Here’s what you told us: your feedback from our 2023 Client Survey

From left to right, Forthright team members Niki, Monique, Katie, Zoe, Michael and Lauren. The team is sitting around a wooden table with computers and mugs on it. The team members are smiling at one another.

Written by NIKI JUHASZ

At the end of each year, we send out our annual client survey. As part of our commitment to continual improvement, we ask our clients to reflect on what parts of our work together are going well, and what we could do better. And as always, the survey feedback is one of the most useful resources we have when it comes to ensuring we are the best partners we can be for our clients.

Feedback is a gift. I’m always so grateful when our clients take a minute out of their busy days to tell us how our work together is going. Here’s what we heard from you:

Our clients happily recommend us to others

First, our NPS score, a universal score of customer satisfaction, remains nearly double that of the average consulting firm. In fact, for the third year in a row, we saw our NPS score go up!

Our NPS is one of our “north star” measurements, so I’m thrilled by this result and excited we’re maintaining our superstar streak year-over-year.

This year, 100 percent of our clients strongly agree that we make them feel important, and 100 percent of our clients strongly agree that we’re fun to work with.

You asked, and we listened! In 2023, we committed to making sure our clients had a strong understanding of what we were working on, along with the data and thinking behind our recommendations.

We improved our process of sending weekly project and status updates to clients. We were more explicit about connecting research and data – out loud and in presentations – to our recommendations. We set out to intentionally connect the dots, and it showed. Our scores in this area improved by more than a third!

When we shared work, clients walked away with a strong understanding of the project map, and why we chose the approach we did. That alignment and clarity sets us all up for a smooth partnership.

Up Next, we’re reimagining client kickoffs

For the past five years, we’ve had the same client kickoff process – a new client signs the contract, then we schedule a strategic kickoff call during which we set the stage for our whole project. We ask questions about your goals, and get clear on what success looks like.

A lot of what’s currently in place works, but after a solid five year run, we’ve learned a ton about this process and our clients’ and teammates’ needs.

Now, we think there’s room to evolve this important part of an account lifecycle. Our teammate Zoe is spearheading a project that will reimagine our client kickoff process and design it with our core value of People First in mind.

I’m so thankful to each of our clients for their candid feedback on our survey. Knowing how our work makes a daily difference to you, and out in the world, is so important!

It’s also vital I understand where we can improve our performance. We value your input so much, and we can’t wait to see what 2024 brings for our work together.