DesignFacilitator’s Mike Phillips will be moderating today’s 2:30 Panel discussion
“Keeping Your Clients Happy and Loyal.”

Conference attendees can also visit the Client Feedback Tool table to learn more about the tool and what it can do to increase the prosperity of your A/E firm.

PSMJ’s Circle of Excellence represents the top 20% of firms participating in PSMJ’s Financial Performance Survey that achieve the best overall business performance in the A/E industry. This distinction is awarded based upon a combination of 13 performance benchmarks that measure business operations in terms of profitability, growth, cash flow, overhead control, business development, project performance, and employee satisfaction.

For more information on PSMJ, and their Circle of Excellence Awards and Conference visit PSMJ Resources, Inc.

How often do you meet your clients’ expectations?  Or perhaps more importantly, how often to you fall short of their expectations?

DesignFacilitator has been helping subscribers exceed their clients’ expectations since 2004.  Even so, a recent strategic partnership with PSMJ Resources, Inc. has provided an entirely new look at how firms measure up to clients’ expectations.

Typically, a DesignFacilitator subscriber uses the Client Feedback Tool on an ongoing basis, regularly requesting feedback from his firm’s clients.  These subscribers belong to firms whose philosophies include a commitment to collecting feedback; and they use the Client Feedback Tool to enhance their relationships and delivery of services.  In the last two years, looking across all data collected, these firms have received scores below “Met Expectations” only three percent of the time.  We see then, that engaging clients to find out what they really want from you allows firms to best meet their clients’ needs.  These firms ultimately keep more of their clients, and build the healthiest, most prosperous relationships.

Unfortunately, many of you have not yet realized the prosperity and satisfaction resulting from client feedback collection. DesignFacilitator has collaborated with PSMJ Resources to offer you a unique opportunity to gather client feedback. Simply participate in PSMJ’s Premier Award for Client Satisfaction Award, and you can send a one-time feedback survey to as many as 40 clients. This simple, cost effective process can actually pay for itself— but more on that later.  The data collection period ends October 30, 2009. DesignFacilitator will then compile the data and PSMJ will present awards to those firms that have demonstrated the greatest success from their clients’ perspective.

Although the Premier Award participation period is still open, early results have already provided significant findings.  Notably, firms that have no history of regular feedback collection receive “Below Expectations” ratings over ten percent of the time! This is more than three times higher than firms who use feedback on a regular basis!

What this reveals is that most firms do not know what their clients need and expect. Moreover, the only way to correct that blind spot is to ASK for feedback as soon as possible – before your clients become someone else’s clients.   Additionally, collecting feedback does far more than just increase the health of your professional relationships and keep you aware of your clients’ expectations. It also reduces liability risk, staff turnover, and burned-out project managers.  In fact, DesignFacilitator has worked with professional liability insurers who determined that feedback collection is so important that they provide 10% premium credits to firms who consistently collect it. Often these savings alone more than pay for the cost of the Client Feedback Tool.

The quickest way to get client feedback is to sign up for PSMJ’s Premier Award right away.  Through the end of the year, firms that buy the $495 Premier Award package from PSMJ receive a full credit towards a one-year Client Feedback Tool subscription with DesignFacilitator.  With the combination of these two services, you will quickly understand where you stand with 40 of your most trusted clients and how your client satisfaction measures up to the profession overall. You will even be able to collect feedback for the next 12 months from all your clients, partners, consultants, vendors, and anyone else whose relationship you value.

Do not wait.  The numbers are in.  Ten percent of your clients may be considering taking their business elsewhere.  Can you afford to lose them?

Visit http://www.psmj.com/surveys/products.aspx?v=item&i=1443 or contact DesignFacilitator at 866-4-DES-FAC for more information.

PSMJ has partnered with DesignFacilitator, creators of the only feedback tool designed specifically for the architecture and engineering community, to operate feedback collection for PSMJ’s Premier Award for Client Satisfaction.  The program uses feedback from design firms’ clients to identify some of the best A/E/C firms across the nation.  You can enroll to participate ($495) here.   For a limited time, participants can receive the entire cost of their entry fee back if they subscribe to our Client Feedback Tool.

Upon joining the program, PSMJ will send participants a link to the participation form at DesignFacilitator’s website.

Participants will enter their contact details and the names/emails of the clients they would like surveyed.

The DesignFacilitator team will contact participants with further details and instructions including guidance on how to introduce the survey to your clients, with strategies to maximize your return rate.

A week later, the survey will be sent using DesignFacilitator’s Client Feedback Tool.  Those who would like to receive a sample of the survey may request one by emailing PSMJ@designfacilitator.com.

The results will be collected over 30 days.  Within two weeks of completion, participants will receive a copy of the results, both a summary and detailed responses.   Participants’ results will only be collated and delivered to PSMJ for purpose of the award rankings, and will not be published in any way to anyone else.

When the results from all participants are in and the program is over, awards will be determined based on the quantity and quality of feedback received, using DesignFacilitator’s “Feedback Quotient” formula.  The 2009 award winners will be announced in February 2010 and featured at PSMJ’s Circle of Excellence Conference in March 2010.

All participants will also be entitled to a $495 discount on subscriptions to DesignFacilitator’s Client Feedback Tool purchased within 60 days of program completion.  For more details contact us at 866-4-DES-FAC or answers@designfacilitator.com.

DesignFacilitator is sponsoring PSMJ’s Circle of Excellence Conference in Orlando March 19 & 20, 2009.   Visit our table to learn more about our Client Feedback Tool and what it can do to increase the prosperity of your A/E firm.

“PSMJ’s Circle of Excellence represents the top 20% of firms participating in PSMJ’s Financial Performance Survey that achieve the best overall business performance in the A/E industry.

This distinction is awarded based upon a combination of 11 performance benchmarks that measure business operations in terms of profitability, growth, cash flow, overhead control, business development, project performance, and employee satisfaction. As a group, PSMJ’s 2008 Circle of Excellence firms averaged 21% revenue growth, 27% profits (as a percentage of net revenues) and less than 10% employee turnover.

PSMJ’s 2009 Circle of Excellence Conference is going to be held on March 19-20, 2009 in Orlando, Florida.”  – PSMJ Resources, Inc.