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In recognition of National Get to Know Your Customer Day, the MICPA is taking a look at all the best ways to get to know a client and how engaging personally with customers helps improve business. Service is about building relationships and repeat business boils down to good maintenance. Getting to know clients fosters loyalty and trust, two of the most crucial elements for those working in the accounting profession. Additionally, taking the time to engage with your clients regularly creates meaningful data that can later be used to generate leads, tailor services, and improve relations with other clients.

Keeping this in mind, here are five of the best ways we found to engage clients on National Get to Know Your Customer Day, or any day really!

1. Ask questions. Whether it is a phone call to ask how you are doing, a poll on social media or an email questionnaire, ask your clients how they feel about the work you’re doing for them. Meaningful questions about a client’s experience working with you is a must, just be sure not to miss any opportunity to ask what other services they might need. This earns direct feedback from the people you serve and offers insight into new opportunities while you do it.
2. Send handwritten thank you cards. The last year was a wild ride for everyone but your clients are still hanging on, still placing their trust in your service. A thank you card is a simple, thoughtful way to engage your clients and let them know they are valued. Additionally, for those clients you haven’t heard from in a while, a tangible greeting goes a long way. Remind your clients you are here for them and let them know how they can reach you to connect or even reconnect.
3. Host a review contest! Invite your clients to submit a couple paragraphs describing the impact of your service on their life or business. Offer prizes in the form of cash or hefty discounts for the best essay. Simply Noted advises including a disclaimer or asking permission from your customers to use their submission on future marketing material. That way, you get valuable feedback from your clients and a bounty of testimonial material for marketing later₁.
4. Treat clients as individuals. While it is true that some services can be generalized, others require an understanding of individual circumstances, especially now. The COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant measures to mitigate economic impact have added multiple layers of complexity to individual needs. It is more important than ever to understand and document the myriad ways in which each client’s situation is unique, ensuring that whatever plan created to meet those needs is more of a collaboration than a routine prescription.
5. Get active on social media. As many of us continue to work remotely, now is the time to truly adopt social media and commit. Aside from issuing a thank you to your clients on your own social media channels, ThriveHive reports that if you have a business-to-business relationship with your clients, commenting on their social media pages and blog updates is a must. This serves the dual purpose of keeping you in the loop with important customers while also encouraging reciprocity and provides that casual interaction that is otherwise challenging to achieve in the current environment₂.

1. Elmore, Rick. “10 Amazing Ideas for Get to Know Your Customers Day.” Simply Noted. 05 July 2020. Accessed on 18 Jan. 2021.
2. “10 Ways to Stay in Touch With Your Customers.” ThriveHive. 06 Sept. 2017. Accessed on 18 Jan. 2021.