Practice Management Member Conversations

Has anyone done a survey of clients to measure their satisfaction with your services?  We would like to do this in our office and would welcome any insight that is out there - advice, things to consider, unintended consequences, sample surveys, things to ask, things not to ask, etc. 

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Edward Hord FAIA
Hord Coplan Macht, Inc.
Baltimore MD
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My company is based on relationships with our clients, and surveying our clients is one of the best practices that we do.  I have been conducting them for over ten years.

They are best done face to face and by an management level professional that is NOT directly involved in the client's projects (to show the value placed in it).  The topics are critical to YOUR business, but the key is to get a discussion as to what is good and bad about your work.  Last but not least is to "listen." Many times clients perceive things that are not right (e.g., not in the contract scope). You to understand their point of view and then need to work on changing that perception. 

Most of all is to find out how to "improve" ...this is critical to getting your client to participate, and shows value through follow up.

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Brian Scanlon AIA
Jacobs Global Buildings
Arlington VA
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We often conduct post-occupancy evaluations that include face-to-face meetings with the owner's project manager, facilities team and user groups. One part of this process may include a web-based survey conducted by UC Berkeley's Center for the Built Environment (CBE).  We try to make it as comprehensive as possible, recognizing that we're asking our clients to commit a not-insignificant amout of time.  We include a discussion about satisfaction with our design services (not just ours but our consultants too).  Our clients have always been appreciative that we care enough to ask and we work with them to make the process fit their needs, goals, schedule, etc.


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Jerry Foster AIA
Project Architect
Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects LLP
Washington DC
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-13-2013 08:14
From: Brian Scanlon
Subject: survey of owners' satisfaction

My company is based on relationships with our clients, and surveying our clients is one of the best practices that we do.  I have been conducting them for over ten years.

They are best done face to face and by an management level professional that is NOT directly involved in the client's projects (to show the value placed in it).  The topics are critical to YOUR business, but the key is to get a discussion as to what is good and bad about your work.  Last but not least is to "listen." Many times clients perceive things that are not right (e.g., not in the contract scope). You to understand their point of view and then need to work on changing that perception. 

Most of all is to find out how to "improve" ...this is critical to getting your client to participate, and shows value through follow up.

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Brian Scanlon AIA
Jacobs Global Buildings
Arlington VA
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I recently did something like this.  I am a consulting engineer in practice for myself, so what I was seeking would be, by default, taken personally.   So I took an approach promoted by some of the marketing experts I have read, that is to ask what they like, not what they don't like.  A former business partner that I have remained in touch with did it on my behalf, by phone.  He contacted present and past customer contacts to ask what they considered my strengths, what they would tell others are my strengths, etc.   He was prepared with prompts to make the conversation go if it stalled - such as "would you say he's dependable?; where on a scale of 1-5", "would you say he is responsive?: how much so on a scale of 1-5", etc.   It seems people are more willing to open up when it's about the positives.  Best of all, if you see a common pattern, this could help shape you "brand".

Good luck
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Thomas Kennedy
Norwood OH
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The job is to overcome natural politeness in order to get reliable information.  Do any survey blind.  The questions do not come from you but an independent source and the questions are not only about your firm.  Such as:  "Rank these five architectural firms based on their responsiveness."  or "Which of these four engineering firms consistently meet the owner's budget?"   You get the idea.

If you want to improve, you want brutal truth about how your firm is perceived in the marketplace. 



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John Nyfeler FAIA, LEED AP
John Nyfeler, FAIA
Austin TX
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-14-2013 08:05
From: Thomas Kennedy
Subject: survey of owners' satisfaction


I recently did something like this.  I am a consulting engineer in practice for myself, so what I was seeking would be, by default, taken personally.   So I took an approach promoted by some of the marketing experts I have read, that is to ask what they like, not what they don't like.  A former business partner that I have remained in touch with did it on my behalf, by phone.  He contacted present and past customer contacts to ask what they considered my strengths, what they would tell others are my strengths, etc.   He was prepared with prompts to make the conversation go if it stalled - such as "would you say he's dependable?; where on a scale of 1-5", "would you say he is responsive?: how much so on a scale of 1-5", etc.   It seems people are more willing to open up when it's about the positives.  Best of all, if you see a common pattern, this could help shape you "brand".

Good luck
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Thomas Kennedy
Norwood OH
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Consider an indepandant 3rd party for honest answers.  Provide anonymity.

Also, consider changing the questions from the typical, "how do you think we did?" kinds of questions to having your independant 3rd party call on the project types that match with yours and that are in your territory.  Check on projects that were done by you AND others. Use this random mix and have your consultant ask, "If you were to do things over again, would you use the same firm? Why or why not?"

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Robin Miller AIA
MSH Architects
Sioux Falls SD
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Robert Miller FAIA
Robert L. Miller Associates
Washington DC
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My firm has carried out or designed this kind of survey as part of the comprehensive marketing communications services we provide to architects and allied professionals.  A typical example is a recent series of 30 or more phone surveys with our client's clients, in which we collected open-ended (and sometimes surprisingly detailed) impressions of quality and reliability of service-and likelihood of hiring our client again- all on condition of the interviewee's anonymity. We gave this information to our client in the form of a report with positive and negative comments tallied and weighed, but with the sources, projects and quotes disguised. The results were used as part of a repositioning and ownership transition that has proved highly successful.

The key is to know exactly why you want and need this information...  a larger communications and marketing agenda should drive the survey.

When serving as a Dir of Ops for a medium-sized firm, we conducted a mail-in survey of our clients to measure their perceptions of our performance.  It was designed to be easy for the Clients to fill-out and respond, and also easy to tally - to get a general perspective of the firm's perceived strengths and opportunities for improvement.  We actually had fairly good response from the survey - must better than the typical results for a mail-in type survey.  At the bottom of the survey, we did provide an opportunity to provide a bit more customized feedback.  We did encounter one client that made a fairly specific recommendation in his "Open Feedback" area.  When the surveys did come in, they were routed through administrative staff for tallying and the tabulation of the results, and the "open feedback" area, which most left blank or wrote something short, was not included in the tabulation.  When this one client that had spent a considerable time providing valid feedback about a specific issue he was encountering saw that no action was being taken on his recommendation and feedback, he did become quite frustrated.

Note to self: When soliciting feedback, be prepared to act upon the feedback and make changes where necessary, and when specific issues are brought to light as a result of the solicitation for feedback, address them in person by a Principal of the firm.  

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Stephen Lafferty AIA
Tampa Bay Area, FL
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