Most firms still rely on gut instinct and assume data is too far out of reach to easily use, missing out on the potential to increase client satisfaction, improve profitability, and drive growth. But you don’t need a massive budget, fancy software, or an in-house tech expert to get started. There are simple, affordable strategies that even the smallest firms can use to get started and deliver more value to clients.
This article unpacks the insights that most firms already have at their fingertips, along with straightforward, practical ways to use them to enhance client relationships, boost profitability, and stay ahead of the competition.
1. Client Communications: Extracting Strategic Insights from Everyday Interactions
Emails, phone calls, and meetings with clients generate valuable information that goes beyond immediate needs. Instead of reacting to each engagement individually, take a step back to look at patterns across your client base. How to leverage it:
- Proactively Solve for Common Client Questions: Do clients often ask the same questions at the start of an engagement? Create a structured kickoff process that preemptively answers those questions. For example, in a one-hour session with a law firm’s litigation department, we uncovered several recurring questions that clients typically ask in the first few weeks of an engagement. We developed a structured kickoff call protocol that preemptively answered these questions—reducing client anxiety, minimizing back-and-forth emails, and making clients more confident in their choice of counsel.
- Anticipate Update Requests: Do clients frequently follow up for status updates? Identify this pattern and implement proactive status updates at key milestones. A PR agency reduced follow-up emails by introducing client-specific chat platforms for instant updates, and regular status reports ensured clients always knew where things stood.
Bottom line: clients who feel understood and valued are far more likely to stay loyal.
2. Billing and Financial Data: Your Firm’s Hidden Goldmine
Billing records hold a wealth of insights, helping you identify the most profitable clients, in-demand services, and improvement areas to boost both revenue and margins. Here’s how you can use your financial data more strategically:
- Spot High-Margin Opportunities: Identify your highest-margin services and client types, then target business development efforts here.
- Optimize Low-Margin Services: Identify services that drain resources but are essential or “table stakes” for client retention. For example, an accounting firm repositioned its basic bookkeeping services (which had low margins) as a gateway to higher-margin advisory services, offering it at cost to key clients to create stickiness and keep clients loyal while driving them to more profitable services. (If services with low margins aren't necessary, consider whether they're worth keeping.)
- Track Write-Offs for Red Flags: Frequent write-offs are a sign that clients aren’t seeing the value they expect. For example, a PR firm noticed regular write-offs for digital media services, signaling a gap between client expectations and deliverables. They restructured how they communicated timelines and results, reducing future write-offs and improving client satisfaction.
3. Client Feedback: Listen, Act, and Differentiate
Client feedback, whether through formal surveys or informal conversations, provides insights into your strengths, weaknesses, and growth opportunities. But it’s not enough to collect it—you need to act on it. Here’s how:
- Act on Recurring Themes: When multiple clients bring up the same issue, it’s a signal for change. For example, a PR firm with a low pitch-win rate asked for post-mortem feedback and found clients viewed certain services built into their retainers as redundant as what their in-house team could do. In response, the firm restructured its proposals to focus on the higher-value work clients cared about most and offered workshops on the simpler tasks clients wanted to manage themselves.
- Identify Service Gaps: If clients consistently ask for services you don’t offer, consider adding them or partnering with a firm that does. For example, a wealth management firm saw demand for tax advisory services and partnered with a boutique law firm to create a referral pipeline and joint thought leadership opportunities, meeting client needs while strengthening both businesses.
- Leverage Positive Feedback: Use client testimonials and feedback to highlight your competitive differentiators. For example, a consulting firm found that clients appreciated their adaptability, which they began featuring in proposals and marketing materials to emphasize their ability to respond quickly to changing needs—setting them apart from larger competitors with more name recognition but known for beng sluggish.
The firms that actively listen and respond to feedback stand out in the eyes of clients as adaptable and responsive, reinforcing loyalty and drawing in new business.
4. Market and Industry Data: Staying Ahead of Client Expectations
It’s easier to meet demand than to create it. Stay plugged into publicly available market and industry data to anticipate what clients need before they ask for it, allowing you to pivot services proactively. Here’s easy ways to get started:
- Ask Clients About Their Growth Plans: Regularly check in with clients about their business goals and plans and use those insights to pivot your own business. For example, an advisory firm asked its top 25 clients about their 1-2 year goals and adjusted its service offerings to better align with those goals.
- Monitor Industry Trends: Pay attention to the topics and trends your clients are discussing with their peers. For example, a consulting firm serving construction clients discovered that sustainable housing was a top trend at industry conferences. By aligning its thought leadership with this trend, the firm demonstrated its understanding of client concerns and attracted more business in that space.
- Track It and Act: Create simple systems—whether shared documents or monthly meetings—to track and discuss market and industry trends. A PR agency began holding monthly meetings to discuss trends they were seeing in client conversations and conference agendas. They used these insights to refine service offerings and proactively address client needs.
Surprisingly, most firms simply keep their head down and keep doing the work – ask and anticipate instead to stay ahead of client needs and emerging issues.
Conclusion
For most professional services firms, data is an asset that’s already within reach. It’s time to start leveraging it, not just to track performance but to drive real growth, improve client retention, and win new business. Whether it’s client interaction data, billing and financial data, client feedback, or market trends—much of what you need is already in front of you.
If you’re looking for guidance on how to make the most of that data, Maior helps firms unlock their potential with practical, tailored strategies. By starting with the insights that are already in your grasp, you can stay ahead of the competition and drive meaningful results in cost-effective ways.
