If you want to give your clients the very best experience when they pay for your services, it’s important to have a good understanding of just what it is that they expect, and want from you.
Once you know what they want, you can tailor your services to suit their needs, and hopefully, turn them into long-term clients who are more than happy to refer you to others.
If you haven’t fully identified what your clients want from you as their accountant, here are 17 ideas to consider:
- Honesty and transparency
While this should be a given, you’d be surprised at just how many clients say that they’re not happy about the way in which their accountant prices their work, and justifies it. Explain your pricing clearly, and justify it as honestly as you can.
2. Financing options
If you offer payment plans or financing that can help cash-strapped clients pay for your services, make them aware of this from the get-go.
3. Weekend appointments
Whether you want to work over the weekend, or not, if a client is worthwhile and is requesting you offer your services on a Saturday, it might be wise to do so.
4. Good reviews
Remember that your existing clients are just as likely to read reviews about your firm as potential ones, so try to generate as many positive ones as you can.
5. Response to reviews
When a client takes the time to write a review, you should make the effort to respond to it appropriately.
6. Appointment reminders
However you send your reminders, be it via text message, phone call, or email, initiate client reminders to help both you and your client.
7. Referral incentives
If you know that an existing client has recommended your services to someone else, send them a small token of your appreciation to encourage them to continue supporting you.
8. Friendly staff
Deal with clients in a professional but friendly manner, and you’ll find many more satisfied reviews; so simple, and yet so effective.
9. Follow-up emails
By sending a follow-up email after a client meeting, you can recap what was discussed, and highlight any outstanding actions.
10. A secure firm portal
Clients must be able to share confidential information safely and securely with you and other members of your firm, and nowadays, this is almost always done online.
11. Timeliness
If you’re running late and might not be able to make a scheduled consultation or meeting at the appointed time, be sure to inform your client in plenty of time if possible.
12. Website that’s mobile-friendly
A lot of your firm’s website traffic will be via mobile devices, so it’s essential that loading times are speedy and all information can be viewed properly on a smaller screen.
13. Confidence
Make your advice and guidance clear, concise, and jargon-free, so that your clients know they can trust you.
14. Functioning website
There’s nothing quite like an incomplete website or one that doesn’t function well to deter potential clients, so ensure that yours is up-to-date, appealing, engaging and easy to use.
15. Good customer service
No matter how a client reaches out to you, you must make sure that they receive an appropriate and timely response, and that any further contact is facilitated.
16. Correct contact details
If a client tries to contact your firm but can’t reach you due to an incorrect digit on a telephone number or an old address, they may well abandon their quest altogether. This is also really bad for search engine results.
17. Authenticity
You should care about your clients, and this should come across when communicating with them. If you don’t care, perhaps you’re in the wrong profession!
Yes you’ve got all of the necessary qualifications, and yes you may be great at what you do, but are you ticking all of your clients’ boxes as their accountant? Refer to the list above and make any amendments necessary to help shape your future success.
