Attracting clients remains a top priority since they breathe life into the business. However, while plenty of focus goes into acquiring new engagements, it’s important not to leave existing clients behind!
There’s a lot more work that goes into finding new clients, with a significant portion of business expenses, time, and effort being funneled into marketing and acquisition resources. Giving retention just as much importance will not only help your accountants maintain good relationships, but it will also save you on costs that would have otherwise been spent attracting new clients—which can be up to five times more expensive!
Retaining clients isn’t rocket science, but it requires an effort to develop quality relationships and mutual trust. After all, clients rely on finding a trustworthy firm to handle their financial information and lead them to the best outcomes given their situation.
Here are several best practices that you can develop with a qualified business consultant to further strengthen ties with your clients:
1. Reliability
Clients have put their trust in you for a reason: they expect that they can count on you to get good, thorough work done on time. While unexpected issues may arise, being reliable means informing your clients immediately with solutions that show you’re on top of the situation.
In this effort, do everything in your power to make sure that work for your clients is completed well. Clients like knowing that they are getting their money’s worth—not just in terms of the service you provide but also for their peace of mind!
2. Accessibility
Being available to respond to your clients’ most pressing needs is essential to show that they can trust you. However, it’s also necessary to set some ground rules on how they can communicate with you and when they can expect a response. There can be clients that expect you to drop everything on a whim and address their concerns immediately when they reach out to you.
Setting their expectations from the very beginning on what channels to reach you on (email or other communication platforms) and the soonest time you can respond will create a better dynamic and build trust in the long run.
3. Transparency
Remaining transparent with your clients is one of the best ways to earn their trust and strengthen your relationship. Be open with your processes and establish expectations on your services, particularly the security and privacy of their information and the fees your firm will be charging.
This isn’t just a one-way street; make sure to ask your clients how you can best fulfill their needs by drafting up an engagement letter together with your accounting consultant so that everything is crystal clear between both parties. Do not forget to foster a comfortable environment where open communication, questions, and feedback are encouraged!
4. Authenticity
When engaging with your clients, be as genuine as possible without compromising your professionalism. Clients want to be assured that they’re dealing with someone authentic without any fakeness or deceit. Accounting professionals must remember that clients are not just opportunities for business but also real people with legitimate concerns—in fact, these concerns are what prompted them to come to you!
Learn about them as people, and allow them to get to know you beyond your accounting role. It makes each interaction much more relatable, authentic, and very human.
5. Proactivity
The most trustworthy firms are those that proactively reach out to their clients. By doing so, clients will come to learn and trust that their best interest is top of mind for you and will benefit your relationship as they become more receptive to the advice offered by your accountants.
Being proactive doesn’t have to mean constantly extending your service. It could be as simple as sharing useful articles for their reference or keeping them in the loop on updates in services being offered.
Conclusion
Your firm’s relationships with its existing clients are just as important as the ones you’ll form with new clients. Building a good level of trust will not only make business transactions easier, but it will probably earn you even more referrals and contribute to business growth. Loyal, lifelong clients become partners that will keep the firm thriving for as long as it keeps doing business.
At Quasar Cowboy Consulting, we offer advisory services for bookkeeping firms and software companies with our process experts. We proudly offer our services in 24 states and four countries. Contact us today to learn how we can help your business!