These days increase in automation for compliance services is replacing face-to face interactions with clients. As a result, reliability has started waning in client relationships. Accountants spend a lot of time to get new clients, which is normally 2-3 times higher as compared to other service sectors. On the one side, we forget to spend time in retaining the existing clients, whereas Client Retention & Growth is an important key to the business success and requires utmost attention from the accountants.
Let’s see what needs to be done in these days to maintain relationships with clients.
The key areas requiring focus are:
• Mode of communication
• Handling both existing and new clients equally
• Building awareness
• Focusing on client needs
• Establishing schedule to get in touch
Here are the following keys to retaining your clients:
1. Identify the most profitable clients: Look at your client portfolio and identify those clients to whom you can offer more value added services. Now look at the ways and means to nurture those clients and get to know their business needs in detail. Spend more time with them to build your relationship.
2. Develop a 60 day Client Retention & Growth plan: Create a plan to approach the clients over a 60 day period with client specific business needs are. Be more proactive to offer them solutions to their needs and offer them more services. Look after your clients and they will refer you to others.
3. Increase client lifetime value (CLTV): Increasing client retention rates by 5% increases profits by 25% to 95%. Hence any business that wants to grow its bottom line, needs to equally focus on retaining clients as well acquiring clients for sustainable growth.
4. Be transparent with client: It is good practice to be transparent in the way you work. In order to maintain a healthy client relationship you must be upfront and clear about your costs. The more your explain processes, real value, provide regular updates to the client, the more understanding and patient they will be.
5. Emphasis on Soft skill training: Strong staff skills lead to better relationships. In a study conducted by Harvard University, Boston College and the University of Michigan, it was found that soft skills training increased productivity by 12% which helps in business growth and increased client retention. Your in-house staff need to have the skills to build relationships with clients.
6. Be accessible for clients whenever possible: Always remember your services are available for your client benefits. Try to be accessible at all times. Use a friendly, informal, or familiar tone and style of writing. Use a personalized email to send the message instead of a professional one. Listen to your clients carefully.
7. Take the lead and discuss fees openly: Its quite touchy subject and it is equally important to start the fee discussion with your clients. Surprises related to money is sometimes not accepted by the client.
It doesn’t take a lot to Client Retention & Growth, just consistency and attention to detail. It’s less expensive to retain clients than it is to get new ones. It’s less work and more money. And don’t forget, when you lose a client, you are not just losing their money. You are sending them to your competitors. Plus, they might take others with them with their word of mouth, which can be negative, just as easily as it can be positive. Increase in customer retention rate will automatically increase profits. Clients will always appreciate excellent service provider.
Business transformation from an in-house compliance model to an outsourced model gives you extra time to spend with your clients and build upon your relations with them.
“The fundamental concept is that outsourcing firm can complete the process more efficiently, leaving the original firm free to concentrate on their client relationship. Most of the outsourcing companies in UK offer this engagement model, and it is the most popular one amongst large-scale accounting firms in the UK. These models typically involve senior accountants from offshore countries with lots of experience. Accounting firms that deal with high volumes of knowledge work can save a lot of resources utilizing this model. This means you can simply re-focus your business onto client-facing activities and leave the grudge work to the firms.”
Get in touch with our professional team today to find out how we can help you to transform your business into a powerhouse of productivity.
