GREAT™ Customer Service
Improve your client satisfaction with GREAT™
While most accountancy firms understand how important client satisfaction is to client retention, many do not have the necessary systems or processes in place to measure it.
How can you ensure client satisfaction?
- Keep in regular contact with your clients.
- Return phone calls and emails promptly.
- Ensure deadlines are not missed.
- Set realistic expectations - ensure the client knows by when their accounts need to be submitted and what information is required.
- Offer transparency, by billing promptly and ensuring that your client understands each item on the invoice.
- Keep clients informed about the progress of outstanding work, and about issues like extra hours taken to resolve an issue that will result in a higher bill.
- Keep clients informed about business issues, such as changes to UK tax legislation.
- Request feedback and ask how you can improve your service.
- Be prepared to adapt to changes in the marketplace.
How can GREAT™ help?
Client satisfaction is all about managing the relationship. By developing systems and processes and harnessing technology you can manage the client relationship much better.
Your staff can use the GREAT™ toolkit to analyse each process in turn and look for ways to improve them. For example, does each client get a timetable for the submission of their accounting information? Do they get a checklist of what information is required? Is there a system to check that everything has been received before a work begins for a client’s? Are clients chased before the agreed submission deadline has passed? Can this be handled by the firm management software? Has it been correctly implemented and is it utilised?
Stay in touch with clients
You need systems and processes to ensure that client databases are up to date and that names, telephone numbers and email addresses are correct. The client relationship management (CRM) system should maintain the contact details of all key staff, not just those who handle the finance function.
Telephone and email
You should have systems in place to record telephone calls and ensure they are followed up. Relevant email should be stored and archived by client.
Complaints handling
You should ensure that your complaints handling system is robust and that complaints are recorded and acted upon promptly.
Measure client satisfaction
It is important to measure client satisfaction. With GREAT™ you can produce systems for automating and handling client surveys - find out what your clients think of your services. Feedback is important.
A good customer experience will help retain clients and win new ones.