Building client services and maintaining service excellence

Client relationships and service execution are more important than ever for success and profit. Effective execution of services and contract lay the groundwork for optimal project margins, along with monitoring of KPIs for continuous improvement.

Organizations that leverage fully integrated ERP solutions ensure optimal utilization and bill rates, and complete visibility into the quality of projects on a global scale, experience the highest levels of success rates.

6 factors to boost client relationships and maintain service excellence

Considerations for successful client relationships

Service firms should focus on these 6 factors to boost client relationships and maintain service excellence:

1. Client references

A strong client reference remains a key differentiator and indicates both organizational and client success. Firms should focus on engaging clients post service execution to provide detailed references to attract other customers.

2. NPS

Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a metric that combines a measure of customer satisfaction based on how likely they are to repeat business or recommend the firm to others. Based on this metric, organizations can sort their clients into promoters, passives or detractors, when it comes to measuring satisfaction.

3. Service packaging

Also known as productization, service packaging is a promising but often underutilized process that speaks to how a firm chooses to ‘package’ their services. This can be a key differentiator for prospective clients in a competitive market and shouldn’t be overlooked by firms.

4. Discount given

In the ideal situation, firms shouldn’t discount their services simply to gain clients. Generally, those firms that offer less discounts will be stronger financially. Firms should monitor discounts given to ensure they have the most effect and don’t break the bottom line.

5. Win-to-bid ratio

The number of contracts that your firm bids for and then win is the best and clearest way to judge performance, however this doesn’t provide much insight into what needs to change. Capturing this information, especially reasons for losing a deal, will enable firms to review processes and adjust as needed.

6. Solution development

Market research is key for the service industry, and top performing firms excel at developing solutions and services to meet audience and market trends. Using technology to forecast and model service changes can be key to streamlining this process.

How technology can improve service execution and client relationships

Technology, such as Cloud ERP suites, has been a key driver of excellence in service delivery and client relationships. With advancements such as automation, agentic AI, virtualization, analytics, and integrated business applications becoming essential to modern service delivery.