would your clients recommend you to a friend? finance managers and accountants compare notes in new study.<\/i><\/p>\n
by rick telberg<\/b>
\nat large<\/i> <\/p>\n
it has been widely established that new clients are most often found not through direct mail or web sites, but through the recommendations of friends, or at least friendly clients. with that in mind, we’ve been exploring the territory shared by cpas and their clients.<\/p>\n
we weren’t too surprised to find that 43 percent expected “nearly every client, or over 80 percent” to recommend them. another 38 percent said “most” (60% to 80%) would do the same, and 15 percent figured that at least half their clients loved them. <\/p>\n
that’s not bad. in fact, it sounds pretty good.
\nstill, that left a relatively forlorn three percent who think that fewer than half their clients appreciate them enough to recommend them. it may just be a margin of error. <\/p>\n
or they may be the few realists. as we’ll find out in a future installment in this series, cpas in business and industry say they are far less likely to recommend their incumbent external accountants than those accountants seem to believe.
\nso maybe this three percent knows something the rest of us don’t. we listened. so should you.<\/p>\n
an anonymous owner of a small cpa firm checked off several reasons why a client would part ways with a cpa. two reasons were “bad personal chemistry” and the ever-popular “price, fees and affordability”. a third reason echoed back to the first: “we fire them for business reasons.” his or her advice: “focus more on the client’s success.” <\/p>\n
the revelations here are part of a large, continuing study by bay street group llc into cpa-client relations. you still have a chance to add your voice to the study and pick up a copy of the early results so far.<\/p>\n
our investigations have not been limited to the united states alone. stuart jones, a top-level manager at 3ca in kendall, cumbria, u.k., is similarly short on optimism. what does he think drives clients away? just one thing: “telling them what their problems are.” <\/p>\n
mike chaffee, who does public accountancy at a small payroll firm in troy, mich., figures fewer than half of his clients love him enough to recommend him. he says poor client service is what turns clients into ex-clients, and this is his advice: “learn what their problems are, determine if we can scratch their itch satisfactorily, and convince them that their effort and cost is well worth the value of controlling or eliminating their problems.”<\/p>\n
stephen n. broder, sole proprietor of a firm in cherry hill, n.j., thinks only 20 percent to 40 percent of his clients would recommend him. he loses clients when they look for a cheaper deal or move away. his recommendation: “always stay in touch, newsletter, phone calls. return phone calls within 24 hours.”<\/p>\n
tony waked, of waked igal in montreal, sees himself about as popular as broder, and his advice sounds about the same: “be very close to your client,” he says. <\/p>\n
one pessimistic sole proprietor expected that fewer than one in five of his clients would recommend him to a friend. why do clients split? they need different services, they have a friend at another firm, they’ve got a personal-chemistry conflict with the current firm, or, again, they’re looking for cheap services. <\/p>\n
another top manager at a small firm wouldn’t be surprised if 80 percent or more of his clientele declined to recommend him. he said he wasn’t sure what drives clients away, but besides price, it might be that they go out of business or move away. <\/p>\n
what do his clients want? “big refunds.” <\/p>\n
the advice of this three percent is all good. and we thank them for permitting us to use their names and comments. we just wish we could cheer them up. they must be doing something right. if they follow their own advice, surely their clients must love them more than they think.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"