Leading Through a Professional Services AI Transformation

January 29, 2024

Which industry gets the award for the most challenging one when it comes to client retention? How can AI help with client retention in professional services and beyond?

This episode of AI Knowhow touches on those questions and more. Matt Dixon of DCM Insights joins us to discuss some of his company’s groundbreaking research, which found that client retention in professional services is hard and getting harder.

A recent study DCM Insights conducted found that, as recently as five years ago, 76% of buyers preferred to buy again from partners or firms they’d used in the past. That percentage today has dropped to 53%, and it’s expected to drop to 37% in the next five years.

The big takeaway for business leaders is clear: continuing to serve clients as if we’re in a business as usual environment is a recipe for eventual extinction.

So, what can and should change? David, Mohan, and Courtney discuss the role that AI can have in helping professional services organizations A) gain a deeper understanding of all the various signals impacting and showing client satisfaction and B) help leaders keep their finger on the pulse of client satisfaction as their organizations scale from the $10M-$20M in annual revenue range to $100MM-$200MM and above.

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Episode Highlights

Courtney and Pete cover some of the latest AI news, including a story from the World Economic Forum recapping 5 business leaders’ thoughts on adopting AI and managing associated risks
Among the takeaways from that article? 70% of CEOs in an EY survey said that uncertainty around gen AI makes it challenging to develop and execute a strategy quickly, while 70% of senior executives in a KPMG study said gen AI is their top investment priority and it will pay off in the next 3-5 years
Pete and Courtney also discuss the implications of a recent McKinsey study that’s recapped in Rewired and running ahead: Digital and AI leaders are leaving the rest behind, namely that the performance gap between leaders and laggards is large and getting larger
Courtney, David, and Mohan look at why client retention in professional services is challenging in the first place: the number of connection points between a provider and their customers that must be managed and mined for insights, the ever-increasing roster of alternative providers, and the transient nature of project-based work due to changing technologies, regulation, and various other market conditions
They also cover why AI is uniquely suited to help executives overcome some of these challenges, especially in areas like combing through vast amounts of data and information to understand client and customer sentiment

Resources

Applied AI: The AI Hackathon Playbook

For the final post in our series on Applied AI, Jeff Gallimore of Excella joins us to discuss how to plan and execute successful generative AI hackathons that yield meaningful outcomes for your business.

Applied AI: Reframing How We Think About AI

Ready to move beyond the chatbot experience and reimagine how we design, implement, and interact with AI? How about tapping into AI to evolve your business beyond just “what you do”?

Applied AI: Using AI to Drive Proactive Leadership

AI isn’t just about saving time—it’s about helping leaders stay ahead, make smarter decisions, and focus on what really matters. Businesses and leaders that integrate AI effectively can shift from continually reacting to problems to proactively shaping their future.