Establishing & Maintaining Long-Term Customer Relationships - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Establishing & Maintaining Long-Term Customer Relationships Cindy Milrany CFO, CAO

Freese and Nichols, Inc.

• Multi-service engineering,

architecture and environmental science firm

• 118-year history means

experience, strength and stability

• 12 offices, all in Texas
• More than 500 experienced

professionals, technical experts and support personnel

Why Long-Term Clients Matter

Year 1 Year Year 3 Year 4 Year 5

Referrals Efficiency Addt'l Work Base Profit

“The weaker the firm is at developing new business from existing client relationships, the lower the value of getting new clients.”

Our Client-Focused Culture

Hedgehog Concept

Be the very best at client service, resulting in long-term mutually beneficial relationships

Mission

Innovative approaches . . . Practical results . . . Outstanding service

Vision

Be the firm of choice for clients and employees

Our Core Competencies

• Understanding client needs
• Being the technical experts
• Exhibiting ethical behavior
• Being a trusted advisor

How We Achieve Our Client Focus

Understanding Client Needs

Futures Committee Strategic Planning Client Rep Visits Client Feedback

5 to 15 Year View 3 to 5 Year View 1 to 3 Year View History

Understanding Client Needs: Futures Committee

Client Panels Do we have the right core competencies for the future?

• Municipal Client Panel
• Water District/River Authority Client Panel
• Panel on Public/Private Partnerships

What we learned in 2011 about client perceptions

• Current core competencies very much in demand
• We also need to become “a connector”

5 to 15 Year View

Understanding Client Needs: Strategic Planning

Market Scan Understanding each market’s problems and concerns

• Input from TEP teams about legislation, services, technology
• Input from Account Directors about changing client demands

What we learn about market expectations

• Projected growth in current and emerging services
• Demand for current and emerging technologies
• New services/technologies to watch in the future

3 to 5 Year View

Understanding Client Needs: Strategic Planning

Executive Client Visits Understanding client’s problems and concerns

• Annual visits to key account senior executives
• Conducted by FNI senior leaders

What we learned in 2011 about client expectations

• Stewardship of resources becoming more important
• Clients need integrated services across the project life cycle

3 to 5 Year View

Understanding Client Needs: Client Representative Visits

Visits to Key Accounts Creating a vision for the client

• Gold Sheet for each account
• Vision statement and goals

for client relationship

• Buy-Sell Hierarchy Goal

is Level 5 – Contribute to Organizational Issues

• All client visits documented

for future reference

1 to 3 Year View

Understanding Client Needs: Client Feedback

Client Satisfaction Surveys Surveys at mid-point and end of project

• All projects surveyed
• About 50% return rate
• Goal is TopBoxFive

What we have changed from client feedback

• More consistent project communications
• Formal project manager hand-off process
• Greater emphasis on innovation

History

Being the Technical Experts: Project Management

Ensuring Resources

• Resource Schedule
• Resource Capacity

Resource Type Resource Name Feb 11 Mar 11 Apr 11 May 11 Jun 11 Jul 11 Aug 11 Sch Hrs Sch Hrs Sch Hrs Sch Hrs Sch Hrs Sch Hrs Sch Hrs Employee Anne M. Carrel 202 210 202 202 170 162 162 Employee Charles Allen Kucherka 217 277 275 271 237 233 147 Employee David T. Bennett 145 323 321 325 285 277 277 Employee Davin D. Hatley 166 270 330 320 254 322 232 Employee Gary Ray Smith 126 134 140 148 136 184 179 Employee Lizanne Marie Douglas 268 356 328 258 240 238 233 Employee Michael G Morrison 248 175 143 174 174 157 129 Employee Michael Stafford Gunning 273 286 206 186 278 262 270 Employee Mukesh Ramvir Pratap 94 122 190 278 220 217 129 Employee Rebecca Elizabeth Glaser 347 351 197 157 175 195 235 Employee Scott Henry Hekman 186 314 326 246 246 286 196 Employee Tarlton Wade Smith, II 255 186 151.4 187 184 181 158

Being the Technical Experts: Project Management

Keeping Projects on Track

Project Manager Intranet Pages

• PM Financial Dashboards
• PM Processes
• Project News
• Project Status
• Project Action Items

Being the Technical Experts: Project Management

Keeping the Client Up-to-Date

One-Page Report

• Automated
• Project update
• Upcoming tasks
• Upcoming submittals
• Additional issues

Being the Technical Experts: Technical Excellence Program

• Monitor legislation,

services, technology, regulations

• Create and improve

technical processes

• Maintain TEP portal
• Input to market scans

“Integrity and competency. One without the other doesn’t do much.”

Being the Technical Experts: Innovation

• I2 Team
• Innovation Newsletter
• Innovation Award
• Project Awards

Bridging the Gap: An Innovative Crossing for the Trinity River

Bringing Innovative Solutions to Clients

Being the Technical Experts: Keeping Clients Informed

• Client seminars
• White papers
• Technical association

presentations

• Service on association

boards and committees

Bringing Clients the Latest Developments

Exhibiting Ethical Behavior

The First Thing We Ever Built Was a Reputation

Recipient of the National 2008 American Business Ethics Award, by the Foundation for Financial Service Professionals

Exhibiting Ethical Behavior: First, We Emphasize It

Define Expectations

• The first value in our guiding principles
• Employee code of conduct

Train Employees

• Annual FNI ethics training for

employees and clients

• Focus on ethics in employee
• rientation and leadership training

Measure Perceptions

• Employee survey question about ethical behavior

Exhibiting Ethical Behavior: Then, We Practice It Taking care of the client

• We fix the problem first, then address responsibility
• We always disclose any potential conflict of interest
• We avoid even the perception of questionable behavior
• We have zero tolerance for ethics violations by
• ur employees or our subcontractors

Being a Trusted Advisor: Focus on the Client, not the Project

“Unlike Freese and Nichols, most consulting firms haven’t figured

• ut that they must be a partner, not a vendor.”
• Our goal is a Level 5 relationship with our clients
• We understand that each project must contribute to

the client’s overall business needs

• We provide continuity of practice across generations
• We have laddered relationships with our clients

Being a Trusted Advisor: Helping Clients Improve Performance

Baldrige Consulting to Our Clients

• City of Ft. Worth – Process Improvement
• City of Irving – Texas Quality Award Assistance
• City of Prosper – Internal Baldrige Assessment

Baldrige Presentations to Our Industry

• Texas Municipal League
• North Texas Commission
• Texas Society of Professional Engineers
• Society of American Military Engineers

Long-Term Client Relationships: Putting It All Together

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5

Base Profit Addt'l Work Efficiency Referrals

Seminars & White Papers High Quality Project Deliverables Client Seminars Executive Client Visits Client Rep Visits Innovative Solutions Help with Business Issues Continuity of Relationships Client Input to Strategies

Long-Term Client Relationships: Client Retention

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 1894 - 1959 1960 - 1979 1980 - 1999 2000 - 2009 % Key Accounts

Client Retention

97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11

Net Bookings

Long-Term Client Relationships: Net Bookings

Client Sat Surveys Client-Centered Marketing Hedgehog Concept Integrated Sales System New Internet Site New Sales Structure Client Seminars

Long-Term Client Relationships: Client Satisfaction

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

% TopBox5 Ratings

4.2 4.4 4.6 4.8 5 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Average Satisfaction Rating

Thank You