aaa minndak meeting client retention october 28, 2009

AAA MinnDak MeetingClient Retention

October 28, 2009

Agenda

1. Jim Stelten Background

2. Your Background

3. 2009 PCPS CPA Firm Survey

4. Enhance Your Client’s Experience – Where to Begin?

5. Enhance Your Client’s Experience – How to Begin?

6. What Do Client’s Expect / Deserve?

7. How to Strengthen / Deepen Client Relationships

8. What is Getting in the Way?

9. Good and Bad Customer Service Examples

2

Jim Stelten Background

• Grew Up Family Business

• Audit Manager - Arthur Andersen

• Audit / Business Consulting Partner - Divine, Scherzer & Brody

• VP Finance / Director Operations – Graham Webb – Hair Care

• VP CFO – Engage Technologies – Coding & Printing Equipment

• Senior VP COO – CBR Incorporated – Specialty Retail

3

Jim Stelten Background

Have Hired & Have Terminated Some

• CPA Firms

• Law Firms

• Insurance Brokerage Firms

• Marketing Firms

• Consultants

Won Several New Clients From CPA Firms

Lost Some Clients To Other CPA Firms

4

Jim Stelten Background

As CFO / COO

• Oversaw Many Professional Provider Audits, Tax Returns, M&A Transactions and Consulting Projects

Seen Several Examples of

• Good Customer Service

• Bad Customer Service

5

Your Background…

Expectations/Request6

2009 PCPS CPA Firm Survey

"For the first time in more than a decade, staffing was NOT the chief…concern for most CPA firms…

CLIENT RETENTION was the top challenge…the first time in this decade that firms of all sizes shared one unanimous concern…

In addition, brining in new clients was an issue for some firms for the first time since 2005.”

7

Agree? Disagree?

Why?8

“It is Five Times More Expensive to Gain a New Customer Than Keep an Existing One”

The Profitable Art of Service Recovery – Harvard Business Review

9

“63% of Firms Report That the Customer Experience Will be More Important in the Presence of a

Continued Economic Downturn”

Obstacles to Customer Experience Success - Forrester Research

10

Enhance Your Client’s Experience – Where to Begin?

• Gain Partner Support That This is HIGH Importance

• Find Out What Clients Are Thinking / Seeing

• Establish Client Service Standards

• Implement New Standards

• Monitor New Standards

11

Enhance Your Client’s Experience – How to Begin?

• Gain Partner Support That This is HIGH Importance

• Find Out What Clients Are Thinking / Seeing

• Establish Client Service Standards

• Implement New Standards

• Monitor New Standards

12

Challenges / Roadblocks

13

What Do Client’s Expect / Deserve?

14

How to Strengthen / Deepen Client Relationships

15

What Get’s in The Way of Meeting / Exceeding Client

Expectations?

16

Bad Customer Service Examples

17

Good Customer Service Examples

18

Thank You