The Connected Accountant

Not rocket science, but....

The Proactive Accountant Blog (a part of the UK's Accounting Web) has details on the four steps to take to help clients through a recession.  The genesis for this was a survey that said that 17% of business owners do not expect their business to survive the current downturn. 

So the steps, and, like I said, this is not rocket science, are:

ONE - Proactively start a dialogue with clients about the recession and how to beat it

TWO - Proactively help them to understand the facts about the recession and the facts about what it means for their businesses and their families

THREE - Proactively help them to create action plans for dealing with the implications of these facts for them and their family

FOUR - Proactively help them to implement those plans – and update them in the light of what happens

To which I would add:

FIVE - Provide a flow of benchmarking information on the economy and their industry to allow them to see their progress

SIX - Gently remind them of the progress they have made with your help.  How they have survived and are positioned to thrive

"Accountants Drag Their Feet When It Comes To CRM"

Or so says the UK website Accountingweb.co.uk.

While the information may appear to be UK-specific, it does have some interesting findings/suggestions:

• Accountants want a way to manage cross-sell/up-sell e-mail campaigns - and not much else.

• Accountants are reluctant to adapt generic CRM to their practices.  Niche providers such as Sage or CCH are having better luck by integrating CRM into their other software offerings.

• Thereare more options for CRM - at a  variety of price-points - than ever before. 

It is clear that the usage of CRM is growing within accounting firms, although there appear to be few ardent champions of its use at the moment.  This seems to be the opposite from the legal community, where its adoption has been deeper and stronger.

Aha - Pt. II

Ever had a BFO moment? A BFO is a Big Flash of the Obvious – when something that should have been apparent ages ago all of a sudden reveals itself to you – A Damascene conversion, if you like.

At a recent ASAE (The association for associations!) event, the buzz was all about social media and that was where I got it.  At this point, other IGAF Worldwide staff members probably said, “at last – we have only been telling him for the past 2 years!”  -  But if associations are really about bringing people together then this is really the way forwards.

So (tooting own horn alert) it is great to see that a couple of early adopters of this coolness (not to mention representatives of pretty far-sighted firms by any measure) appear to be somewhat pleased with IGAF Worldwide, but perhaps more importantly with the peer firms that are in the membership.

First of all, Mark Bailey in his Innovative Practice Management blog said nice things about our member firms, and then, in Scott Heintzelman's   blog, he was also very complimentary.  Finally, a group that sometimes gets short shrift in accounting firms - the marketers - got some very positive comments on guru Bruce Allen's  blog.

So, turning off the self-promotion, communication is key - building member loyalty takes consistency of communication and a judgment as to the 'right amount' to keep the message to the forefront without being overwhelming.  Your members want to hear from you - Do they, or do they get an unnerving silence?