By Richard Friedman, Founder & President at Friedman & Partners
Client feedback is one of the most important and underutilized tools an AEC firm can employ. At my March 2025 presentation to AIA’s Large Firm Round Table Marketing Forum, I shared how a good client feedback process benefits most practice management areas. When done sincerely and strategically, client feedback can reshape a firm’s internal practices, reinforce long-term relationships, drive smart growth and inform strategic planning.
The value of the ask
A critical takeaway is simply asking for feedback is itself an act of value. It tells your client: “Your opinion counts. We want to get better.” This message alone can shift brand perception and deepen trust—even before you ask the first question.
Two firms that have embraced this idea are Jaros, Baum & Bolles (JB&B), an engineering consulting firm based in New York City, and Ayers Saint Gross, an interdisciplinary design firm based in Baltimore. While their approaches differ in scale and structure, both firms show effective client feedback can serve as both a mirror and a roadmap.
Scott Frank, Managing Partner of JB&B, sees firsthand how meaningful a single client interview can be. “There’s direct value just in conducting the survey. It sends a message to the client that you care enough about the relationship to ask them how you’re doing.”
That message has been powerful for JB&B in retaining and rebuilding client trust. In one case, the feedback process helped turn around what had become a difficult relationship. The client initially had serious concerns—but was willing to “let it rip” with their feedback. This honesty led to a renewed connection and important internal conversations about expectations and delivery.
Senior Vice President of Marketing/Business Development Maxinne Leighton adds that part of the power lies in the humility it conveys. “There’s something authentic about saying, ‘We know we’re not perfect. Share your insights. Help us improve.’ Even when feedback is hard to hear, the willingness to listen is meaningful. Equally important is to hear what’s working well, so we can continue to strengthen those behaviors and shared values.”
Ayers Saint Gross President Joel Fidler concurs. “These conversations reinforce to our clients that we care not only about our business relationship, but also them as individuals.”
The value of objectivity & industry knowledge
While JB&B’s feedback initiatives target one or two clients at a time, Ayers Saint Gross administers a broader survey of approximately 30 current, past and potential clients as part of its regular strategic planning. For both firms, third parties conduct one-on-one interviews via phone or videoconference. A predefined list of questions ensures both quantitative and qualitative responses. Many times, the greatest value comes from follow-up questions–underscoring the importance of using an interviewer with AEC industry knowledge.
“Making that personal connection is important,” says Katy Hunchar, Principal and Director of Marketing & Business Development at Ayers Saint Gross. “What makes it successful is the one-on-one conversation, which allows us to get feedback we couldn’t get if we just used [a service like] SurveyMonkey.”
Both firms go to great lengths to ensure they aren’t only hearing from fans; dissenting voices are welcome. “We prepare our team carefully,” says Hunchar. “We tell them: This isn’t about hearing how great we are. We need honest, constructive input—especially from clients we don’t talk with often.”
The willingness to hear from less comfortable sources pays off. The feedback helps inform everything from internal culture to thought leadership strategy. Fidler adds, “Client feedback has become part of how we shape the future of the firm.”
Making feedback actionable
Feedback only has value if it leads to something. The biggest complaint we hear about surveys—from clients who contribute their time and energy to firm staff encouraged by the promise of positive change—is that a firm will spend time and money to conduct the survey, then do nothing constructive with the results.
At JB&B, they gather teams and share the feedback received. “Some people embrace the feedback; some get defensive,” Leighton says. “Either way, we have the conversation. We work through the discomfort, focusing on the insight gained from the transparency provided by clients. That makes a difference.”
The process also yields crucial information—about a specific project or contact and about internal and external dynamics. In one case, feedback helped the JB&B team rethink their alignment with a client contact whose expectations clashed with the firm’s culture.
“I stepped back and adjusted my expectations about a senior leader employed by our client,” Frank recalls. “The insight we gained told us we shouldn’t over-invest in this person. In the spirit of being purposeful about the clients we select, we decided not to overcommit to pursuing more work with that leader.”
