As a hard-working dedicated practitioner, you know that providing excellent service is essential to retaining your clients and client satisfaction.
But believe it or not, you can provide your accounting clients with an experience that makes them not only likely to stick with you but can turn them into raving fans or as I often say; walking, talking billboards of your accounting practice.
If you want to delight your clients and decrease the likelihood of them taking their business elsewhere, there are a few key things you can do:
Consider offering a Client Portal
A client portal is a great way to give your clients 24/7 access to their account information, financial statements, and other documentation. They can view their invoices, make payments, and even schedule appointments without having to pick up the phone and call you. Plus, it’s a great way to keep your clients organised and in the loop on their job status.
Be Transparent With Your Fees
No one likes surprises – especially when it comes to money. Consider offering absolute certainty with more fixed price agreements. Be upfront with your clients about your fees from the start both with compliance and diversified services like advisory. This way, they won’t be blindsided and often disappointed by an unexpected bill down the road.
Collect Feedback and Use It to Improve
Don’t be afraid to ask your clients for feedback negative or positive. This is the only way to know what you’re doing well – and where you need to improve. Consider using online client surveys, polls, and even one-on-one interviews over a coffee to get the feedback you need to make your accounting practice and the services it provides even better. This is how you’ll really understand what you improve in your firm to achieve maximum client satisfaction.
Make the Most of Client Meetings
Client meetings are your chance to shine. Make sure you’re prepared for each meeting by having all the relevant information at your fingertips, being on time, and dressing the part. And most importantly, take the time to get to know your clients on a personal level. These meetings are your opportunity to build relationships and show your clients that you care more about them.
Invest in Client Relationship Management solution
Efficiently manage your client relationships through a Client Relationship Management (CRM) system. This type of software can help you keep track of your client interactions, tasks, opportunities, actions, outcomes, projects, and the like as well as birthdays, anniversaries, and even the client’s favourite beverage and biscuit to accompany it.
Offer Value-Added Services
In addition to traditional compliance-based accounting services, you can offer diversified value-added services that will impress your clients and differentiate your practice from the competition. These services might include financial planning, estate planning, or tax planning as well as board of advice meetings and showing clients the financial impact of key business decisions before they happen. There is no better way to delight a client than to offer them something they did not expect to receive. Here is another article I wrote about value-adding.
If you are looking to move into more client-engaged business advisory (value-added) services, why not undertake a complimentary business advisory assessment? Just email me at [email protected] and we will organise a suitable time to have a chat and delight your clients.
