Keep calm but maybe don’t just carry on?
Richard Brewin • June 30, 2020
From the global economy to the desk of the small business owner, we are hearing a lot of talk now about the need for change as we all move forward from lockdown and the immediate impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
From an accounting perspective there is plenty of discussion about whether you need an office or not, flexible working for your team, online services for your clients, shifting meetings onto Zoom.
Pivoting your firm seems to be the buzz phrase. I’m usually the first one who’s up for change but we need to be a little careful.
When you plan a wedding you choose your venue, your theme, your style and, of course, your partner very carefully. Some of these things have been years in the making, your partner is a lifetime goal.
So, if you saw a horrendous weather forecast for the next few months, rain every day ( I write this from England, remember!) would you just bin the idea? Would you dump the venue, throw out your theme and style, decide to drop your partner and go for a different one? A little facetious maybe but whilst there may be things that you have to change, like at an outside venue for instance, most of your changes would be to adapt to the situation. An umbrella here and there, a change of location for the photos. You certainly wouldn’t change your goal of getting married.
Pivoting your business can mean going for a different market. Why would we change our target market as a result of the pandemic, unless you’re niched in a heavily impacted sector. Changing strategies for the sake of change, or because it’s seen as the ‘in thing’ to do makes no sense. If you liked meeting clients face to face why do you need to drop that option now?
There are many valuable lessons to learn, from both the period in lockdown and from society’s reaction to the virus itself. It’s sensible to look at how your business, your team and your systems have performed, online and offline, during the lockdown and to build on the positives from that experience.
Its’ sensible to look at what our teams and our clients want as we move forwards. How much direct social contact? How much travelling? How much flexibility?
But, remember what your goals are. When you are considering changes, ask yourself why you are making them. Do they take you closer to your goals or is it merely a fashionable response, one pushed upon you by a tide of change?
Look at any accounting firm website and there is a fair chance that the word ‘proactive’ will be prominent. Ask some business owners and taxpayers whether they consider their accountant to be proactive. There is commonly a gap between the two, between the intent of the accountant and the expectations of the client.
The tag ‘Trusted Advisor’ gets bandied around a lot. Without trying to be deliberately contentious, I often challenge its use. Undoubtedly, accountants were once the trusted advisor to their clients. When I came into the profession 44 years ago now, the older partners, especially, were seen by their clients as their trusted advisor, their ‘go to’ person on any issues, business, family or personal, that were troubling them. Without the filing deadlines of today, these clients were with their accountant primarily because they valued the relationship rather than the products.
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.