Ayers Saint Gross distills its feedback into strategic themes and uses them to shape their firmwide business plan. Whether the topic is sustainability, design process or client communications, survey results help stress clear priorities. “There’s a lot of consistency in what we hear, but there are also outliers,” says Fidler. “Understanding context around a specific question allows us to dig deeper. We’ve followed up when something stood out as unusual. They might say, ‘I wish you guys did x, y and z.’ That allows for improved engagement. We also know our clients feel heard.”
Responding directly to criticisms and other comments underscores the value of having an open survey, rather than an anonymous one. Fidler says, “It’s important to know who is saying what. We can say, ‘This is your feedback, and we want to talk with you about it.’”
Ayers Saint Gross also uses client responses to reinforce internal messaging and spark client-facing communications. “It helps our PR firm develop content that resonates,” Hunchar explains. “Hearing directly from clients helps us craft stories that reflect their needs and values. It guides us on how best to emphasize and highlight the outstanding work we’re doing and the firm’s thought leaders.”
Embedding feedback into culture
Firms that thrive with client feedback treat it as a process rather than a one-off undertaking. Even among longstanding clients, feedback creates opportunities to surprise, challenge assumptions and reinforce trust. “In an era when leadership is increasingly about authenticity and vulnerability, interviews are a powerful gesture. They put a magnifying glass on who we are,” says Frank.
Feedback is part of Ayers Saint Gross’s planning DNA. “We’ve always had a culture of debriefs and follow-ups,” says Hunchar. “Now we’re taking that a step further, tying it to our strategic vision and using it to inform how we evolve.”
One of the most underrated aspects of feedback gathering is what happens after the data is collected. Both firms emphasize sharing results—not hoarding them.
At JB&B, leadership discusses results with project teams, helping them understand strengths and opportunities for improvement. Leighton emphasizes feedback isn’t perceived as punitive, but rather as a tool for reflection and growth.
Fidler notes Ayers Saint Gross follows up with survey participants personally—whether the feedback was glowing or tough. That model of responsibility and visibility helps ensure the process doesn’t feel like an external exercise, but rather part of the firm’s operational rhythm.
Client feedback also contributes to marketing and business development initiatives, as noted earlier by Hunchar, who notes, the investment in listening and feedback builds collaborative trust and better positions Ayers Saint Gross for future project pursuits.
For JB&B, eliciting client feedback is a pure business development investment. “The impression it sends about the firm—who you are, what you value—pays for it,” says Frank. “Any additional insights we get—that’s gravy.”
ROI, reflection and repetition
Client feedback is not a checkbox. It’s a commitment. Done right, it delivers insight, builds loyalty, sharpens strategy and enhances brand perception. But it should be more than a paper survey or link—true return on investment requires listening, humility and follow-through.
The act of asking can be transformative. As I’ve heard hundreds of times, clients appreciate being asked. They remember it. It signals care. And it sets the stage for both retaining clients and for becoming their valued partner of choice.
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Richard “Rich” Friedman, Founder & President of Friedman & Partners, has worked in and consulted to the AEC and environmental industries for more than 30 years. He has worked with firms of all different sizes, including numerous ENR 500 organizations. In 2005, Rich co-founded A|E Advisors LLC, a consortium of national consultants serving the AEC and environmental consulting industries. He has conducted seminars and workshops for design and environmental industry professional associations and venues, including AIA, ACEC, AGC, NSPE, SMPS, and ArchitectureBoston Expo (ABX). He has been featured in A/E industry publications, including ENR, AIA’s Architect and Practice Management Digest, SMPS’ Marketer, NSPE’s PE Magazine, and ACEC’s Engineering Inc. Rich earned a B.S. from Cornell University and an M.S. from Penn State University, as well as an MBA from Babson College.
(Return to the cover of the October 2025 PM Digest)