how to find new success by shifting your firm’s focus from service-centric silos to client-centric goal-setting.
most accounting firms believe they provide pretty good client service. and most of them are probably right. until they hear edi osborne, a client-service evangelist.
there are other firms that strive to deliver more than just satisfactory service. they are seeking to go a step further, something beyond merely satisfying clients, something akin to wowing clients. perhaps they know what bain & co. consultant fred reichheld discovered in 1995: even among clients who say they are perfectly “satisfied,” half will change providers anyway. clearly, customer satisfaction is not enough. something more is needed.
to be sure, more accountants today are focused on pushing fresh tax returns out the door than on esoteric discussions of client service. but it’s exactly when you have the client’s most ardent attention that you have a real opportunity to vault past mere satisfaction.
one response to “the big mistake cpas make in client service”
rajiv
rick, loved your piece , however a few suggestions-
profit centers and cost centers should have been highlighted in that those are the things that cpa’s can help out clients with. does that mean that we become cost accountants and help in internal controls of the business. no, rathar just listen to the client because sometimes the problem is not in understanding what they are saying but in what they are not saying!!
regards
rajiv walia
ca india, cpa (not in practice)