Your clients have spoken! Learn how to win their business and earn their loyalty. Copyright 2015 Inavero, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Net Promoter, NPS, and Net Promoter Score are trademarks of Satmetrix Systems, Inc., Bain & Company, and Fred Reichheld.
INAVERO GUIDE FOR ACCOUNTING Your Clients Have Spoken! Inavero surveyed over 300 accounting firm clients to learn about their experiences and expectations of what makes a good accounting firm partner. The results from the study revealed the primary reasons your clients buy from you and how they find their perfect accounting firm. Table of Contents 02 03 04 05 06 07 Your Clients Are Your Best Sales Strategy Steps for Generating More Client Referrals How to Maximize the Impact of Testimonials Client Service Strategies That Drive Growth Do You Know How Happy Your Clients Are? About Inavero 01
Your Clients Are Your Best Sales Strategy Only 2% of prospective accounting clients trust your marketing and advertising messages when deciding whether or not to work with your firm. We found that prospective clients prefer to seek information from your current clients or ask their friends and colleagues. If traditional marketing is no longer effective, how do you break through with your story? The answer is that you don t. Instead, encourage and inspire the story of your firm s unique value through those who are credible; your existing clients. Ninety-four percent of your clients trust a referral from a friend or colleague and over half trust testimonials from your current clients. Resources clients trust when gathering information on an accounting firm they may hire: A referral from a friend or colleague 94% Testimonials from their current clients 57% Third party awards (Best Places to Work, Best of Accounting, etc.) Affiliation with respected trade organizations User-generated online reviews (Yelp, glassdoor.com, etc.) The firm s website The firm s employees Marketing or advertising about the firm 32% 27% 22% 17% 9% 2% What others say about your firm What you say about your firm 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 02
Steps For Generating More Client Referrals Professional service firms have long understood the value of referrals, yet for many, they represent a bit of an enigma. The following three points identify how to pro-actively grow referrals for your firm. 1. Ask for it. Sounds obvious, but Inavero research found that only 10% of accounting firm clients have been asked if they have any referrals for the firm they work with. 2. Pay it forward. Refer new business to your firm s clients. Those who receive new business referrals from their accounting firm are twice as likely to suggest their firm to a colleague. 3. Make it easy for your clients to tell your story. Top 3 resources that influence a company s decision to partner with your accounting firm: Referral from family, friends, or colleagues 50% Referral from other trusted service provider 36% They have a strong reputation in my marketplace 30% 0% 20% 40% 60% 03
How to Maximize the Impact of Testimonials Testimonials are often easier to produce than referrals. However, Inavero research found that just 4% of clients have been asked to provide a testimonial for their primary accounting firm. When deciding which firm to partner with, over half of prospective clients say they use testimonials to help narrow their search, proving the importance of testimonials for business growth. To streamline the process of tracking down client testimonials, ask only your most loyal clients. It is easiest to incorporate the testimonial capture into an existing program, such as a survey or other wide-scale outreach initiative. Once you ve built a library of testimonials, think strategically about how to leverage them. Industry-specific testimonials are most influential, though testimonials that specifically focus on issues relevant to a prospective client can be uniquely effective in persuading them to consider your firm. What causes a testimonial to be influential? Shared by someone in my industry 70% Addresses an issue important to me 56% Shared by a highly regarded company 53% Quality of the other testimonials 45% Covers a topic I am currently dealing with 44% The number of testimonials a firm has 11% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 04
Client Service Strategies That Drive Growth Map out your firm s client life-cycle and ask yourself these two questions: What are the most painful parts of our process for our clients and what can we do within our process to make a client s day a little brighter? Once you have your answers, turn them into repeatable actions. One example is the delivery of tax returns. This is a key moment for clients, often accompanied by apprehension, and at times unpleasant financial surprises. These commonly stressful moments are the perfect opportunity to make your firm shine. Build into your process the expectation that your firm delivers a coupon for a free lunch at a local restaurant and sends a message expressing empathy to the stress inherent to this time of year. Simple, inexpensive, and repeatable. Client Service Strategies to Build Into Your Process ü ü ü ü Always respond to calls and emails in a timely manner. Clients who are at risk of leaving their primary accounting firm say they are twice as likely to have experienced an unreturned call or email. However, two thirds of clients who report calls and emails are always returned say they plan to refer their firm in the next six months. Anticipate and communicate budget overages. Clients site budget overages as one of the largest mistakes an accounting firm can make. Although this may be unavoidable at times, your client will be more understanding if you re proactive in your approach and communicate anticipated issues. Consistently meet deadlines and avoid errors. Clients who are at risk of leaving their primary accounting firm are three times more likely to have experienced a mistake and two times more likely to have experienced a missed deadline. Show clients how much you ve helped them save. Only 15% of accounting firm clients report to have been shown how much money their firmed helped them save. This presents a great opportunity to reinforce the value of your services. 05
Do You Know How Happy Your Clients Are? The key to growing your existing client-base starts with categorizing accounts based on their satisfaction with your firm. A short online survey sent to your clients allows them to answer in their own time and prompts more honesty in their feedback. Once you collect responses, categorize them to get a clear picture of common trends and service issues that may need to be addressed. This process allows you to not only save accounts that may be at risk of leaving, but also identify clients who are perfect candidates to provide referrals or testimonials. Executing an effective satisfaction survey doesn t have to be complex. Adopt a simple yet action-oriented 3-question satisfaction survey using the popular Net Promoter Score (NPS ) methodology. The average client satisfaction score for accounting firms is 31%, shown in the graph below. 2015 Accounting Industry Client Satisfaction Benchmarks 75% World class client satisfaction is 70% NPS 53% 50% 31% 25% 11% 0% Accounting Industry Overall Satisfaction Lead- Contact s Satisfaction with Firm Day-to-day Contact s Satisfaction with Firm 06
About Inavero Rooted in service quality research for accounting firms, our proprietary online surveying software leverages the Net Promoter Score methodology to help you easily measure your client s satisfaction. Additionally, you can capture testimonials to increase new business, discover how you stack up against your competitors, and earn an award for exceptional service quality. Satisfaction Survey 101: Download Inavero s guide to accounting firm satisfaction surveys for free at www.inavero.com/nps-guide Notes for this Guide: Net Promoter Score, NPS and Net Promoter are registered trademarks of Fred Reicheld, Satmetrix and Bain & Company. For more information, go to www.netpromoter.com. 07
Copyright 2015 Inavero, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Net Promoter, NPS, and Net Promoter Score are trademarks of Satmetrix Systems, Inc., Bain & Company, and Fred Reichheld.