Clients need care and attention. What's more, they are more likely than ever before to decide that they can live without you. So, how do you retain their affections?
All clients are equal, yet some are more equal than others. For firms in the construction industry, this means that 80% of fee income comes from 20% of clients.

And the current trend towards partnering and framework agreements means that these clients are more likely than ever before to cut the number of suppliers they use.

The Railtracks and BAAs of this world started playing hardball a few years ago. Now, cosy relationships with other major clients, such as Marks & Spencer and J Sainsbury, could be up for strategic review. So, how do you ensure that your firm survives the rationalising process? Here are some things you can do:

  • Do not treat every client the same. Focus resources on the ones that matter most. Try to understand why they awarded you the job; this is as important as learning from your mistakes when you lose work.

  • Try to create exit barriers, such as getting clients to become increasingly dependent on your knowledge of their business. This means analysing your clients' requirements and tailoring your services to fit.

    Big customers are getting more sophisticated; they want tailor-made solutions and they will appreciate suppliers that can deliver them. And one bonus may be that you can suggest new services to offer – pushing up fee income and that exit barrier.

  • Demonstrate why your service is still best for the client; you will need to exploit your unique problem-solving abilities, which have been honed on recent jobs. For example, facilities management firms can aim to offer clients a lower fee structure for subsequent years' contracts because they have developed streamlined processes, which shows they are truly committed to building long-term client relationships.

  • Look at the internal organisation of your company. Retaining key clients must be a fundamental part of your corporate strategy, so it's too important to be left to the marketing department. Rather, it is down to the shared vision of senior managers who are willing to put themselves in the client's position to make whatever organisational changes are necessary to deliver a client-focused service.

    Look at the internal organisation of your company. The retention of key clients is too important to be left to the marketing department

    One way of doing this is making it easy for the client to deal with their firm. This means recruiting and training the right calibre of staff, and offering a seamless service – but however hardworking, knowledgable and courteous your staff, it will amount to nothing if the management's heart is not in it.

  • Rethink corporate hospitality. Maybe you are not getting the most out of your events; maybe the costs and complexities of managing them make you wish you had not bothered. If, six months after your golf day, the work you had hoped for has not materialised, you will not be able to justify its cost.

    There are such simple steps to avoid failure. Corporate hospitality must be an integral part of your marketing campaigns, planned and budgeted to hit a defined target.

    The worst thing you can do is get all your clients together at the same event, because it states that you treat all your clients the same – and we all know where that can lead. You only need one small but pushy client monopolising your senior host, and the chief executive of your biggest client will start to feel neglected – defeating the object of why you invited her in the first place.

    All of the above may cause a few readers to scoff at such nonsense: their network of client friends and industry contacts has seen them right and will continue to do so. Well, I have some bad news for you – the client is changing at every level.

    Clients are more clued-up, and aware of what's in it for them. Comprehensive research into every service industry, including construction, is reporting new behavioural models. And key-account management, the conscious development of the management/client relationship, and customer relationship marketing, to name but a few, are here to stay for a while yet.

    Hopefully, this has made you think about your marketing activities – and I advise you to take action before it is too late.

    • Postscript

    Philip Collard of Collard Associates Marketing Training and Consultancy specialises in the construction industry