Mastering client centricity
Read time | 8 minutes
“When you’re grateful for everything, you’re wanting to give back to those who gave to you, and be the best person.”
Jack Thurman, BKD managing partner
Putting customers first is not an ideology. Nor is client centricity a soulless corporate mission statement. It demands new ways of thinking. New approaches to challenges. And most importantly delivering a service that is so distinctive that people just cannot help but talk about it with colleagues and their peers.
Client service underpins the value of most global organisations. Some leaders, past and present, have made it their life’s mission to make client centricity their company’s hallmark. However, research by the CMO Council [1] suggests that most organisations are yet to master it. Only 11 percent of marketers believe that their customers agree with their customer centricity characterisation. So what’s the answer?
For accountancy firms, it extends way beyond talking a good talk. The holy grail of customer-centric strategy is to anticipate what consumers need before they realise they need it. Delivering a consistent, authentic experience across each and every touchpoint. We’re talking relationship capital.
Going for greatness
In a world of abundant choice, settling for good, when great is out there limits what could potentially be the real gamechanger. As Jim Collins observes in his book opening Good to Great, “Good is the enemy of great.” When surrounded by goodness, we are prone to accept, and potentially perpetuate mediocrity, he writes.
Rather than bumping along the good path, Praxity member firms and people within them have steadfastly committed to client centricity. The switch to greatness didn’t happen at the flick of the button. There was no Eureka! moment. Many have steered away from ‘overhyped change programmes’, opting instead for the quiet discipline to leap over the invisible client centricity hurdle. Jim Collins calls this the Flywheel Effect.
As BKD managing partner Jack Thurman will testify, reaching excellence takes sustained effort. Jack’s two-decade dedication to client service is strengthened by one of his favourite mantras: “Grateful for everything, entitled to nothing.”
“When you’re grateful for everything, you’re wanting to give back to those who gave to you, and be the best person,” Jack says.
One of Jack’s greatest mentors, former BKD COO Bill Kirkman, taught him the value of working for everyone’s benefit and having an overall love of the firm.
“Clients want us to bring networks to the table. They want knowledge they can’t get from every other accountant. They want quick turnaround as they have less time to wait now. They want a Partner in Business.”
Lindsay Holloway, William Buck Australia Managing Director
Learning from the best
BKD makes up one of Praxity’s Little Big Four firms in the US that has taken client centricity to heart. The gang also comprises Plante Moran, DHG and Moss Adams. Each has achieved great success, greased by the wheel of great client service, with numerous accolades and awards to exemplify their respective efforts. Yet, their ability to work together, share expertise and collaborate on assignments for the greater good of client service is probably the most authentic example of excellence.
Championing the customer and delivering a joined up journey is part of the Praxity point of difference, emphasises Steve Amigone, Chair of Praxity’s Global Tax & Fiscal Group. Explaining how the Little Big Four are working hard to help reframe the concept of value to clients, Steve says: “Having a high level of technical competency, like good service, is table stakes. Accuracy is expected.”
Suggesting that client centricity is more about connecting, collaborating and engendering trust, Steve continues: “DHG’s clients perceive value when we take the time to ask them about their unique business, listen to what they tell us, and then tailor solutions that address their needs and support them in achieving their goals. While this is a formula for success now, we have to be prepared and flex and change as new generations take over the helm of many client businesses.”
Lindsay Holloway, Managing Director of William Buck Australia (Victoria), agrees that relationships are already superseding base compliance delivery and how clients perceive value. This shift away from compliance delivery can in part be attributed to digitalisation. Yet, clients still want to know you care and have their back, emphasises Lindsay.
Given that digital client portals are being standard practice and as costs go higher, the risk of value disconnect increases. William Buck’s approach is to address client complacency by actively delivering multiple services seamlessly. For private clients this involves integrating business advisory, fund management and wealth advisory services together. For business compliance, providing the full gambit of disciplines via the firm’s virtual CFO covers every facet of operational, tax and strategy management.
Lindsay summarises: “Clients want us to bring networks to the table. They want knowledge they can’t get from every other accountant. They want quick turnaround as they have less time to wait now. They want a Partner in Business.”
“Having a high level of technical competency, like good service, is table stakes. Accuracy is expected.”
Steve Amigone, Praxity’s Global Tax & Fiscal Group Chair
“Every challenge is a chance to prove value and remain dedicated to building and fostering relationships with clients.”
Jack Thurman, BKD managing partner
Perfecting in practice
Customer centricity is not about benchmarking, or measuring customer satisfaction. Instead, it’s about day-to-day behaviours and practices of staff and management and leveraging the experiences of others.
Occasionally, asking for assistance can sometimes be lost in a big world of fee-focused activities. Again, this is where Praxity member firms shine, engaging with global colleagues to share ideas, look beyond quick solutions and innovate.
“As the world becomes smaller and clients transact more regularly overseas, being able to reach out to trusted colleagues overseas is very valuable for our clients,” exclaims Lindsay. “Previously seen as the Big 4 domain, Praxity member firms can seamlessly provide services pretty well anywhere in the world now.”
