Articles

Guarantee it

Why you should commit to a customer-focused culture, says John Haylock BankLink's Practice Performance Manager.

Benjamin Franklin was a successful businessman, politician and scientist in 18th century America.

In 21st century America Franklin's reputation is still strong and his image adorns the $100 bill. His name is also used by nationwide plumbing franchise - Benjamin Franklin Plumbing.

While Franklin obviously had nothing to do with this plumbing franchise I suspect he would have a sneaking admiration for the business which bears his name.

Benjamin Franklin Plumbing provides an outstanding guarantee on both its work and the way in which its services are provided. This guarantee raises several points of direct relevance to accountants in public practice.

Benjamin Franklin Plumbing guarantees the quality of the work: "If a repair fails in the first two years we will repair it again absolutely free."

That's a nice simple guarantee that confirms what a lot of other plumbers would do anyway. It may seem obvious but by making the situation clear it takes risk away from the customer and puts pressure on the plumber to ensure the work is done right the first time.

Benjamin Franklin Plumbing also provides a guarantee of being friendly and courteous. Cleanliness is covered too: "If our plumber doesn't wear shoe covers inside your home, or leaves your home without cleaning up, you don't pay a penny for the service."

Finally, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing addresses the two key fears and frustrations of customers about costs.

The business promises to provide no unexpected surprises by providing "an exact price you approve of before any work begins."

Then, perhaps most importantly of all, they provide a remarkable on-time guarantee: "If there's any delay, it's you we pay. If we're not on time we pay you $5 per minute late up to $300."

That's right. If the plumber doesn't arrive at the promised time, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing pays the customer.

Having such a strong guarantee provides three benefits:

Firstly, it helps attract and retain customers. If you're looking for a new plumber because the one you last used didn't turn up on time or charged you far more than you were expecting, you're going to seriously consider using a plumber that promises a fixed price and guarantees to turn up on time.

Secondly, it allows the company to charge above average prices. That is a natural consequence of taking risk away from the customer. A lower risk business can charge more and still have happy customers. It also means it can choose to be less busy and still make more money.

Thirdly, it drives the company to continually improve its systems so it lowers the risk of having to pay out on the guarantee. By choosing to be less busy it has the capacity to both improve systems and have the flexibility to ensure it meets its on time promise.

These same issues and opportunities apply to accountants.

Despite improvements over the past decade there are still frustrations experienced by the clients of many accountants. These relate to uncertainty about when their work will be finished, and what it will cost, slowness in returning phone calls and emails, and the continuing focus on historical compliance work instead of forward-looking business improvement.

To address these issues and take advantage of the opportunities requires you to put yourself in your customers' shoes.

Think about what it is like for you to deal with businesses with similar problems like lawyers, engineers or... plumbers. Recognise that your clients are likely to experience similar frustrations with you. Then commit to a customer-focused culture. Develop a client charter which outlines the service standards you will provide to your clients and your expectations of your clients.

For example if you commit to on-time service your clients have the obligation to provide you with good quality records when requested and to quickly respond to queries.

Then once you know the standard of service you want to provide, put in place a guarantee covering the key aspects of that level of service.

It will help you attract customers, allow you to increase your prices and drive you to improve your systems so you never have to pay out on the guarantee.

This article first appeared in The Journal. It is reproduced with the permission of the NZICA.