Clients of accounting firms or sole practitioner accountants often suffer from buyer uncertainty and remorse and it is easy to see why:
People buy on emotion and justify on logic… how many emotional accountants do you know? ‘Emotion’ has been a dirty word in professional services.
It is only in the past 5-10 years that they have felt it necessary to inject personality into their communication and put some emotion into their messaging.
We are in a digital social economy where many service-based businesses give away some of their best work, to demonstrate their credibility and to educate the audience of their service proposition. Customers expect more than a transactional service, they expect a personable relationship.
Here are three areas where there is room for improvement in customer communications.
- The starting point is a negative experience such that prospective customers often:
- Feel forced to conform and comply although, by HMRC, your profession is a chink in the chain.
- Uncertain when to access accounting services, so do it late.
- Have unrealistic expectations of the cost of the service, linked to not knowing what you do.
- Lack of understanding of the full services available that could help their businesses grow.
This creates a barrier between customers accessing accounting services.
- Many accountancy firms sell what I call an ‘invisible’ box of services.
No one knows what goes on inside!
The higher the perception of undifferentiated commodity the lower the value. Professional accounting service firms must help customers by differentiating their brand. Giving accounting firm personality and showing customers the specific value to their business.
Besides word of mouth, prospective customers may not know how to make an informed choice between ‘me too’ accountancy firms. To them, many accountancy firms offer similar services, it is hard for customers to distinguish between the good and great. Customers lack the technical skill to assess accountancy qualifications and experience.
To prove this point, when I searched for the difference between chartered and certified accountants one answer was:
“A chartered certified accountant means that the accountant has received his/her qualifications the ACCA. A chartered accountant has received his/her qualifications through another governing body in the world. A certified accountant may also refer to chartered certified accountant UK.”
I remember when I started and managed a growing restaurant and bar business that employed over twenty full and part-time staff. I felt that I was working to pay PAYE, VAT, business rates, corporation tax. As soon as you pay one tax another came thick and fast, and there seemed very little break for the massive personal investment in people and property. I did not always get the right professional advice and it cost me. I was ignorant of the value of professional services, but they did not sell their value to my individual business, they sold the price for the ‘invisible box’.
- Customers are unrealistic because they are ill-informed.
Even after the initial service is provided, how can a client assess the quality of the submission? Did the firm find and apply all the relevant deductibles? How would a client know?
Customers have unrealistic expectations not only of the service but also the tax burden. Few people enjoy paying tax. The basic fact is that may customers are ill-informed, and this leads to widespread buyer uncertainty and a lack of trust. Send a personalised confirmation email of the service provided, this is an excellent opportunity to communicate value.
Rather than the above three areas being a barrier, they create opportunities for professional accounting services.
The accounting firm must create an onboarding and service delivery processes to remove barriers to their service and buyer uncertainty. Giving opportunities to deliver and even exceed customer expectations.
What required is education rather than persuasion in sales and marketing. The deepening of the relationship into a partnership is critical to building long-term and lifetime value. It is not a transactional service offered, but a trusted partner relationship. Customers can do their best work knowing they have a trusted professional accounting service in their camp.
Ensuring education is at the core of customer communication shows clients:
- The benefits of seeking an accountancy service early.
- What are the key differentiators between account services?
- Ways to access accounting service providers.
- Ways to communicate their expectations, issues, and desires with their service provider.
- What they should expect from service delivery?
- What they need to look for in early warning signs in their business growth journey.
- What they might be eligible for in deductions.
- A calendar of events or a personalised calendar of their submission deadline.
Your brand values and personality
- What other services benefits are on offer such as a loan, mentoring with example case studies?
Education of prospective customers and current clients will reduce buyer uncertainty and increase trust and loyalty. The better educated your client the higher they value your service.
When a customer perceives the accounting firms or sole practitioner accountant as the experienced professional that has solved a similar business problem for similar businesses. Reduces the risk in the decision to contract your service giving social proof with case studies and testimonials.
When many professional services are indistinguishable it is critical to brand and distinguishes unique element of your firm. Become a specialist practitioner working in one industry or with one type of client.
Building your brand is essential to help customers distinguish your accounting firm others. Survey your top 20% of clients on the attributes they look for in a professional accounting service firm. Find what differentiates your service from other competitors that they considered. When on-boarding customers, ask them what made them choose your firm, record their words and use their perspective to inform your firms brand statement. Researching what is important to your clients and building your brand around this clear communication of difference conveys what is unique about your firm. This will help to attract other similar customers.
Your brand must present brand values, emotionally engage new customers and reinforce why clients must remain with the firm over their lifetime.
Janice B Gordon is a Sage Business Expert, in Sage’s TOP 100 Global Business Influencers 2017 … and founder of Scale Your Sales. Janice will be sharing brand building strategies at Accountex on 2 May in the Sales and Marketing Theatre at 11am.