If you want to succeed in business, you’ve got to differentiate yourself. That also applies to accountancy firms, of course. You must give prospects and clients clear reasons to choose you and not one of your competitors. If you don’t, they might not choose you at all. So, how can you set your accountancy firm apart?
1. Really listen to your clients
A key reason why relationships turn sour is when someone believes they’re not being listened to. If your clients are speaking to you but they believe you’re not listening, pretty soon they could go and find another accountant who does actually listen to them. You have to stay close to your clients and listen to what they tell you. You must answer their questions, actively seek their feedback and genuinely listen to it. Listening to customers better enables you to understand them and continue to meet their individual needs.
2. Respond quickly to your clients
There’s nothing more annoying than having to wait seemingly ages for a reply after you’ve telephoned or emailed someone. We all hate that, don’t we? If your clients contact you and you don’t respond quickly, they may feel (rightly or wrongly) that they’re not important to you, which could soon lead them to looking for a new accountant. Life is often very busy when you’re an accountant, but fully commit to responding quickly to your clients and delivering on that promise. Whether they respond quickly when you contact them, well, that could be a different matter, of course.
3. Exceed your clients’ expectations
Meeting client expectations is nothing special. Clients wouldn’t come to you if they thought you wouldn’t at very least meet their expectations. But where you can really set yourself apart is by exceeding their expectations. Aim to delight them, perhaps by being quicker or superior in another way. Offer better customer service. Save them more time, money and hassle. Make their lives easier. Always seek to provide better value to your clients, because that will set your accountancy firm apart in a very powerful and meaningful way.
4. Give your clients more flexibility
Give your clients a range of solutions and let them choose which one they want. Where necessary, create bespoke solutions to their specific challenges. Provide attractive add-on services. Don’t be too rigid as regards your services, be more flexible. Give your clients more flexible ways to pay you, such as monthly fees spread over the course of a year rather than one annual lump sum. Do occasional meetings after hours or at weekends. Meet clients at their premises, don’t always expect them to come to you.
5. Keep your clients well informed
There’s lots of content out there aimed at small businesses, but much of it is poor. That includes content created by accountancy firms. Often the tone is wrong or the content is boring and inaccessible because it’s burdened with jargon. More than ever, small businesses need information they can rely on. You can give them information that helps them to be more successful. You should update them about tax and financial matters that affect them. Regularly keeping your clients informed with reliable, engaging, plain-English content can set your accountancy firm apart from its competitors.
6. Serve a specific market niche
Although it might sound like it defies logic, trying to be all things to all clients can weaken your appeal. Success in business is often fuelled by being the top or one of the top suppliers to a specific market niche. Your accountancy form could differentiate itself by specialising in serving small businesses operating in specific sectors, whether it’s agriculture, the arts, digital marketing, manufacturing, retail, etc. Building up specific experience within a specific sector and having an impressive client base to prove it could really set you apart.
7. Give your clients superb software
One-size-fits-all – who wants that? Most of us prefer something that’s perfectly suited to our specific circumstances and needs. This is certainly true when it comes to accounting software. Once again, the software that you get your clients to use can also help to set you apart. Rather than recommending software that’s more difficult to understand and use, with a range of features that your clients don’t want or need, using high-quality software that offers great value for money, that’s been created with your clients’ practical needs in mind could really help to set you apart from your competitors. It could just be one reason among many why your clients love your accountancy firm.
Coconut can help your clients to better manage their business. It’s also ideal for small private landlords. To find out why Coconut is the perfect time and money-saving accounting solution for even your smallest clients, book a short demo. Alternatively, sign up for a free Coconut Partner Account and explore Coconut in your own time. Use Coconut to help to really set your accountancy firm apart from the rest.
