In any industry, building strong relationships with clients is key to long-term success. It’s especially true for accounting firms, as strong relationships can create trust between you and your client – and if your client trusts you, they may be willing to pay for an extra or higher tier service.
But creating strong relationships doesn’t always come naturally to everyone, especially in our digital age. So, what can you do to build lasting relationships?
Clear and transparent communication
Open and honest communication is the bedrock of any relationship, including business relationships. From the outside, make sure your clients understand what you offer and what they can expect from your services. Be clear about timelines, prices, and deliverables to avoid any confusion.
Crucially, you need to let clients know how they can reach you and be clear that no question is a stupid one – if the goal is to build a lasting relationship, you need to help them feel comfortable contacting you.
It’s also important to listen carefully. Clients appreciate when their concerns and preferences are heard and acted upon, and taking the time to listen shows that you value their input and are committed to meeting their needs.
Consistency and reliability
Consistency in your work is essential for building trust with clients. If you’re not delivering on promises and achieving your deadlines, your client will hardly trust you – and may even look for assistance elsewhere.
But things do, and will, go wrong at your firm, so you won’t always be able to hold up your end. If an issue does arise, address it promptly and professionally. Mistakes happen. How you handle them will determine the future of your client relationship.
Personalise your service
Clients ultimately want to be understood; one of the best ways to do that is by personalising your services. Get to know your clients deeper—understand their business goals, challenges, and preferences. This helps you offer tailored advice and solutions that truly address their needs.
This can be difficult, as other work will always distract you from developing a deep understanding of every client. One solution, championed by Will Farnell, is to embrace the latest technology and allow it to handle routine work while you focus on strategic, face-to-face work with clients. If anything, it’s a far more enjoyable working experience for many accountants!
The power of branding and marketing
A client trusting you as an accountant means, at its core, that they think you’re experienced and knowledgeable enough to help take their business forward. So why not prove it by looking at your branding and marketing strategy?
Your marketing is all about what you say. So, if you share your expertise in a blog post or newsletter that clients can read for free, they’re more likely to trust that you know your profession – having the qualifications is well and good, but for people who don’t know what ‘chartered accountant’ means, proving your knowledge is far more valuable.
Your branding is all about how you say what you say. It’s the images you use, the colour scheme of your website, and so much more. Does yours say ‘accountant who understands the modern world’? Or ‘accountant stuck in the old one’?
Be approachable and friendly
Don’t underestimate the power of being approachable and friendly in everything you do. Clients are more likely to maintain a relationship with someone they enjoy working with.
Be professional, but don’t be afraid to show some personality. Simple acts like sending a friendly email or remembering personal details (birthdays, major milestones) can go a long way.
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