With COVID-19 truly making an impact on our daily lives and the way we work, it’s perhaps not too surprising that the latest CEO Panel Survey from PWC has revealed that ‘86% of UK CEOs believe the shift towards remote collaboration will endure’. Further findings from the PWC report revealed an acceleration of digital transformation in firms with 59% of CEO’s saying that ‘digital transformation of core business operations and processes is in the top three priority’.
Earlier this year, companies had to realign their business models beyond anything that anyone could have imagined. Having to move an entire business so that employees can work remotely perhaps seems old hat now. But before March 2020, this would have been inconceivable. However, businesses rose to the occasion and teams went remote.
So, where did this leave key relationships and communication? This is undoubtedly a seed that would have played a big part in CEO’s placing digital transformation high up on the agenda. With employees working remotely, communication is vital to the survival of a professional services firm. Ensuring teams are able to communicate effectively keeps existing clients happy, provides awareness of staff changes that could impact client relationships, and highlights opportunities for business development.
At the heart of digital transformation is understanding that relationships are critical for future success.
This is where any digital transformation strategy must encompass data-driven relationship intelligence into the mix. Without visibility of communication through data insight, firms are unable to see if departments are talking to the right person at the right time or if there’s a shared interest of contact between departments. And, with many changes happening within businesses as staff were furloughed or moved firms, knowing the main contact within a client's firm is imperative.
One of the biggest risks for professional services firms is that clients move away when the level of engagement fades or team members move on. With COVID-19, this was at the forefront of minds.
Managing key relationships effectively is crucial for future growth and retaining existing clients. Gaining the visibility of communication patterns taking place within your firm, your client’s firm or with referrers allows for increased efficiency and effective collaborative working.
This data allows firms to leverage the true potential with a client because teams are engaging with the right people and cross-sell opportunities are flagged. This is fundamental for a business development strategy to enhance the client experience and win more business.
Client Sense automatically joins the dots of communication in your firm. Leveraging existing client information, the cost-effective data-driven solution is quick to install remotely. It provides real-time relationship intelligence visibility monitoring frequency of communication allowing you to understand who the right people are, both internal and external to the firm, to open up new topics of discussion.
Adam Irwin, COO of Pitcher Partners – Sydney, gives insight into the deployment of Client Sense, he says: “The firm has utilised Client Sense as an integral part of its Client Lifecycle Management platform for about 12 months.
“Whilst Client Sense has proved a useful business development tool, its real benefit comes in the visibility it provides across our entire client base. By providing us with a means of tracking and measuring the strength and depth of our client relationships, it allows us to be on the front foot when it comes to managing and improving client engagement – even highlighting opportunities for cross selling we may have otherwise missed. Furthermore, its ability to capture relationships not reflected in our database means our data remains current, is not reliant on manual entry and our teams can focus their time and energy on growth opportunities for the firm.
“The client engagement transparency it provides our senior management team has solidified Client Sense as a reliable tool in our platform, and it seamlessly aligns with the firm’s digital strategy.”
Our Client Sense solution was designed specifically for professional services firms to enhance marketing and business development success. With digital transformation being driven in many professional services firms right now, book a consultation to find out how Client Sense can give you the edge over your competition through data insight of communication patterns already available within your accountancy or law firm.
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