CPA Practice Advisor - 7

FROM THE TRENCHES
drive for recurring revenue and
increased margins while doing
less work can provide more or less
value to the client. Automation can
reduce the amount of human labor
required, but there are still certain
activities that require time and
thought to do well.
Good enough may be an acceptable solution for many situations, but
excellent client service is rarely "good
enough." Are tools like Google Sheets
"good enough" for spreadsheet models
compared to tools like Microsoft
Excel? Is sending a calendar invitation
through Doodle, Calendy, Hubspot
or other tools, better than Microsoft
Outlook or Google Calendar? Are you
managing meetings and conference
rooms through Exchange/Outlook
and not able to see what rooms are
available or in use? Are you better
off with meeting room apps such as
Teem, Robin, RoomWizard, Workscape, MeetingMinder, or AskCody?
What are your expectations from
excellent client service? And what
should your clients' expectation
of excellent service be? In today's
on-demand, just in time world, how
much margin for error does your
business have? If you just completed
what is arguably one of the worst tax
seasons in recent memory due to
the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act changes,
how much time did you spend on
strategically thinking about the best
outcome for a client versus taking the
tactical approach of simply getting
the return out?
If you spend most of your time
in audit, how are you improving
the work product while complying
with additional regulations? Are
you providing a better presentation
this year than prior years? Are you
discussing the clients' needs and
concerns such as fraud? If you are
providing Client Advisory Services
(CAS), what strategic guidance are
you providing to clients as opposed
to simply getting the accounting and
payroll done?

My expectations for client service
are simple:
■ Feel valued as a client on every
encounter
■ Receive an excellent product or
service
■ Complete the activity in a time
efficient manner
■ Believe that the pr ice charged
was fair
While different clients have
different expectations, search for
expectation lists made by others:
5 new expectations you must meet
now, The Top Five Tips For Managing Client Expectations, Customer
Expectations: How to Meet (and
Exceed) Expectations, Top 10 Tips
for Exceeding Customer Expectations,
6 Tips to Managing Client Expectations, How to Deliver Great Customer
Service to Accounting Client?, or the
learning from Rainmaker's use of
Clearly Rated in Service Measurement
to Service Excellence: 3 Client Service
Lessons for Accounting Firms in 2018.
The team at your firm needs
to know how to provide excellent
client service. It should be clear to
them what the firm's expectation
is and that you enable each person
to provide excellent client service.
Consider building your own list of
excellent client service expectations,

and then work toward exceeding
all those expectations. Technology
tools can make each client service
interaction easier, more seamless and
professional.
What type of client interaction
points should you consider improving? Think about how you handle
these items today: email including
timeliness, signature and appearance,
phone calls including auto attendant,
live answer, voice mail, headset use
and call quality, video conferencing
including picture and sound quality,
ease of connection and clarity, portals including security, ease of use
and completeness, web site including
ease of locating information, navigation and appearance, mobile apps
including HTML5 enabled, native
or single purpose apps, meetings
including effectiveness, comfort
and follow-up, client deliverables
including graphics, professional
packaging (even electronically), and
clarity, billing and payment including ease of payment, clarity of the
invoice and agreement on terms, and
finally professionalism in appearance, quality of materials used, tools
and all surroundings, experience and
"feel." Each one of these items has
multiple competitors, yet there are
few dominant competitors in each

MAY 2019 ■

category. Improvements are made
continuously in the applications, but
opportunity still exists because no
one vendor has a complete solution.

IS CLIENT SERVICE
WORTH IT?
You tell me. Think about your
favorite restaurants, web sites,
stores, events or experiences. Why
do you like them? Why do you go
back? Is money a big object? How
do you feel that you've been treated?
How do you want your clients to feel
like they have been treated? Does
technology get in the way or is it a
help? Consider the tablet ordering at
an Applebee's, the kiosk ordering at
a McDonalds, or the self-checkout
at your local grocery store or home
building store. Better or worse?
CPA firms value client relationships. The client relationships lead
to long-term value to the client and
to the firm. Profitability of the client
increases with the services offered
and the satisfaction level obtained.
The value of the service you provide
is enhanced by the client service
you provide. And the client service
is enhanced by the technology tools
your people use and the attitude of
the people involved. Is it time to tune
up your client service? ■

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