PSOut helps professional service firms engage and add value to a greater proportion of their existing client base. We do this by identifying gaps between the services a firm currently delivers and the wider needs those clients may reasonably have.
We use the term “underserved clients” to describe those gaps.
The diagram below illustrates the concept.
In simple terms, the blue area represents the full range of client needs. The grey box represents the services the firm currently provides. Where those two areas overlap, the firm is meeting client needs effectively.
However, the blue area that sits outside the grey box represents something important. These are client needs that exist but are not currently addressed by the firm’s service offering.
Those clients are not disengaged. They simply fall outside the firm’s current service model.
Why These Gaps Exist
Underserved clients rarely appear because firms neglect their clients. In most cases, the gap is the natural result of how professional services evolve.
Firms design their services to meet the expectations of the majority of their clients. They also design them to compete effectively with other firms offering similar services. Over time, those services settle into a model that works commercially and operationally.
In effect, the firm develops a set of practical guide rails. Within those guide rails the service makes sense both for the firm and for many of its clients.
For a long time this works well.
The difficulty is that the environment around those services does not remain static. Technology evolves. Client expectations change. New delivery models become feasible.
Services that once seemed impractical suddenly become realistic. Needs that once applied only to a small minority begin to appear across a much broader group of clients.
The result is a gradual misalignment between what clients could benefit from and what the firm currently provides.
So What’s the Problem?
In many cases it is not really a problem at all.
It is an opportunity.
The presence of underserved needs within a client base can represent untapped value for the firm. Clients who already trust the firm may welcome additional services that solve problems they currently handle elsewhere.
However, the opposite risk also exists.
When clients have needs that are not met internally, they will often seek solutions from other advisers. Over time this can weaken the firm’s position within the relationship. What begins as a small external engagement can gradually expand.
Replacing lost clients is significantly more expensive than retaining existing ones. For that reason, firms benefit from regularly reviewing whether their service offering still aligns with their clients’ evolving needs.
Making Deliberate Decisions
Not every gap needs to be filled.
A firm may deliberately decide that certain opportunities sit outside its strategic focus. In other cases, the firm may choose to extend its services in order to deepen its client relationships.
The key point is that these choices should be deliberate.
Understanding where underserved clients exist allows leadership to decide whether those opportunities are worth pursuing.
How PSOut Helps
PSOut enables firms to explore these opportunities in a practical and controlled way.
Our specialist outsourced services allow firms to maintain focus on their core work while new initiatives are developed. Importantly, these services are delivered in a way that preserves the firm’s control. Any innovation must align with the firm’s goals, values and client relationships.
Our work begins by identifying underserved client communities. From there we help firms design ways to engage them effectively.
For example, we support:
- Will writers who want to unlock new value from their existing will banks through proactive client engagement
- Accountants who want to extend their reach among SME clients that require more than statutory services
Because we focus on practical delivery, we bring experience in implementing the service innovations we recommend.
Seeing the Opportunity
Underserved clients are not a sign that a firm is failing its clients. They are a natural consequence of markets evolving over time.
Firms that periodically step back and examine these gaps often discover new ways to strengthen their client relationships and broaden their offering.
The diagram at the beginning of this article captures the idea simply.
Where client needs extend beyond current services, opportunity exists.
The question is whether the firm chooses to pursue it.
