Advisory service tips on beating competitors, driving client value

Firms growing their advisory services practices have plenty of opportunity with the right focus and resources.

The evolution of technology has increased firms’ abilities to offer advisory services, said Amy Vetter, CPA, who will present at the upcoming Advisory Services Conference on Sept. 21.

“With technology coming into play, it's taking a lot of the non-value time that we spent trying to get the data into the system and given us the space we need to spend more time with our clients learning about their business,” said Vetter, a member of the Ohio Society of CPAs Board of Directors, CEO of The B3 Method Institute and owner of DRISHTIQ Yoga.

This evolution means that the expectation of the client has changed as well, Vetter said. As more information is available to the client, this can result in more questions about certain data or how to best achieve specific business goals.

Competitive pricing is another potential opportunity for firms. 

“We have a very narrow conception of who our competitors are,” said Ron Baker, founder of VeraSage Instititute and fellow presenter. “We can think they're just other accounting firms, possibly H&R Block, but now you're competing against any organization that has the ability to raise your customers’ expectations.”

Baker said firms might have to consider a subscription-based pricing model if they want to stay competitive in the future, something those in advisory services should consider. Business models will always change, the said, but he views subscription pricing as a “weigh station to another business model,” and that it’s not realistic to think a business can operate the same for 50 years anymore.

Whether firms realize it or not, Baker said, their customer experience is being compared to sites like Amazon, where things are easy with one-click service.

Learn more and register for the Advisory Services Conference.

Hear more from Baker and Vetter on the State of Business podcast.