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Many accounting firms want to specialize in a niche, expand advisory services, or attract more ideal clients. However, before making those decisions, firms should first take a closer look at the clients they already serve.
A thoughtful review of the existing client base can reveal hidden growth opportunities, identify stronger advisory prospects, and help firms determine where their expertise already delivers the most value.
Ace Cloud Hosting spoke with Seth Fineberg, founder of Accountants Forward, an accounting industry consultant, content strategist, and speaker. With over 30 years of experience following the profession’s evolution, Seth has seen firsthand how firms are reshaping their services to stay relevant and responsive to client needs.
Before founding Accountants Forward, he spent decades as a business editor and journalist, helping the accounting community understand key trends and innovations shaping the industry.
In this insightful video, Seth shares why reviewing your client base should come before choosing a niche. He explains how firms can identify advisory opportunities, assess client fit, and uncover niche markets that can support future growth.
Video Transcript
Hi, everyone. Seth Fineberg again. Here to talk to you about this time of year, some of the things you should be thinking about. One in particular is reviewing your existing client base.
Now, I know that, and you probably know that I’ve never run a firm before. I am not a practitioner. I’m here to simply provide perspective on a profession that I have overseen for the last three decades.
And at this time of year, whether you are looking to grow or expand into CAS services, or you know, simply just see how things could be improved in your business over the next year and in the years to come.
Always a good time to spend this time reviewing your client base. One of the things that it could help you to do, really, is dig into a particular niche. Now, how do we get there?
Number 1: Well, first we have to, of course, identify industries where you already might have multiple clients, a better understanding, and, you know, or maybe strong results.
This can help you find a niche that is maybe already working for you. Naturally, you just haven’t sort of dedicated maybe time, resources, and, you know, marketing or anything like that behind that.
So, first things first, who in your base might be ready for more meaning, you know, moving beyond maybe the transactional relationship already have. You, you know, you’ve been doing tax prep for them for a while. You’ve been doing some books for a while, but what more could you be doing from a tax perspective?
Maybe you want to go into tax planning, start scheduling that in. If you’ve been sort of looking after someone’s books, maybe it’s a time to start talking to them about where their business is or heading. And again, with that added knowledge that you might have on a particular industry or about their particular business, these are the folks you want to start looking at.
Number 2: Conversely, who has been a problem now? We hear this all the time. Oh, get rid of your problem clients. Get rid of your problem clients. All right. easier said than done, and it’s not necessarily about getting rid of them per se.
But you know, really seeing the folks that well, the things to look for continued late payments often, you know, arguments or questions about, you know, very basic advice that you might be giving, maybe doesn’t submit documents or respond to requests in a timely manner. Possibly, there’s even been an incident or two with you or even with your staff.
Time to transition these folks on. Maybe there is a firm that could better use their services, but you kind of need to know that these are not necessarily a fit for you.
Number 3: Start thinking about what a niche service could look like, or, in particular, you know, niche if you will. Maybe you have a lot of folks in construction, hospitality, and the restaurant business. Maybe you work with a bunch of stores. A bunch of retail stores. Like, this is something you want to start thinking about being known for.
It’s a really great case to start. Begin considering positioning your firm as a niche advisor. Update your messaging, start thinking about, you know, maybe, you know, case studies. Look at your website’s content. Really show prospects that you understand their specific problems and not just general accounting needs.
Now again, start simple. Start with what you know. That’s my advice. I hope to see you progress in the rest of the year and in the years to come.
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