ABSTRACT
In professional services firms the marketing function often evolves by the appointment of marketing managers with responsibility for a particular practice group or service line, for example, audit, tax or advisory in accountants, commercial litigation and intellectual property in law firms and commercial office development in chartered surveyors. Portfolio has shown how professional services firms can manage their Clients in many different ways. Some firms use the concept of client lifetime value (CLV) to assess the potential fee income level of a Client and the likelihood of a relationship continuing. This also allows better planning on investment in Client relationships and is considered a good basis for decisions about the content of a Client portfolio. In professional services firms, the sales function is usually referred to as business development (BD) or Client service (CS). The marketing team devises strategies and targets specific clients to 'open doors' for the BD team, usually through the generation of enquiries.
