Client Satisfaction Starts with ‘Likeability’

The science behind happy customers.

By Hitendra Patil
Pransform Inc.

In “The 9 Building Blocks of a Winning Vision that the Big Four Have Discovered,” August J. Aquila and Robert J. Lees brought out the common vision elements of Big Four firms. And one of them is “put the best people at our clients’ disposal.

It’s NOT common sense! It’s actually human behavioral science. You will be surprised to know how this works at a much deeper level than you think.
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How to Turn Client Surveys into New Revenues

Download the sample client satisfaction survey.

by Ed Mendlowitz

Question: Is there any value to sending clients a survey?

Response: Yes.  Our firm sends a survey with every deliverable to a client.  We want to know what they think and how they feel about our service.

I think your best friends are the clients that complain.  This gives you an opportunity to correct any deficiencies or exceptions.

One time a long time very good client put on the survey that we were great but our fees were high.  I immediately met with him, reviewed our charges, had the time runs and details of everything extra we had been doing beyond the scope of our engagement, and the value to the client.  In the following year he recommended two clients to us!  I don’t believe we would have gotten the referrals had he not complained.

Here is a sample of a survey we’ve used: READ MORE →

How Long Can You Keep a Client?

Clients say: Not as long as you think.

If you’re a finance manager on the client side, what do you say?

by Rick Telberg

Are most CPAs fooling themselves?

If you ask a CPA, as CPA Trendlines has been doing since 2006, how long they typically keep a client, you’ll get a fairly consistent answer through the years.

If you ask a client how long they’ve worked with their current CPA firm, you’ll also get a fairly consistent answer.

The problem is: The CPA and the client disagree. READ MORE →

How CFOs Choose a New CPA Firm

What you need to know. How finance executives pick accounting firms: Join the survey; get the answers. by Rick Telberg Here’s some good news for accounting firms: Most companies stick with their CPA firms for at least five to 10 … Continued

Clients’ Calls At Home

Are there no limits to availability? Here at CPA Trendlines, Ed Mendlowitz answers some of the toughest questions practitioners can throw at him. He’s the right one to ask. After more than 40 years in the business – building his … Continued

Four Tough Client Service Problems

And dozens of possible solutions from staffers…

At a recent staff workshop, there was a brainstorming session to answer some key questions about what constitutes excellence in client service. Four questions were placed on the table:

1. How can we make it easier for our clients to do business with us?

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