As service suppliers, accountants have all the time paid shut consideration to offering distinctive consumer service to their purchasers. Whereas that’s nonetheless crucial, consumer service just isn’t sufficient.
In recent times, speak of a broader consumer expertise has begun to take maintain within the trade. This technique grew in significance in mild of the coronavirus pandemic when face-to-face interplay was restricted and expertise proved you may work with a service supplier wherever on the earth. Discovering a method to make sure each interplay a consumer has along with your agency is intentional and distinctive is now a necessary a part of consumer retention.
In an ideal situation, a agency would have a 360-degree consumer expertise the place each interplay from prospect to ex-client is steady. Every expertise is fastidiously evaluated with strategies put in place in a calculated technique to affect the consumer’s impression of working with you and the way working with you makes them really feel. You’d use inside information and surveys to measure your self as you attempt to supply higher experiences recurrently.
If that sounds daunting, that’s as a result of it’s! As a substitute, work on enhancing one side of the consumer expertise at a time till you finally get to that holistic view. You’ll reap the advantages that include each enchancment alongside the way in which.
1. The phases of the consumer expertise
Shopper expertise will get fairly granular and might look, and may look, at each side of what you do. That’s why no two corporations may have the identical consumer expertise—they’ve totally different individuals, processes, expertise, beliefs and a lot extra that may affect their consumer expertise program. Nevertheless, whenever you have a look at consumer expertise, contemplate the next phases:
1. The pre-client expertise – Each interplay you could have main as much as the “sure.”
2. The consumer expertise – Each interplay a consumer has with any member of the agency at any time limit from the second they comply with work with you.
3. The rehire determination – What influences a call to rent you for a further service or to rent you once more for a similar service.
4. The previous consumer expertise – The way you off-board a consumer and the way it’s possible you’ll proceed to have interaction with them sooner or later.
Pay particular consideration to these factors in a consumer journey when work is handed off between departments. In lots of corporations, professionals don’t deal with who will contact the work subsequent. Maybe you’ve seen this when tax professionals assume auditors ought to ask for one thing whereas on-site to assist with the tax return. Or when your CAS group has wrapped up a consumer’s yr finish however has not let your tax group know to begin the return. These hand-offs are ripe for enchancment that gained’t simply make your purchasers completely happy, however will actually be an sudden delight.
Now, these phases all have many processes hooked up to them—all which might be price enchancment efforts. For instance, step one for a brand new consumer is perhaps an onboarding course of. You even have the presentation of the preliminary deliverable which can look totally different than future deliverables to the identical consumer. And for brand new purchasers, there could also be a course of that acknowledges who referred the corporate to you and a survey put up supply to see how you probably did. There are many particular person elements of the general expertise on this occasion. Enhancing any, and finally all, of them would make a big impression on the consumer’s notion of your agency.
2. Begin with a single course of
Determine that one course of you wish to begin with as you start to construct a buyer expertise. Set parameters round it. Consider them like a objective put up through which you’ll solely have a look at a course of between the 2 posts. This could possibly be, for instance, what occurs from the signing of an engagement letter by way of the beginning of an audit. The gadgets outdoors your objective posts are initiatives for one more day.
Put collectively a cross-functional group of individuals from varied areas in your agency. Activity them with reviewing what you do at present, after which developing with methods to alter the method. This group of individuals know the method finest and are most impacted by modifications, so their buy-in to the event of a brand new course of is instrumental. An out of doors skilled or perhaps a member of your advertising and marketing group could be a beneficial addition to make sure you’re wanting on the entire image, particularly from the eyes of your prospects.
3. Give attention to the voice of your prospects
Your course of must think about what your prospects need from you. Your purchasers, who’re your exterior prospects, are solely a part of the equation. You even have to concentrate to inside prospects who’re the following individuals in a course of. For instance, it’s the primary individual to the touch a tax return after the CAS group has accomplished the year-end financials. Or the primary individual to have an interplay with a consumer account upon receiving a signed engagement letter.
In any course of there are steps that add worth to those prospects and those who don’t. You wish to deal with figuring out those who do add worth and decreasing or eliminating those who don’t. Then construct your course of in a technique to meet the calls for of these inside and exterior prospects.
It might appear overly simplistic, however you must ask: “What does the [internal or external] buyer need?” Don’t assume you realize this reply. You should ask to seek out out for certain. That might embody a cellphone/video name or go to to X variety of purchasers. Or it could possibly be a survey to the purchasers to seek out the solutions. Or reviewing data collected in a previous survey. What you assume issues and what really does will not be the identical.
4. Look to repeatedly enhance what you do
With a brand new course of in hand, you should definitely prepare internally; seemingly a number of occasions to bolster the method. Set measurement standards so you’ll be able to decide in case your modifications are serving to you attain your targets. And get your group again collectively sooner or later, maybe six months out, to revisit the method and guarantee no different tweaks are wanted. This isn’t a set it and neglect about it course of. You’ll be able to all the time do extra to make sure completely happy inside and exterior prospects so don’t be afraid to make modifications instantly and time beyond regulation to do what you do even higher.
Making a consumer expertise doesn’t should be daunting. Begin with a single course of. That course of will open your eyes and ears to extra processes that should be developed or reengineered. Earlier than lengthy, you’ll start to have a extra holistic consumer expertise. Layer on that distinctive consumer service you’ve instilled in your group, and also you’ll have extra loyal current purchasers, extra individuals who wish to work with you and better revenues.
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