Certified Public Accountants should know their customers

02 Feb Certified Public Accountants should know their customers

For Certified Public Accountants (CPA), and other business owners, it is keenly important for us to know our customers.  What are their needs, their businesses and their family situation.  All of these areas impact their financial life.  To give our clients the services that they need most we need to understand them.  As I service my clients here in the greater Asheville area ( Western North Carolina ) from my office in Weaverville, I want to keep focused on understanding the background of my clients so I can meet their needs.  Sometimes before they know they have a need.

According to Eric Ries, author of book The Lean Startup, he states that his approach is a set of practices for helping entrepreneurs increase the odds of building a successful start-up.   He defines a start up as a human institution designed to create a new product or service under conditions of extreme uncertainty. A start up could be a brand new grass roots organization providing a product or service or it could be a division within a large company where they are focused on bringing on board a new product or service. The key is that this development is done in a condition of uncertainty. This endeavor is a high risk and hopefully high return venture. Mr. Ries believes the key to any new startup is that the management holds themselves accountable for their new innovation efforts by measuring two things: the number of customers using the products that didn’t exist three years ago and the percentage of revenue coming from offerings that did not exist three years ago. He believes that the secret to long term company growth is to constantly bring new and better products to market. It is through innovation that a company can sustain long term growth.

As I reflect on his advice for managing company growth what really strikes home to me is the fact that he is focusing on the last three years of company statistics.  Three years is really not that long of a time to reflect upon but as technology changes so rapidly, three years can be ancient in technological terms. I also think it is a brilliant idea to look at what clients you have brought into the industry. Who didn’t care about that product or service who now is an active participant? The more active they are, the more likely that the company has tapped into a new excited client base.

In the first baby steps of a new company, you really don’t have any sales data to rely on so you must use market research to your best advantage but once the business is established it is wise to begin to touch base with you clients. If you ask nicely, they can be a window into your successes and potential failures. Their feedback can help you know if you need to make a minor adjustment or a large pivot.

I finish this blog with a few inspirational quotes relating to knowing your customers.

“One customer well taken care of could be more valuable than $10,000 worth of advertising.” – Jim Rohn

“In business you get what you want by giving other people what they want.” – Alice Foote MacDougall

 

“Get closer than ever to your customers. So close, in fact, that you tell them what they need well before they realize it themselves.” – Steve Jobs

 

“If you want people to respect you or your company, you must first show respect for them.” – George Jenkins

“If there’s one reason we have done better than of our peers in the Internet space over the last six years, it is because we have focused like a laser on customer experience, and that really does matter, I think, in any business. It certainly matters online, where word of mouth is so very, very powerful.” – Jeff Bezos

Here are a few more links you might enjoy reading:

 If you build it they will come

Tax Saving Tip

Sales Staff Management

Alicia Sisk-Morris is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) located in Weaverville, NC. She provides accounting, tax services and business consulting to individuals, non-profits and small businesses throughout Western North Carolina. Additionally, Alicia is an instructor for Asheville Buncombe Technical College in their Business Solutions department. She teaches a variety of subjects to include classes on Social Media for Businesses, QuickBooks, and Pinterest for Business and Excel. She is also available for public speaking and individual and business onsite training. She is currently enrolled in the Masters of Entrepreneurship Degree Program at Western Carolina University. Webmasters and other article publishers are hereby granted article reproduction permission as long as this article in its entirety, author’s information, and any links remain intact. Copyright 2014 by Alicia Sisk-Morris. http://www.siskmorriscpa.com