Accountants should cross-sell, clients should cross-buy
Accountants must cross-sell and encourage clients to use all of their services rather than just one, and they must also help clients ‘cross-buy', a research and consulting house said.
Beaton Consulting partner, Dr George Beaton, said clients who opted to cross-buy across multiple service lines in a firm showed higher levels of satisfaction.
He said clients preferred to use one supplier rather than multiple suppliers because it decreased their transaction costs and saved time, and it gave clients more leverage over the service provider, and it gave them more purchasing power.
"First, we know that if you manage your pricing and cost-to-serve effectively, you will make more profit from a client buying several services, compared to one buying a single service,: Beaton said.
"Second, by hugging your clients in this way, you discourage them from shopping around. You reduce the chances of them switching to another firm."
Accountants must be reliable, and clients should find it easy to do business with them in order to cross sell. By doing this, accountants can grow with their clients as their businesses expand, and grow their own share of clients' external expenditure on accountants and consultants.
"These are the top three drivers of satisfaction among clients of public accounting firms. And these are also the drivers of your clients' decisions to use your services again, and to say good things about you to business associates and friends, i.e. recommend you," Beaton said.
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