The PR profession is taking a close look at what is working for
professional service organizations (e.g. law firms, accounting firms,
etc.) and what isn't. Many recipes for success that existed five
years ago have become stale.
Speakers at the annual conference of the Professional Services
section of the Public Relations Society of America's "Priorities for
the Year 2000 Conference" June 4 in New York agreed that success for
such companies stems from building and maintaining close client
relationships.
The focus of client communication for professional service
companies typically has been to achieve client satisfaction in the
least costly way. But instead of focusing on tightening the belt,
today goals have shifted toward building revenue. As Robert Duboff of
management consulting firm Mercer Management Consulting says, "you
cannot shrink to greatness."
Merely keeping clients satisfied as a goal is "an '80's concept,"
according to Jeffrey Horn, of the Business Development Group. Old
ways of doing business would be to turn the phone off, put a
do-not-disturb sign on the door, do as much work as possible, conduct
a client satisfaction survey and be content with "ok" or
"satisfactory" responses. Objectives for the future should entail
conducting focus/target research, spending "facetime" with clients,
offering creative input and building a high intimacy level.
Horn suggested that firms maintain and expand initial business
and provide new services.
Ask yourself: Are you reacting to inquiries from prospective clients,
and using proactive targeting and courting to convert your ideas for
them?