How to Maximize your CPA firm's Growth with CRM

When we talk about CPA firms, the usual picture that crosses our mind is that of a traditional company with executives having piles of paper in front of them.

However, things are changing with the rapid digitization. Drilling through the Excel reports and frantically looking for data is a thing of the past. To scale up, CPA firms are relying on CRM software.

At that point, when you are wondering what it takes to streamline your day-to-day business process, a CRM perfectly automates many of the tedious tasks involved in managing customer interactions and leads. 

But before jumping into how CRM software can help your CPA firm grow faster and more efficiently than ever before, let's first explore exactly what makes up a CRM system:

Get set with a goal. A clear goal!

So, you have a business and your objective is to maximize your revenue goals. But wait! Do you have clear business goals? If not, it’s high time you set your goals. 

Without it, you cannot have a clear understanding of the growth plan. Keep in mind, your business, revenue, and growth are related to each other on the scale of importance. 

Once this is done, start thinking about the resources available—financial or otherwise. And, once you have everything in place, you can start crafting your plan of action. So, set your goals as early as possible!

Next, comes your customer journey

The integral part of your business growth starts by identifying customer journeys. The customer journey is the path that a person or organization takes with you, whether they are bringing in new business or buying something. 

You can think of it as their journey through the world of your company—from understanding what it does to see if they want to use it and then finally taking action.

Customer/Buyers’ journey involves several stages. And, before a person makes a purchase decision, they travel through these stages. First, they get to know about your products and that's the awareness stage. 

And they check out several products (financial products, to be specific in this case) of the same line before considering them. Then comes the purchase decision. 

But that’s not all. After the purchase, brands must follow up with each customer to nurture them. Nurturing your customers even after they make a purchase increases customer retention rates. 

Eventually, they become your CPA firm’s best advocates and keep returning to you whenever they need something.

Drill through the customer's mindset

Your customers are more likely to buy from you if they feel that you know them and understand their needs. Especially in CPA firms, where people come mostly for financial things, it’s important to identify their needs and preferences. Accordingly, you can provide them with the right kind of solutions.

If you are running a CPA firm, it’s crucial to build relationships. And, when you know about their journey it will be easier to connect.

Gain insights into your personal biases and blind spots.

• Understand the biases of your team. Get aware of the likes and dislikes of your team while keeping their work process in context. For example, if one of your employees is using Excel over other formats (like Google Sheets), then both you and your team members need to keep in mind that you need to know their demands too.
• Understand the blind spots of your team members' customers: What do they care most about? How do they prefer being served? If there's an issue with accuracy or timeliness that affects these customers' business operations (and therefore affects them financially), ask yourself whether there are ways around this obstacle before recommending solutions based on what seems like good advice at first glance; otherwise, those suggestions may cause more harm than good over time because they won't solve anything!

Scale Up with the implementation of CRM

Apart from streamlining your day-to-day business processes, the primary role of CRM software lies in improving client communication and increasing efficiency. Here are some steps to take to successfully implement a CRM system in your accounting firm:

1. Identify your business goals: A clear business goal helps improve client retention and revenue, as well as enhance customer satisfaction. It impacts your long-term goals thoroughly.
2. Choose the right CRM: A CRM product comes with many different features, but the one you choose must be in line with the needs of your CPA firm.
3. Segregate your client groups: With CRM software, you can segregate your client interest based on needs, preferences, and behaviors. Accordingly, you can tailor your marketing goals.
4. Integrate with your existing systems: Ensure your CRM system integrates seamlessly with your existing systems, such as your accounting software and email marketing platform.
5. Give adequate training to your team: A well-trained team can match the evolving business needs and help you align with the workflow generated by the CRM Software.
6. Automate processes: Every CRM software facilitates automating key tasks to bring productive efficiency and results.
7. Monitor and analyze campaign performance: Track the performance of each marketing campaign you run.

After scaling up your business needs strategy, CRM software helps you accelerate the strategy to the right goal.

And Finally…

From promoting your CPA firm to its customer service management, the accountant’s CRM software can play a key role in scripting your business growth. 

No doubt it is indispensable for everything- right from the new students learning about working at an accounting firm or seasoned veterans who have been around for years and know what works best (or not!).