Effective CPA communication is essential to the success of any tax and accounting firm. Building rapport and trust with clients isn’t easy, but these ten best practices can help.
Jump to:
- 10. Keep clients updated
- 9. Personalize emails and contact preferences
- 8. Be transparent
- 7. Communicate professionally
- 6. Stay in touch during off-season
- 5. Provide educational content
- 4. Deliver digital convenience
- 3. Ensure CPA communication is consistent
- 2. Encourage feedback and follow up
- 1. Use secure channels
No matter how knowledgeable you are as a CPA, communication with clients is an area where even some of the best accountants struggle. Don’t let that stop you from learning! The tax and financial guidance you provide will be more fully appreciated if delivered in the right way at the right time.
So, what’s the best way for tax professionals to approach client engagement? Unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer, but there are several proven communication strategies that work in tandem.
Use these ten best practices to hone your CPA communication skills, increase client satisfaction, and foster long-lasting relationships.
10. Keep clients updated
If you want your clients to be attentive and engaged, you need to do your part to keep them in the loop. Be sure to promptly notify them about filing status updates and send reminders about upcoming deadlines.
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Explore TaxCaddy9. Personalize emails and contact preferences
Sending tax season emails to clients in bulk is a major time saver. But mass communication doesn’t mean you have to abandon the personal touch. If you use Outlook, leverage their built-in mail merge features. If you use an email marketing tool like Mailchimp or Constant Contact, use personalization (sometimes called tokens or variables) to achieve the same effect. Alternatively, you can onboard your clients to a taxpayer app that automatically personalizes communications and document request lists.
Finally, ask your clients if they prefer to be reached via email, text, or phone call. This extra level of consideration will increase the chances of your firm receiving timely responses.
8. Be transparent
Your client relationships are still business agreements at their core. To encourage trust and protect yourself from potential disputes, you should promote transparency throughout the collaboration process. This includes providing a clear engagement letter that outlines the scope of work, fees, and timeline. If you make any amendments to your agreement after the fact, be sure to put them in writing.
Navigating challenging client behavior?
Being transparent doesn’t prevent or resolve every dispute. In some cases, terminating the client relationship may be the best course of action.
Read More7. Communicate professionally
Your clients deserve outstanding service. You already know the basics: use a spell checker and communicate in a professional, courteous tone. But effective CPA communication also means prompt response times. Use a dedicated channel for clients and enable notifications, whether desktop or mobile. That way, you’re only one click (or tap) away when your clients need you. Fast service is just as important as quality service.
6. Stay in touch during off-season
You only work with certain clients seasonally, but that doesn’t mean their CPA communication line has to go silent. You can stay in touch year-round by sending casual, friendly emails on holidays or client anniversaries. If you have room in your marketing budget, postcards are another great option.
The simplest gesture could brighten a client’s day and improve their feelings about your partnership. It could even prompt clients to reach out and inquire about additional tax and financial guidance.
5. Provide educational content
Strengthen your marketing efforts, support your clients, and reinforce your subject-matter authority by sharing educational content. You can provide your own expert commentary about the latest tax updates or forthcoming regulations.
The content you share doesn’t always have to come directly from your firm. If you find a relevant article that could be helpful to your clients, why not share it with them? Social media or a monthly newsletter are appropriate channels for content sharing.
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Read More4. Deliver digital convenience
The digital experience that delighted clients six years ago is obsolete today. If you still rely on online portals (or worse, paper!), it’s time to modernize your client process. Today’s taxpayers expect a mobile app from their tax professionals, just like they do from their banks. Use an app to consolidate document uploads, e-signatures, and communications in one place. It will make your clients’ lives easier and improve response times.
3. Ensure CPA communication is consistent
Your brand identity influences how clients perceive your tax practice. Whatever message and impression you want to deliver, make sure it’s reflected consistently across all client-CPA communications.
Most firms use third-party software to collaborate with clients. Don’t forget to customize the user interface with your firm’s logo and colors. When clients upload documents or fill out their questionnaire, they should feel like they’re interacting with your tax practice—not a third-party application.
2. Encourage feedback and follow up
The best way to gauge client satisfaction is to ask for honest feedback. At the end of tax season, send out a survey asking how clients felt about their service and what could be improved. Doing so will help identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities in your client service. Some highly satisfied clients might even be willing to give testimonials that can be used in marketing materials.
Follow up with clients after surveys. Let them know you value their feedback and are working on implementing changes.
You may not be able to perfect your client experience in one tax season, but the key is to make steady improvements every year. An open feedback channel will position your firm for longer, more fruitful client relationships. Even negative feedback is an invaluable resource for enhancing your CPA communication skills and building your business.
1. Use secure channels
In addition to providing guidance and expertise, your clients trust you to keep their personal information safe. Preventative measures are critical, especially with cyber-attacks at an all-time high, according to Check Point Research’s 2023 Security Report.
Make sure that all exchanges of client documents are done through encrypted channels. While email is acceptable for general communication, it should not be used for sending and receiving sensitive information.
Using too many channels?
Use an app with secure, built-in messaging functionality to keep all client-CPA communication and document exchanges in the same place.
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