Before setting up Modus Analytics, I was the managing director of Clark Howes Group, which was sold to Baldwins (now Azets) in 2017. One of our priorities was to try and understand everything important to our clients, and to this end, our CRM system was vital.
Many businesses set aside a significant budget for marketing each year, and accountants are no exception. Measuring return on this investment will be the subject of a future article, but for now, I want to focus on the value within your database and ask the question: Are you making the most of your database, and if not, why not?
There are many easy and cost-effective business development activities you can work on by focusing on your existing clients and contacts that will both help your clients and deliver growth for your business.
Here are just some of the things you could do:
- Analyse your CRM system to identify the services clients may be interested in that you are not currently providing.
- Find out the business issues your clients are interested in so that you can tailor and personalise your communications to them.
- Pick up the phone and speak to them from time to time and record any important business or social matters discussed.
- Offer a free business health check/review to find out if there are any areas in which you can help them, either by providing your firm’s services or through your referral network of experts.
- Offer to help clients develop their business strategy, measure and monitor associated key performance indicators (financial and non-financial) and then track performance to help them grow their business. This will deliver enormous value for your client, plus move your service beyond the delivery of retrospective compliance services.
- Record, analyse and act on your referrals in and out from other contacts.
- Follow up with your client in circumstances where you know they have completed a major business transaction.
- Analyse social media sentiment in real-time. This can have several benefits. For example, it will highlight topics that are important and getting airtime, which your firm can then comment on (or post a video).