What experience do you want your clients to have and what experiences do they actually get?
These are two questions that TC Group firmly knows the answer to and draws on to deliver exceptional client experience via its suite of specialist service lines and sectors, including to many engineering and manufacturing companies.
TC Group, which has its Northampton offices in Rushmills, provides both traditional accountancy and specialist business growth services, tailored to clients who can take advantage of any number of areas of expertise to meet the growing needs of their business.
Is your client experience 9.4 out of 10?
The team cultivates a mindset of continuous improvement at all levels and, being closely bound to its motto of ‘Being Better’, has an open approach to client feedback. Regularly inviting honest appraisals is how the business advisory and accountancy firm ensures it remains proactive and willing to learn.
Stephen Watts, Managing Partner, said:
“We encourage a ‘defect is a treasure’ mindset, a Japanese manufacturing concept, meaning we see errors and failures as opportunities for learning, to trigger changes to enhance the overall client experience. As such we actively encourage feedback.”
Regular feedback
Monthly surveys are carried out to capture client experience and identify any areas where clients think their experience could have been different or improved. All comments are acted upon, feeding back through the relevant TC Group teams so that everyone involved can learn from them.
Stephen added:
“Client feedback isn’t a one-and-done exercise. By having a continuous loop of client feedback, we’re able to measure the experience we’re delivering and identify areas for improvement. We implemented a system in December last year and we’ve built up some great intel.
“Our Friends and Family score is 9.4, which is just stunning. This is the average score from asking our clients ‘On a scale of 1 to 10, how likely would you be to recommend TC Group to your friends or family?’.
“Obviously, we strive to do an excellent job right from the start, but we accept anyone can drop the ball from time to time and when we do, we want to know about it. We invite clients to tell us what they think and give them the confidence to be honest with us, because if something is wrong, however small, we want to put it right. Constructive criticism gives us the chance to see where we might do things better, it helps our teams improve the way they do things, and that benefits other clients.”
The surveys also give TC Group the chance to better understand the challenges clients face in running their businesses, and to demonstrate the proactive and agile approach that not only heads off problems before they arise, but also means the team is ready to act quickly where clients have immediate and urgent needs.
Each client has a main point of contact, whether a Client Service Director (CSD) or Client Service Manager (CSM), who is responsible for forging and maintaining relationships with clients. The firm recognises that clients like one point of contact and the CSDs and CSMs provide this.
Stephen said:
“We know from our various surveys in the past that business owners value personal chemistry most in the relationship with their professional advisors, so having dedicated CSDs and CSMs in place helps foster this.”
Client segmentation
In order to develop its client strategies, TC Group worked with Cranfield University to identify and gain an understanding of the client most suited to the services it offered and how it could tailor that strategy to fit the different needs of clients regardless of size or sector.
That formal strategy development, combined with an intrinsic understanding and appreciation for the vagaries of business, form the basis of the service offering and allows TC Group to identify the specific needs and wants of different client groups, which can help in tailoring service offerings to better suit clients’ needs. This, in turn, increases client loyalty and retention rates.
Ben Young, Partner, said:
“We’re with our clients throughout the lifecycle of their business and our services are tailored to each one and their individual needs. Yes, we provide the technical expertise but we’re also coming at the relationship from the point of view of being business owners ourselves, and understanding the challenges businesses face.
“Our experience isn’t just as accountants but as people who have gone through changes, mergers, growth and expansion, and the lessons we’ve learned from it, is invaluable.”
Training
TC Group knows by offering exceptional client experience, the chances are its clients will be loyal to the firm and its brand. But that doesn’t happen without real effort and requires a team effort, everyone needs to be ‘singing from the same hymn sheet’ to ensure consistency of both brand and client experience. That’s why regular training is provided to client facing teams on the softer skills required from relationship management to effective communication.
Automation
Like in many sectors, technology can also play a role in the client experience. Automation has enabled TC Group to streamline its client journey across a number of its service lines. More recently the firm has invested in a new digital payroll platform which has enhanced the payroll process for clients as well as making the process more efficient.
Case Study
Relationship that’s on a solid footing
TC Group has worked for some time with Crockett & Jones, one of Northampton’s oldest shoe firms, which manufactures high-quality leather shoes at its factory in the town for sale around the world.
The family-owned and run business has retail outlets in London and Birmingham as well as in Paris, Brussels and New York, selling its renowned range of Goodyear welted shoes. The company also has a wholesale distribution operation and has developed an ecommerce platform that allows customers who can’t access the retail outlets to browse and order from home.
Although the Crockett & Jones production process has evolved since the early days of shoemaking, much of the factory looks just as it did when it was first built. The manufacturing process remains very labour-intensive, with each pair of shoes requiring a highly skilled workforce to carry out more than 200 separate operations during an eight-week period. This method, originated by hand-makers centuries ago, gives the shoes an exceptional degree of strength, durability and comfort in wear.
Jonathan Jones, Managing Director of the company, which was founded in 1879, said:
“Our retail stores generate a lot of sales and act as a figurehead for the brand, we need the right profile for our product. Many cities don’t have stores that are selling shoes of the quality of Crockett & Jones, so the growing e-commerce operation mirrors retail. And it will continue to grow because the younger generation prefers to buy online as it’s more convenient.
“TC Group are our auditors and one thing that is good about them is that they are a strong local business. We much prefer to conduct business with firms that are local because it’s much easier to speak to someone and build relationships.
“And we don’t want to deal with a company that is too big because unless you are a large company yourself, you don’t get the same level of service. It makes more sense to use a firm that matches our business profile.
“They have a strong framework. Alongside audit they provide tax support and advice but they do also have expertise in areas like property and corporate finance, as well as a HR service, which we do ourselves in house, but it is good to know they are available if we want to draw on other areas of expertise.
“They’ve been acting for us for three years now and in any new relationship it takes time for them to get to know us and vice versa, and it’s certainly getting easier year by year as they get to know how the business operates. Now that we have done the groundwork, and built trust and knowledge, it makes the process more efficient. And their team are stable, they employ people who live locally, and invest in their culture, so are likely to remain with them, so there is more likely to be continuity, which we value.
“TC Group have experienced Partners combined with younger members of the team. They are big enough to meet our needs without being too big to deliver the personal service we want.”
Chris Dell, TC Group’s Head of Brand, Creative and Culture, said:
“Last year we went through a merger process that was, at times, mentally and emotionally challenging. We have a strong board here, with a wide variety of approaches and opinions, but what that meant was we had one another to lean on and sound off to – and we got through it together.
“Some business owners feel very isolated – it’s difficult at the top of any organisation to find someone you can use as a sounding board and that’s often how our clients treat us. We’re not only knowledgeable, we’re experienced in what it takes to go through a difficult business journey, and if they just need us to sit and listen to them offload, then that’s fine.
“We’ve produced valuable leadership insight pieces over the years to try to help businesses recognise and deal with the challenges they face because that’s what sets us apart from a traditional accountancy practice.
“Throughout the teams we promote a can-do attitude, if a client needs us to respond quickly, then we’re all ready to act. Our approach is that if there is a way to do it, we’ll find it; if something can be done, we will get it done. We have a team that actively wants to support all our clients, and I think the clients appreciate that.”
Find out more about TC Group on 01604 746760 or visit www.tc-group.com
