Introduction
It’s no secret that accounting agencies have grown tremendously over the past decade and their services are in high demand. According to the Accountant’s Profitability Report 2020, small businesses are increasingly relying on accountants to free up their time and help them grow. So if you’re an accounting agency doing the same, staying ahead of the competition and increasing sales and profitability is key.
This article shares some of the most effective strategies to increase your accounting agency sales and profitability. You’ll discover how to leverage technology to automate existing processes, win new customers, maximize efficiency, and accelerate growth.
Offer subscription-based services
Subscription-based services are one of the best strategies an agency can use to increase sales and profitability. It offers customers flexibility, potential discounts and more reliability. Long-term customers are more likely to keep their subscription active than a one-time purchase.
For example, an accounting agency may charge clients for annual plans versus monthly plans. The annual plan can offer customers up to 10% off their total cost and keeps the customer engaged for 12 months. This leads to a much larger annual commitment than any one-time purchase.
Benefits
- More reliable source of income
- Reduce customer turnover
- Higher earnings with discounts
- Keeps customers engaged
When calculating sales projections, you need to plan what the growth rate might be based on subscriptions. For example, if the monthly subscription rate is 0, the annual rate is 0 (10%). If the agency whistles 3 new clients this month, the total expected annual sales can be calculated as 3 x 0 = ,850.
Subscription-based services are a reliable strategy to drive sales and profitability. It helps agencies keep their clients engaged and offers them discounts for long-term engagements. For agencies looking for more reliable sources of revenue and a steady rate of growth, the use of subscription-based services should be considered.
Develop use cases and case studies around successful accounting jobs
Developing use cases and case studies around successful accounting jobs is a great tool to increase sales and profitability for your accounting agency. In a nutshell, a use case is a list of actions or events that describe the outcome of a particular process.
These cases can feature real applications of your products or services, giving potential customers more insight into your team’s capabilities. Similarly, a case study is a more detailed examination of the effects the product may have on the customer. This type of proof will be extremely attractive to a potential customer and can potentially lead to increased sales.
Creating a use case or business case requires tracking certain aspects of the project. Be sure to pay close attention to variables such as the time it takes to complete the job, the cost involved, and the savings that have been made by using your services. By illustrating the beneficial outcome of the project, it will help demonstrate the reliability of your team and ultimately help you increase your sales.
In addition to tracking monetary and time-based variables, be sure to include customer feedback. This can be conveyed through customer satisfaction surveys or through live testimonials. Customer feedback greatly enhances the credibility of your case study and could potentially influence the customer’s decision on whether to use your services.
Another great strategy is to share your use cases and case studies across different channels. Use your social media, email campaigns, and website to fill potential customers with success stories that have come through your office. This will help create a buzz around your agency and could lead to increased sales.
Let’s look at an example case study to see the financial impact use cases and case studies can have. Let’s say your bookkeeping services saved a client ,500 each month. At the end of the year, that would be ,000 in savings. It is likely that this client will come back to you for future services, as well as recommend your services to others.
By developing use cases and case studies around successful accounting jobs, you can show potential clients the value your team brings and the savings they can gain. By doing so, you can increase sales and ultimately increase the overall profitability of your accountancy firm.
Leverage word of mouth / referrals
Word of mouth and referrals are one of the most effective strategies for increasing sales and profitability for an accounting firm. By leveraging the power of these strategies, you can quickly increase your customer base and generate more revenue. Plus, you can use referrals to create brand recognition, boost customer loyalty, and attract new customers.
Here are some tips for leveraging word-of-mouth/referrals for your accounting agency:
- Encourage customers to refer others. Provide incentives to customers who refer their friends, family and colleagues. Offer discounts or rewards for successful referrals.
- Facilitate referral for customers. Provide referral cards or links to share and make the referral process as smooth and easy as possible.
- Engage with your customers. Reach out to customers regularly, ask for feedback, and let them know how much you value their referrals.
- Follow up with references. Be sure to quickly follow up on referrals and thank those who referred customers who eventually became customers.
