You are at a crossroads in history where the decisions you make can redefine the trajectory of your business. That’s where we are with AI.
For professional service companies—the marketing firms, accounting teams, and technology service companies that thrive on relationships—scaling effectively has always been daunting. But AI presents a unique opportunity to bridge that gap, allowing us to build deeper connections while growing sustainably. At Knownwell, we’ve developed a client intelligence platform that empowers businesses to go beyond managing relationships and instead thrive by transforming operations at their core.
I joined Robert Plank recently for his Marketer of the Day podcast to talk about all this and more. You can watch the full interview below, and continue reading for a recap of our conversation.
Bridging the Gap Between Relationships and Data
Professional service firms operate differently from SaaS or e-commerce companies. The work is about people and relationships, not just transactions. But as organizations grow, it becomes harder to maintain that personal touch. There’s often someone in the company who intuitively knows what’s happening with clients—they pick up on subtle cues and anticipate needs. Yet, as businesses scale, that “connector” role often becomes impossible to replicate or sustain.
Knownwell’s AI platform solves this by centralizing communications data from sources like email, Slack, Zoom, and CRMs. We use AI to analyze these interactions, offering proactive insights that let teams focus on what matters most—building trust and delivering value. Here’s how:
- Centralized Communication: Emails, chats, and meetings become data points that provide a holistic view of every client relationship.
- Structured Integration: Existing CRMs and other data sources are seamlessly incorporated.
- Proactive Intelligence: Instead of relying on guesswork or reacting to problems, Knownwell helps you predict and prioritize actions.
As I often say, “We’re moving towards proactive intelligence at the hub of our organizations.” This evolution means more time spent fostering connections and less time untangling inefficiencies or guessing what we should be doing.
Why Subjectivity Is Holding Us Back
For years, professional service firms have relied on subjective methods to manage clients. Account managers often categorize accounts as red, yellow, or green based on their gut feelings. While this approach has worked in small teams, it’s prone to inconsistency and delay, especially as businesses grow.
“Even highly successful [professional service firms]… are going customer by customer and marking it red, yellow, green. That is highly subjective and manual and delayed.”
With Knownwell, we replace subjectivity with data-driven clarity. One of the most exciting parts of our platform is its ability to unify fragmented processes. For instance, when one of our clients acquired another company, they faced immediate challenges integrating the two teams’ ways of assessing client health. Knownwell helped by:
- Providing a unified, real-time view of all client data.
- Offering insights that went beyond “gut instinct.”
- Allowing leadership to prioritize resources effectively.
“Having Knownwell across all of those clients… has been a huge win for them because they are able to see very quickly how they’re objectively doing in one side of the organization versus the other.”
When your insights are objective and actionable, you’re no longer guessing. You’re leading.
Surprising Insights That Change the Game
One of the most rewarding aspects of building Knownwell has been watching leaders discover insights they didn’t know they needed. Time and again, I’ve seen CEOs have lightbulb moments when they realize the power of having AI reveal hidden patterns in their operations.
“[CEOs] see what Knownwell is producing… and they’re like, ‘Oh man, we need to do something about that.’”
Here are just a few examples of what our platform has uncovered:
- Operational Bottlenecks: Delays in processes that had gone unnoticed until the data highlighted them.
- Collaboration Gaps: Communication breakdowns across teams that were affecting client satisfaction.
- Portfolio-Level Insights: Trends across entire client portfolios that helped leaders allocate resources more strategically.
“It’s not that they couldn’t solve the problem—it’s that they couldn’t see it before.” When you remove blind spots, you unlock the potential to act with confidence and precision.
Moving from Execution-Level to Operational AI
The AI tools we’ve seen over the last few years have primarily focused on individual productivity. Tools like ChatGPT and coding assistants have revolutionized execution-level tasks. But the next frontier of AI is operational—a level where entire organizations benefit from streamlined decision-making and collaboration.
“Unlike a lot of AI tools… most of them are for individual productivity. What we’re building at Knownwell is not at that execution level—it’s at the operation level of the organization.”
Operational AI is about:
- Collaboration: Analyzing communication across teams to provide actionable insights.
- Proactivity: Addressing potential problems before they become crises.
- Strategic Alignment: Helping leaders focus on long-term goals while solving immediate challenges.
This shift is what makes Knownwell so impactful. It’s not about replacing human judgment; it’s about amplifying it. As I often tell executives, “Set time aside to get your hands on these AI tools… so that as the technology progresses, you understand the capabilities.”
A Call to Action: Build the Future You Want
The opportunity in front of us is enormous. AI isn’t just a tool; it’s a way to elevate the way we do business and connect with others. Knownwell is here to help professional service firms scale their relationships and operations without losing the personal touch that makes them great.
If you’re ready to take that step, reach out to our team. Let us show you your data on the Knownwell platform.