Steve believes that one of the largest barriers to client service success in the accountancy profession is not technical mistakes but failing to communicate value. It can lead to neutrality rather than outright dissatisfaction. “Clients can up sticks and leave your service without you even knowing there was an issue brewing,” cautions Steve.
He expands: “Value is communicated through responsiveness, demonstrating a deep understanding of each client’s business and industry, and proactively communicating and putting forward solutions to help your client be more successful. Equally, it’s recognizing that you might not personally have the solution to a specific challenge. Yet, it is okay to connect them with other resources inside (and even outside) your firm if it means they will get the best outcome.”
“Repeat compliance assignments can create a sense of ambivalence among accountants and an assumption that clients are satisfied and will return year-on-year,” warns Lindsay. “Surveys show a sense of unimportance as the most common reason clients are dissatisfied with their advisors.”
“Every challenge is a chance to prove value and remain dedicated to building and fostering relationships with clients,” adds Jack.
“As the world becomes smaller and clients transact more regularly overseas, being able to reach out to trusted colleagues overseas is very valuable for our clients.”
Lindsay Holloway, William Buck Australia Managing Director
“As consumers, we see evidence of companies using personalization to deliver a better experience every day.”
Steve Amigone, Praxity’s Global Tax & Fiscal Group Chair
Building relationship capital
Being client focused and being client centric may sound like interchangeable definitions. However there are subtle differences. Centricity extends far beyond ‘being helpful’ to thinking like the customer and co-creating their future. In most instances, it’s not a quick win. Neither is it a single action that will catapult your firm to greatness.
Jack describes the ability to deal with great ambiguity as a defining skill of client centricity in the family office niche where he specialises. It involves being nimble in discussions and using open-ended questions to understand each client’s needs and wants.
“When you’re talking to highly driven, highly successful families, you have no idea how they’re going to respond to your open-ended questions—nor do you comprehend what kind of questions they’re going to throw at you,” Jack says.
“The skill to client centricity is listening and truly seeking to provide solutions to their core issues—not the symptoms,” he says.
“People have this perception that the persona of the best marketer is the person who can work a room in a cocktail party,” Jack says. “In all truthfulness, many of the best marketers are the ones who can build a relationship one-on-one over a kitchen table.”
Steve agrees citing the importance of mastering the art of personalisation in today’s global business climate: “As consumers, we see evidence of companies using personalization to deliver a better experience every day. When our clients see us as relevant they are more likely to engage with us on a deeper level because they perceive that we understand and are aligned with their goals, which helps to foster trust and build relationship capital.”
It’s this, says Steve, that’s the difference between being viewed as ordinary and a credible trusted business advisor.
“The skill to client centricity is listening and truly seeking to provide solutions to their core issues—not the symptoms.”
Jack Thurman, BKD managing partner
“I didn’t give up when I got to average. I wanted to hone it and be exceptional.”
Jack Thurman, BKD managing partner
A mission to move past mediocre
Businesses today are transforming, many on a global scale. As such, there will always be perceived fractures in client service. “Given today’s dynamic business environment, even if a firm could reach perfection the target would inevitably move,” exclaims Steve.
Drawing on other people’s strengths is a skill that Jack Thurman has utilised to his clients’ advantage. From actively seeking out training, or drawing in skillsets and mindsets has meant Jack never accepted mediocre. “I looked for people that could make me much better, and who could provide great candor on how I could be better,” he says. “I didn’t give up when I got to average. I wanted to hone it and be exceptional.”
Sharing his tips for enduring client relationships, Steve says: “Recognize that you are just one part of the client journey. Each client journey is shaped by numerous factors, some that you control and some you simply cannot. Make an effort to understand where the work you are doing and the role you play in the client relationship connects with other roles and functions in your firm AND the client’s organization. Help other roles and functions in your firm understand how they connect to the client. The better these connections are understood, the more effective the firm can be in delivering unexpected value to the client.”
Bringing true value is underpinned by real relationships, adds Lindsay. “Engaging in knowing their true circumstances and the business is basic, but often lost with our quest to comply with laws. Clients look to us to shield them efficiently from the regulators. Yet they also want a partner in business that will help them grow and be successful.”
Climbing the relationship capital stairs requires commitment and rising above contractual transactions. The driver should not be to make money, but because it’s the right thing to do.
This depth of emotional commitment can never be achieved through brand advertising: it is the outcome of a deep commitment to delivering the best possible experience – doing what’s right for your customer, always. As each of the contributors to this article will testify, true client centricity is instinctive and authentic. The real value comes when you connect with customers and engender trust on a human level.
“Given today’s dynamic business environment, even if a firm could reach perfection the target would inevitably move.”
Steve Amigone, Praxity’s Global Tax & Fiscal Group Chair
[1] https://cmocouncil.org/thought-leadership/reports/mastering-adaptive-customer-engagements