Q&A: A Powerful Marketing Tool

Source: AICPA CPA Insider

The following includes excerpts, reproduced with permission, from an article by Vikram Rajan.

You will be speaking with all your clients in the coming weeks. Toward the end of the conversation ask, “What's one question (about taxes or money) that you're not sure if it's worth asking?”

Many of your clients' questions are about their own financial affairs … missteps, forks in the road or how they compare with others. As a CPA for many businesses and individuals, you have a wider angle than any one client. Sharing your wide-angle expertise is truly your value, over and above punching in the right numbers.

When you proactively address your clients concerns, it engenders greater loyalty, possibly more business from them and often more referrals to others. Your private, one-on-one conversations with clients are truly the greatest form of marketing.

The second best marketing tactic is communicating with your clients, colleagues and other contacts regularly and consistently. Questions from any one of your clients give you the content for your blog, newsletter and LinkedIn updates. Remember what our grade school teachers told us? “Don't be afraid to ask questions. If you have a question, most likely others do too.” Likewise, your clients' concerns represent the many unvoiced.

If you are one of the exceptional accountants who review your clients' financials and tax returns with them, ask what they understand and what they'd like clarified. While this takes more time, it takes less time than acquiring a new client.

These simple Q&A sessions are great training opportunities for your staff accountants. By including them with your clients, you are introducing your clients to your legacy. Moreover, your associates will learn the art of client service, over and above the skill of accounting.

For the complete article, read “What Your Clients Are Hiding From You.” 

From AICPA CPA Insider, January 10, 2011, http://www.CPA2biz.com.