During economic downturns, when construction slows and competition for projects intensifies, architects may work so hard at attracting new jobs that they neglect their existing client base. Instead of taking their all-important repeat clients for granted, architects should be doing all they can to prevent them from being wooed away by competing firms. One key to this lies in improving the interpersonal relationships between architects and owners, even when they’re between projects. According to Seattle-based AEC consultant Theodore Sive, design professionals are good at satisfying the technical demands of their complex jobs. However, he says, “When they get focused on a project’s particular challenges, they sometimes lose sight of the bigger picture.” Sive and William R. Strong, Assoc. AIA, principal, and director of marketing at Mahlum Architects in Seattle, have developed a system for envisioning this “big picture.” They call it “continuous client care,” and it takes client relationship building to a new level. In their teaching, via AIA seminars, they advise architects to foster customer loyalty by integrating an awareness of marketing and attention to client concerns with every facet of architectural practice.
Strong, who has been implementing this system within Mahlum for over a dozen years, says repeat clients are the “cornerstone of successful companies,” but admits that statistics are hard to pin down: They vary from year to year and from firm to firm. “But what we do have,” he says, “are statistics on what makes clients unhappy when they move on. Most of the time this doesn’t happen during a project; it happens afterward, and you discover you’re not getting rehired. Our statistics say clients leave firms for ‘product dissatisfaction’ — like a leaky roof — only 14 percent of the time. But 68 percent of the time, they leave because of neglect, indifference, or outright rudeness.”
You have 0 complimentary articles remaining.
Unlimited access + premium benefits for as low as $1.99/month.