3 Steps to Future-Proof Your Client Service Business in the AI Era

Andrew Dymski

Andrew Dymski

— 3 min read

Today I'm going to talk about how you can adjust your positioning to respond to AI reshaping client services.

Many service businesses are so focused on deliverables that they're missing the bigger opportunity (and bigger threat) staring them in the face.

Greg Isenberg, host of ​Startup Ideas podcast​ (love the show!) posted about this on LinkedIn:

I disagree with Greg on this one.

Teams that utilize AI today to accelerate the delivery of those deliverables are just buying time.

AI will soon eliminate the need to rely on service partners for deliverables at all.

In this issue we're going to unpack the 3-part framework you can use to nail Profitable Niche Positioning so you can avoid being commoditized as AI advances:

  1. Pick Your People
  2. Ride Market Momentum
  3. Develop Your Frameworks

Here is how to avoid the deliverable rat race and position yourself to ride the AI wave.

The Hard Truth About Deliverables

When I started my agency, we sold ourselves on our ability to create great outputs—websites, marketing campaigns, content. Sound familiar?

But here's what I discovered: The moment you compete on deliverables, you're in a race to the bottom.

This was true before AI, but now? The pace of that race is about to hit lightspeed.

What I'd Do Differently Now

Delivering better client service is directly tied to your firm's market positioning. Marketing and sales make the promises, client servicing delivers on those promises. They need to be in tight alignment to create the shortest path to value for your clients.

Instead of positioning and selling deliverables, I'd focus on becoming what I call a "transformation architect."

Here's the framework I've developed:

1. Pick Your People

Choose a specific group of clients who share an expensive problem. For example, instead of "we help B2B companies with marketing," think "we help cybersecurity startups acquire their first 100 enterprise customers."

Build your identity around their pain, not your solution. The closer you get to revenue, created or retained, the easier it will be to prove your value.

2. Ride Market Momentum

Look for technologies or trends your target clients are already investing in. Don't swim upstream—find where the current is already flowing and guide clients through those waters.

Your target customers are looking for vehicles to their desired destination. They'll say things like:

  • "We need to implement ABC software and that will solve our problems."
  • "We need to get ahead of XYZ trend in order to stay relevant."

There are already massive companies spending billions of dollars to heighten demand.

Smart companies will soon realize that a vehicle is little use without a GPS that will guide them to their destination.

3. Develop Your Frameworks

This is the game-changer: Create frameworks that guide how you solve problems. These become your intellectual property and your competitive moat.

Your frameworks are the GPS your clients will use inside their desired vehicle to guide them to their desired destination.

Author and entrepreneur Donald Miller says that "Frameworks are rules and boundaries that help us understand, activate, and execute virtually anything."

Frameworks can be deployed by:

  • Account Managers delivering a structured series of calls following scripted agenda and workshops templates
  • Training modules developed for specific phases of your client journey
  • Professional Certifications completed by members of your client's workforce
  • Coding templates that shortcut configuration and setup times
  • Niche SaaS Apps and AI Assistants where customers apply your frameworks without live hands guiding them

Remember: The leverage you can unlock with frameworks is only limited by their impact on the problem your clients are feeling.

Keep your focus narrow and keep iterating to shorten the client's path to value.

The Magic of Systems

In my first agency, our breakthrough came when we stopped selling "social media management" and started selling our framework for the Boring B2B Content Branching System.

The deliverables didn't change much, but our value proposition became much harder to replicate.

Looking Ahead

AI isn't going to replace client service businesses—but it will replace those who can't evolve beyond being deliverable factories.

Your competitive advantage isn't in the outputs you create. It's in your understanding of specific client challenges and your systematic approach to solving them.

What's Next?

Take 15 minutes this week to ask yourself:

  • What specific client group do you understand deeply?
  • What frameworks do you use that could be systematized?
  • Where are your clients already spending money and attention?

The answers might just show you where to focus next.

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