This research was conducted to examine procedures in regain management (RM) by professional service firms (PSF) on the basis of an explorative, qualitative research approach for the first time. The authors tried to solve the following research questions: How are endangered and disaffected clients identified, segmented and reasons analysed in PSFs? How can customer reacquisition dialogues be initiated and timed and which reacquisition offers are to be addressed to clients? How should the success of customer reacquisition measures be evaluated? The results from interviews with 30 leading managers show deficits of the PSF in (1) disaffection analysis, (2) regain activities and (3) regain controlling. Optimization approaches are recognized with larger support by the owners, more in-depth client dialog, optimization of internal processes as well as provision of additional financial and personnel resources. The interviewees reported that the owners have not yet been sufficiently sensitized to the regain of customers and that their attitudes and behaviour significantly impact the success of regain management – a factor hardly considered previously.

• Doreén Pick(Merseburg University of Applied Sciences, Germany)
• René R. Schleus(Freie Universität Berlin, Germany)