3 ways Professional Services firms are preparing for a market recovery

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2023 was a tough year for many industries, including professional services. U.S. recession fears alongside high interest rates and inflation levels meant dwindling profit margins for many companies—ultimately, impacting the volume of projects available for those in the professional services sector.

However, looking ahead, many are optimistic about the prospects for professional services in 2024. Inflation is cooling, recession fears are fading, and there are expectations for improving corporate profits. Our data also shows that firms anticipate a growing demand from companies for assistance in improving operational efficiencies, adopting artificial intelligence (AI), and more.

We surveyed more than 160 individuals in professional services to learn how they’re preparing to secure more projects this year, and we uncovered three main strategies:

Streamlining relationship management with technology
Integrating AI for strategic growth
Nurturing client relationships to drive projects

Keep reading for the highlights and check out our 2024 professional services outlook for a detailed analysis with actionable insights for each strategy.

1. Streamlining relationship management with technology

To win more opportunities, professional services firms are improving the ways they manage client relationships. When we asked which processes firms plan to make more efficient in 2024, 57% listed ‘building relationships for future deals’ and ‘managing existing clients’ as their top two priorities.

To drive efficiency and process improvements around relationship management, firms are turning to technology, specifically, their customer relationship management systems (CRMs). By augmenting their existing CRMs with relationship intelligence—which combines data automation and AI to uncover valuable information about a firm’s shared network—firms can both find and centralize key insights. In this way, they can begin building a comprehensive, systematized approach to relationship management.

2. Integrating AI for strategic growth

Many professional services firms have a growing appetite for artificial intelligence. Almost all (96%) of our respondents are planning to adopt AI in 2024, and 67% report they’re more interested in considering new technologies this year compared to previous years.

Successful firms understand the need to stay on top of transformative developments in technology—not just to keep up with their peers, but because of the potential to disproportionately drive revenue and growth.

There are several workflows and processes that professional services firms can use AI to facilitate. Our data shows that most firms are interested in using AI to improve productivity—by helping find new clients and outsourcing time-consuming tasks to technology, like data analysis.

3. Nurturing client relationships to drive projects

Relationships are foundational to the professional services industry, and strong relationships are often what drive projects from start to finish. Looking ahead, many don’t anticipate this to change. In fact, 47% of our respondents expect over half of their new projects to come from their firm’s existing network.

With this in mind, it’s no surprise that building existing relationships is a top priority for professional services firms this year. To seize more opportunities, firms are maximizing the value of their networks—using technology to:

Uncover new and valuable insights about their connections
Help build rapport with clients more easily
Keep their most important relationships active

How your firm can prepare for more projects this year

To position themselves to win more business this year, professional services firms are focused on using technology to strengthen their client relationships and core processes. Learn how you can shift your priorities to win more projects this year in Affinity’s 2024 professional services outlook. Get your copy to find out: