Repeat clients generate most AEC firms’ work, yet many firms still lack a formal approach to protecting and developing their most important accounts.
AEC firms are relationship businesses; the data makes that difficult to dispute. According to SNZweig’s 2026 Marketing + Business Development Report, repeat clients account for the majority of work at firms of every size. At firms with fewer than 25 employees, 69% of business comes from repeat clients. That share generally rises with firm size, reaching 83% at firms with 500 or more employees.
Yet the systems firms use to manage those relationships often do not reflect their importance.
The same report found that only 21% of firms have a formalized key-client or account-management program. Another 27% have an informal program, while 38% have no structured program at all.
That disconnect is striking. Firms systematically manage proposals, project delivery, financial performance, and countless other parts of the business, but the relationships responsible for most of their work are often left to individual initiative.
That may work for a while, but it becomes much riskier as a firm grows.
Client relationships need more than individual ownership
Valuing relationships isn’t the same as managing them. In many firms, client knowledge is primarily the responsibility of the project manager, principal, or seller-doer closest to the account. That person knows what’s changing inside the client organization, where opportunities may be developing, and what could threaten the relationship.
The problem isn’t that those people own the relationship – they should. The risk comes when the firm depends entirely on what one person remembers, notices, and acts on.
Workload, turnover, retirement, and competing priorities can all expose that weakness. A client may receive significant attention during an active project or pursuit, then very little once the immediate opportunity passes.
AEC firms already formalize the pursuit of work
The contrast is especially noticeable when you look at how firms approach new opportunities.
Many firms have established processes for deciding which opportunities to pursue and how to position themselves to win. Those processes may include go/no-go discussions, client research, strategy meetings, competitive intelligence, and interview planning.
That structure makes sense. Firms want to be deliberate about where they invest pursuit resources. But the discipline often drops off once the work is won.
If repeat clients account for roughly 70% to 80% of the work at many firms, maintaining those relationships deserves some of the same discipline firms bring to winning the next opportunity.
Formal doesn’t have to mean complicated
A useful key-client program can be simple. Leadership can start by identifying the clients that matter most to the firm's current business and future strategy. Each account should have clear ownership, but other leaders and technical experts should also be connected to the client so the relationship extends beyond one person.
The firm should also establish a regular process for discussing those accounts. What’s changing inside the client's organization? How well are current projects going? Where could the firm provide more value? Which relationships need to be strengthened, and who’s responsible for following through? Those conversations should happen even when there is no proposal deadline forcing them onto the calendar.
The goal isn’t more meetings or more CRM fields – it’s greater visibility and accountability around relationships the firm cannot afford to take for granted.
Protect the repeat business you already have
AEC leaders naturally spend significant energy thinking about growth. They look for new markets, new clients, new services, and new opportunities. But growth doesn’t come only from adding something new. It also comes from becoming more deliberate about the relationships already producing most of the firm's work.
When repeat business represents most of a firm's work, protecting and developing key-client relationships should be an organizational priority, not an informal business development habit. Firms need a way to make sure their most important clients are understood, supported, and developed over time.
The industry already knows how important relationships are. The next step is managing them like they matter.
For more insights on how AEC firms approach marketing and business development, explore SNZweig’s 2026 Marketing + Business Development Report.
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Kyle Ahern is Senior Awards and Analytics Manager at SNZweig. Contact him at kahern@snzweig.com. |
