Recap of Principals Roundtable: The Customer Experience, or CX, is the New Brand!
Posted by [email protected] on Feb. 11, 2019 / Subscribe 0
How many companies believe they deliver their clients “super experiences?” That’s an important question for the AEC community where client satisfaction has always been an important component of a firm’s business model.
According to a survey by Forbes last year, 80% of the firms responding believed they provided their clients with a “super experience.” And how many customers agreed? Only 8%!
The disparity in these responses reflects the rapidly changing marketplace. It’s no longer what firms say or think about themselves that matters. What’s more important is what others say about your firm and what it is that your clients experience. In other words, what’s most important for a firm’s success is your client’s perception of your firm.
Where does your company fall on that spectrum and what can you do to improve your clients’ perceptions of your firm?
Those were questions probed last week by nearly 20 principals of AEC firms attending the SMPS San Diego Principals Roundtable, which was held at the offices of BNBuilders. The topic, Understanding and Improving the Client Experience (CX), was selected by Todd Whelchel of BNBuilders and then researched and presented by the Roundtable’s Planning Group of five SMPS marketing / business development professionals.
The consensus was that all realized the importance of keeping clients happy. Exactly how to accomplish that goal, however, wasn’t as easy and generated a lively discussion within the group.
Larry Sillman of Sillman Wright Architects stressed the importance of communicating with your clients. “You won’t get anywhere if you put your head in the sand,” he said. Ric Davy of Davy Architecture agreed, saying that although his firm always puts clients first, he and his staff are always looking for ways to improve the client experience.
Elizabeth Barrie of The Barrie Company agreed that a client’s perceptions about your company are important. She noted that a client recently complained that one of her on-site construction managers was on the phone all the time. Elizabeth looked into it and found out that her project manager was dictating notes about site conditions into his phone to be stored in an electronic note-taking program the firm uses. The situation provided Elizabeth with an opportunity to actually strengthen her relationship with the client by showing her how the phone was being used as a construction management tool.
Ron Halpert of Ninyo & Moore stressed the importance of developing and maintaining a personal connection with clients without regard to how long that might take. “If you do that, you will have a client for 25 years,” he said.
Ione Stiegler of IS Architecture noted that one of her clients said he is happy to receive an email every Friday from the project manager who is handling his project. Ione has then used this as an example to encourage other project managers to do the same.
Developing a company culture that is customer-centric is a challenge for many AEC firms. Farzad Tadayon of Salas O’Brien said his firm trains all staff to be client-focused, from the receptionist to drafters, CADD operators, project managers, and principals. It must happen at all levels in order to be effective, he said.
Opportunities for connecting with clients, called touchpoints, are numerous. For instance, they can even include those times when you’re contacting A/R to find out the status of payment on an invoice, said Sharon Singleton of KTUA. By contacting a project manager about the non-payment problem she was able to solicit the PM’s help to resolve the problem, thereby strengthening her relationship with the client.
In summary, CX is important in the AEC industry now because client expectations are rapidly increasing. They want collaborative advisors and expect a higher level of service, detail, and experience. According to research by the SMPS Foundation, CX is the future of marketing and brand building. Client engagement and advocacy is “the next frontier for the built environment.”
There are six basic steps for firms to follow if they want to develop and implement a successful CX program, as follows:
Step 1: Simple Awareness. This begins by leaders in your firm talking about putting the focus on clients, value creation, and client experience.
Step 2: Client Journey Mapping. Because CX is the cumulative impact of every touchpoint of your firm with a client, identify and understand each touchpoint used by your firm, such as your website, social media, personal interactions, phone calls, email, and so on.
Step 3: Measuring Results. Develop a plan to survey clients over a period of time. Start with a baseline and compare at various intervals.
Step 4: Service Design. Anticipate ways to create value for your clients.
Step 5: Governance. Create change within your firm and set up a system for accountability.
Step 6: Enculturation. Establish a culture within your firm that instills the importance of CX with all of your staff.
This was the eighth in a series of quarterly Principals Roundtables, a program developed by the San Diego Chapter of SMPS to give principals of AEC firms a forum in which to discuss marketing and other business issues that are unique to our industry.
The sponsor firm selects a topic that is then researched by the Principals Roundtable Planning Group. The findings are presented in a Power Point slide presentation of background information and talking points. Following the meeting, the research and slides are available to the attendees.
By Beth Bateman, Bateman Communications, Past President SMPS San Diego
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Next Principal’s Roundtable:
Tuesday, May 7, 2019
Topic: To be Determined
If your firm is interested in sponsoring this event, please contact one of the members of the Planning Group listed below.
The Principal’s Roundtable is free and open to principals of firms that have an SMPS member on staff. Send your email address to [email protected] to be added to the notification distribution list.
Special thanks to the SMPS San Diego Principals Roundtable Planning Committee
Co-chairs:
Sharon Singleton, Principal, KTUA Landscape Architecture and Planning
Theresa Casey, Principal, On Target Marketing & Communications, LLC
Committee Members:
Beth Bateman, Owner, Bateman Communications
Kamala Kuresman, Corporate Marketing Director, NV5
Karen Tournaire, Director of Marketing, Sillman Wright Architects
The February 2019 Roundtable was hosted by Todd Whelchel of BNBuilders.
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