Is Your CPA Firm Losing Clients? Here are 10 Often Ignored Aspects!

If asked for the major reasons why a CPA firm loses a client, we are sure that you are already aware of the primary ones. Poor customer/client support, limited service offerings, inadequate knowledge, and poor tax planning are some of the top reasons that push a client away.

However, other than these, there are some minor issues that can make a client rethink their association with your CPA firm. Even though it is imperative to concentrate on your core skills, ignoring less obvious blunders can impact your business reputation tremendously. Given the fact that your competition is just a click away, it is of utmost importance to put your best foot forward in all aspects.

10 Often Ignored Areas That Can Drive Clients Away from Your Firm

1. An Outdated Website

When it comes to marketing, creating a website is often the first thing that CPA firms dive into. However, you’ll be surprised to know how often it is neglected. A website that is not updated regularly can be a big reason behind losing prospective clients, even faster than you can Google “How to improve the client experience?”.

Digital marketing and website design trends keep changing from time to time; thus, it is essential to continue updating your site at least once in five years to avoid looking dated. The user interface of a website is very crucial, but don’t neglect the functionality too.

Make sure to check if all the pages and links are working. Does your CPA accounting website have an SSL certificate? Is it mobile-friendly? Are all the website contact forms working? Does the website represent your business correctly? These are just a few things to take care of concerning your CPA accounting website.

2. Inconsistent Branding and Usage of Logo

Branding is another concept that is often ignored by CPA businesses. It is essential to ensure consistency with your brand logo, brand messaging, and other collaterals. Your competitors are doing all they can to acquire your clientele, so working on brand building is important to ensure the success of your business.

On a monthly basis, have someone in your firm to perform a quick audit of all your online/offline marketing collaterals to ensure consistency all across. This is especially important if you have outsourced CPA marketing to an agency.

Start by creating a brand narrative for your firm and make sure it is reflected across every touchpoint, be it social media, internal and external emails, collaterals, and print/media advertising. If you choose to ignore this aspect, your business prospects will find it very difficult to identify you and comprehend the benefits of your offerings.

3. Not Addressing Negative Reviews

Negative reviews happen even to the best finance and accounting service providers; however, not addressing those reviews can impact your business more than your Google ranking. Who likes criticism, particularly when done on a public platform?

However, it is important to respond to those reviews on time whatsoever. Make it a point to acknowledge your clients’ feedbacks and express regret for any inconvenience caused.

If possible, take the conversation offline as soon as possible by requesting the person who gave to review to contact you directly to discuss this further. Giving such fast and thoughtful replies speaks highly of your commitment and also helps in letting your readers know that there is the other side to the story, as well.

4. An Abandoned Blog Section

If you took out time to create a blog for your business, then it is crucial to make that hard work count by updating it with informative content regularly. Keeping your blog updated helps in establishing your CPA accounting firm as a thought leader while also helping you gain better rankings on the search engines.

Nevertheless, a blog that highlights redundant content sends out a completely different message, as it appears that you are overlooking your business and are not abreast of the latest industry trends. If you don’t have the time and resources to publish content on your blog, then outsourcing it to a reliable firm that understands your industry and target audience is a viable option.

5. Failing to Differentiate your CPA Firm

To explain this point in simple terms, it is important to establish why and how your business differs from other finance and accounting firms. This is also referred to as your USP (Unique Selling Position). As you establish your USP, it should then form a core part of your overall marketing strategy. Indeed, you may be offering the same solutions as your competitors, but this makes it even more important to create the USP of your business.

The finance and accounting industry is highly competitive in nature, and you need to ensure that you give your prospects a valid reason to hire your firm and not any other. Beyond messaging, it is crucial that you showcase your brand correctly and highlight what value add you can provide to your prospective clients.

6. Not taking an Ideal Clientele

Many CPA accounting firms, especially those that are smaller in scale or perhaps the start-ups, happily engage with any paying client that comes their way. Even though at times, this may be needed to ensure business survival, no corporate can be everything to all people.

Businesses usually commit the mistake of assuming that they can provide generic solutions to people from all walks of life. Sadly, this can end up impacting your business negatively. In case you are not catering to a targeted audience, your brand will never resonate with your ideal clientele. Having a clear understanding of your target audience will help in strategizing your outreach endeavors, thereby saving you time, effort, and money.

One way to stand out is by building a niche for your business. You can do so with the help of attributes like;

• Specific demographic n s (income, age, etc.)
• Particular industry segments
• Specific occupations

By narrowing down your clients based on these particular subsets, you can easily customize your marketing endeavors and make the clients feel supported and special.

7. Poor Search Engine Optimization

No business hides their website for a purpose, but having a website and not optimizing it for the search engines would do no good either. In order to drive traffic to your website, it is important to focus on proper SEO. There are various factors that determine where your website ranks in the search engines, from online website content, link building, targeted keywords to online reviews.

So, it is advisable to seek professional help for the same and ensure that search engine optimization forms the central part of your venture.

8. Inactive Social Media Platforms

Just as the case is with outdated sites and inactive blogs, an out-of-date social media presence can have a huge negative impact on your business. The potential client base always prefers an experienced accounting professional, to begin with.

However, they also seek a human connection. If clients are on the lookout for a CPA, they, needless to say, require more support than any software can provide them, so don’t forget to reflect your human side! If a prospect happens to check out your company’s Facebook page, an empty or an outdated feed clearly reflects a “We don’t care!” attitude. Thus, make it a point to send regular updates across all your social media platforms.

9. Not Updating Your LinkedIn Profile

These days, everybody prefers to learn more about businesses they intend to hire by researching them on the web. Prospective clients, when looking for a CPA, Google the name of the firm and see what profiles show up. The best part here is that you can create your business narrative, and LinkedIn is a good place, to begin with as it showcases a clean and structured image.

Make sure to update your ‘about us’ section and experience, add a profile image, share relevant articles, participate in related business groups, and create connections with your prospects.

10. Not Leveraging Facebook Advertisements

Facebook has one of the highest active mobile users, thus making it one of the largest marketing platforms. Nevertheless, it is important to run relevant ads and target the right

audience set so that you don’t end up wasting your ad budget with none/minimal leads. The marketing campaigns for Facebook must be created depending on your ideal clientele, demographics, and competition.

Summary

From your CPA website, search engine optimization, and latest content updates to social media marketing and optimization, it is vital for CPA firms to pay equal attention toward marketing as they would do for their core operations. This is critical to reach the right audience and attract them to your business.

However, if you want to focus on improving your CPA firm from a 360-degree angle, you might find that you are already too busy handling clients and providing them with quality services. If this is the case with you, one of the best solutions is to outsource CPA accounting services to a competent firm like Cogneesol.

We are a team of expert accountants who can provide complete, round-the-clock support with accounting operations, enabling you to get more time for increasing your client base and overall business growth. Learn more about our services in detail; call us at +1 833-313-3143 or send an email to [email protected].

Read Also:

Outsourcing Accounting for CPA Firms – A Better Way to Manage Your Accounts!

Roundups: What Services CPA Firms Usually Outsource and Why?