Allowing customers to share their experiences and recommend your services through word of mouth and referrals can lead to more sales, longer customer relationships, and greater profitability. For example, if an agency has 500 clients, each of whom has made an average of four other clients at the agency. This will translate to 2,000 additional clients for the agency and an increase in sales of approximately 0,000 (assuming an average sale of ) and a corresponding increase in profits of approximately ,000.
Target specific niches/industries
Targeting specific niches within the accounting agency industry can dramatically increase sales and profitability. By focusing on a specific service area, accounting agencies can reach clients they may have scaled while casting a wider net. Whether it’s meeting up with new clients or expanding the services provided to existing clients, the returns can be excellent.
Tips and tricks
- Research potential niches. Find underserved and highly specialized areas that can be most easily handled by your agency.
- Understand industry details. Each niche will have certain aspects and needs that must be addressed in order to be successful.
- Be prepared to invest. Advertising, full-time or part-time staff, and other areas of business will all require investment to enter the niche.
- Determine desirable criteria. Set goals and criteria such as customer size, budget, location, etc., and market it.
- Leverage customer testimonials. Positive word of mouth is invaluable and earning the trust of others will increase sales.
By targeting a niche, accounting agencies can increase their sales and profitability. By dealing with customers in a very specific way, they can avoid the headaches associated with a wide range of service offerings. An example to illustrate the financial impact that this type of targeting can have is the following:
For example, an accounting agency defines its services to target a new niche of specialized startups, such as small online retail stores using Shopify. This particular industry has certain needs and requirements that make it attractive to the accounting agency. After researching the needs, the agency adjusts and offers services adapted to the niche. The average value of a sale for this new target market would be ,000. After an amount spent on advertising and research, the agency spends 0 to acquire a new client. Over the course of a year, the agency acquires ten clients in the niche, with a value of ,000 per client. This results in an additional year’s revenue of ,000. With an acquisition cost of 0 per customer, the net return of the targeted niche is ,500 profit in the first year, with the potential to increase this value in subsequent years.
By targeting and researching a niche correctly, accounting agencies can increase sales, profitability, and growth. Long-term relationships can develop with clients when services are tailored to niche needs and delivered with a deep understanding of the industry.
Encourage customer reviews
One of the most effective strategies for increasing an accounting firm’s sales and profitability is to incentivize client reviews and endorsements. By encouraging customers to leave positive testimonials, potential customers can learn more about your services and be more likely to do business with you.
There are several ways to incentivize customer reviews.
- Gift cards and discounts . Offer your customers a gift card or discount for submitting their reviews. This will encourage repeat customers and maximize their loyalty to your business.
- Investigations . Reach out to customers by offering surveys that lead to a discount or gift card. This allows customers to be actively involved in reviews.
- Promo Codes . Offer promo codes that give a discount when customers share their reviews on social media.
Incentivizing customer reviews can have a substantial effect on sales and profits. By increasing the number of positive reviews, your business can benefit from the trust and credibility created by these reviews. Additionally, providing incentives for customers to spread their reviews through social media can help build brand recognition and create increased demand for your services.
For example, if your accounting firm earns 0 in incremental profits each month due to increased customer reviews, your total incremental profits in a year would be ,000.
In conclusion, incentivizing client reviews can be an effective strategy to increase sales and profitability for an accounting agency. It increases customer loyalty, reliability, and brand recognition, all of which can positively impact sales.
Conclusion
In a market where bookkeeping is becoming increasingly competitive, it is essential to develop strategies to help increase sales and profitability for your bookkeeping agency. By using the strategies outlined in this article, business owners can more actively market their services, foster relationships with potential customers, and take advantage of strategic partnerships and promotions. Other strategies include automating processes, leveraging word-of-mouth and referrals, and creating various pieces of content and case studies to attract potential customers.
By using the strategies discussed in this article, accounting agencies can access long-term growth and sustainability. Additionally, incentivizing customer reviews and ratings is an important part of this process, as 86% of consumers read reviews for local businesses, according to Reviews.org. With these fundamentals in mind, accounting firms can increase sales and profitability, setting the foundation for long-term success.