Could clients pick out your firm in a blind tasting?

Richard Brewin • February 12, 2019

I wouldn’t profess to be any sort of wine expert. I reckon I can tell a Pinot Grigio from a Chardonnay, a Rioja from a Beaujolais, but that’s about my limit. As a result, I’m not particularly choosy about where I shop or what I pay, with the local supermarket much more likely to get my custom then the town’s specialist wine merchant.

If I had a yearning for a particular standard, grape, vineyard or vintage then it would change both my buying habits and perception of value.

So it is with business clients and their accountants. Some will simply look for the cheapest possible. As with wine, that’s not a choice most sensible people will make but it’s an option.

The majority, rather like me with my wine, will have a non-expert perception of the market. They understand that the cheapest accountant they can find is probably not the best approach but equally they don’t want to spend a fortune when they don’t really appreciate the differences. So, they go for something middle of the road, something generic, something recommended to them.

That’s not great for the accountant who sees themselves as different and worth more than those around them.

Consistency of brand, and therefore consistency of client experience is key. If you are seeking a particular type of client, be it by sector, mindset, size or whatever, then everything about your firm needs to be attractive to the desires of that particular market place. Then they recognise the difference. Then they’re prepared to pay more.

If your firm was a wine then the taste, aroma, colour, consistency, bottle and packaging needs to hit the mark and the expectations of your followers every single time, and you need to be capable of growing to that consistency.

In accountant’s speak, your offices, your team, your delivery, your services, your client relationships, your professional approach need to consistently hit the same mark and expectation. Clients and the market place should be able to recognise what they like about your firm without seeing the name or logo, just because it’s what they expect from you, the way they know you do things.

We all have good and bad days, change our ways of doing things, but the market place needs consistency if it is to recognise you as a stand out option. Your external behaviour and brand must deliver that.

Why your accounting firm is unique

By Richard Brewin • June 5, 2025
All accountants are the same! We’ve all heard it said. It’s nonsense, of course, but, when you are asked what it is that your firm does that differentiates it from other accounting firms, it can be a challenge to come up with something tangible.  Accounting firms tend to offer similar services, that’s what makes them accounting firms. Differentiating from competitors based upon services provided is therefore an issue.

Will MTD ITSA be the next big gift from the accounting profession

By Richard Brewin • April 2, 2025
Question… Should accountants charge for the additional work and obligations they will have when MTD ITSA finally comes into play next April? Not sure? Let me ask another one… Should business owners and taxpayers be expected to pay for the work that their accountant does for them and for the expertise that they receive? Put down in black and white, the answer seems obvious but there are many in the profession who are losing sleep over this issue.

“Accountants can’t or won’t sell”

By Richard Brewin • February 25, 2025
Accountants selling to their clients is a topic as old as the profession itself. I regularly hear criticism from those looking to monetise the accountants’ relationships with their clients that “accountants can’t sell”. I also come across an attitude within the profession that “accountants shouldn’t sell to their clients…it’s unprofessional…it’s not what my clients expect”.  Let’s tackle the issue.