With waves of bad news rolling in from Wall Street and Main Street, the Society of Marketing for Professional Services Foundation held a think tank to explore "The Upside of a Down Economy." Participants at the Feb. 20 conference in Atlanta found little in the way of an upside, but a panel of nine senior industry experts came away with a meaningful to-do list for firms hoping to cope—and even prosper—in an era of diminished opportunity.
Top on that list is the need for professional service firms to break from a reactive, order-taking approach to business development. With clients strapped for cash and facing their own economic crises, AEC firms need to proactively engage clients.