Last week I was speaking at the Leading Edge Association European conference in Lisbon, Portugal. One of the sessions Wendy Nemitz and I facilitated was a discussion about “Managing and Marketing in a Downturn.” The topics consisted of internal staff and leadership, cash flow and profitability, firm management and innovation, marketing to new clients and lastly current clients. We had the group of managing partners choose one topic of interest and asked them to brainstorm about new strategies and ideas around that particular topic. During the topic discussion about current clients a managing partner, Sandy Manson, from the firm Johnston Carmichael Aberdeen based in Scotland, shared an idea that I thought was tremendous and one of the most creative ideas I’ve heard in a while.

He shared that his firm has a manufacturing niche and recently hired a Lean Manufacturing Consultant to participate in a seminar for their clients. The consultant discussed ways that the manufacturers could use lean manufacturing in their operations and run a more successful business. Obviously, the clients got tons of value from the information and it showed that the firm really cared about the success of each of their businesses. By adding this extra value, it showed that during this tough time the firm still cared and wanted to make sure all their clients are able to survive any sort of economic shake-up.

I believe it’s even more important to stay in touch with your clients during this time of uncertainty. It’s important that you think of creative ways to show concern, add value and keep fees down. I encourage all of you to pick up the phone and call a client and find out how their business is doing and what you can do to help.

Question: What have you done during this economic downturn to create value for your clients?