With the worst of the recession behind us, it makes sense to look at how your firm responded to the slowdown, lessons learned, and how you’ll move forward.
Consider the following:
Did you present your firm’s services in different ways from before, or offer different services? How effective was that – what worked and what didn’t? Will you continue with those changes?
The common wisdom for responding to a recession is to focus on current and past clients. Did your firm do that and well how did it work?
Your clients were facing their own significant challenges during the downturn. How well did your firm communicate its understanding of their dilemma and its ability to help?
How successful were you in keeping your firm’s name in front of past and prospective clients – and what kind of response did you get?
Did you discover that there were holes in the marketing effort? And have you taken steps to fill them?
If your firm has a history of feast or famine work cycles, did the severity of the downturn suggest any changes in its marketing effort? How likely is it to implement and stay with them?
How did you handle the stress of the slowdown and what steps will your firm take to provide a buffer in the future?
And overall, has your firm changed with regard to the kinds of work it does, its management and business plan, how you describe the practice, and the kinds of work being pursued and the nature of the pursuit? If so, how clearly have you described these changes in-house – and how formally have you put them in place and maintained them?
