of these firms had been forced to lay off marketing and business development professionals.
If you live on the east coast, you felt an earthquake yesterday. For professional services firms, this was similar to the feeling they felt three years ago when their markets started to collapse. However, when you look around today, everyone is going about their business as if nothing happened yesterday. The market earthquake is a different story, but will the recovery cause a "nothing seems to have happened" attitude in professional services firms? Things are different. Professional services firms, including architects, lawyers, CPAs and engineers are operating differently.
Only one question remains: What have you learned from the experience of the last three years? BLT put the experience to use in building a stronger firm. Others need the help of advisors, with specific emphasis on marketing and business development. It is time, if it hasn’t already happened, to change the corporate culture to one of business development and marketing. When the attitude is “ we are never too busy for marketing” and principals have the skill sets needed today to be business development advocates, then behaviors will change.
If you have been thinking about how to take the first step on the next journey, simply taking the step is what you need to do. Doing nothing only allows the elephant to keep wandering across your office floors. Even baby steps are better than no steps at all. Business Development Professionals has a lunch time program that centers staff on the corporate mission with emphasis on marketing and business development. The 2012 marketing plans are starting to be developed. "How to Create a Client-Centric Marketing Plan to Acquire, Retain and Grow Client Value" is a keynote presentation as well as a half-day workshop designed for professional services firms looking to improve the return on their marketing investments. We offer a number of other customized programs to help firms of any size with their business development and marketing programs. Finally, if now is not a good time for training and development, when will there be a good time?
