Most accounting and tax firms naturally experience a slowdown after tax season. The phones stop ringing, the inbox quiets down, and teams shift into a slower gear. But here’s the catch – this period is also when clients are most reflective about their experience.
Did they feel supported by the tax professional they chose to put their trust in? Was the process seamless, or was it just as frustrating and time-consuming as filing their taxes themselves? Did your firm go above and beyond to provide them with the type of service they wouldn’t be able to find anywhere else, and that they certainly wouldn’t have been able to get on their own? This period, for many, is the moment when impressions form. It’s either the beginning of long-term loyalty or the start of client drift.
It’s also no secret that when you’re talking about a service-based business like financial services, client retention should always be one of your top priorities.
Consider the fact that, according to one recent study, customer retention costs significantly less than acquiring brand-new customers. You will literally spend more trying to bring someone new into the fold – educating them about what you do and why it matters and building trust with them – than you will simply by providing exemplary service to the clients you already have. In fact, it’s estimated that customer churn costs providers in all industries in the United States an estimated $168 billion every single year.
Not only that, but it’s also estimated that repeat customers spend an average of 67% more than new customers do. So not only is it cheaper to simply keep your existing financial services customers happy, but they’ll end up spending more money in the long run than new ones will, too.
Did you go above and beyond to provide them with service during tax season? If they have a financial services need in the middle of the summer, you’ve just increased the chances that they pick up the phone and give you a call. They may have attempted to tackle the issue themselves, but now they won’t – that’s the type of difference we’re talking about.
Based on all this, it should come as no surprise that an estimated 84% of the companies that work to improve the customer experience notice an almost immediate uptick in revenue. So if yours is the type of financial services firm that would love to see steadier work during the periods of the year that have nothing to do with income taxes, focusing on keeping customers engaged would be an excellent way to do it.
Which, of course, asks the question: how do you get to that point?
By reframing the post-tax season as a time to deepen the client relationship, financial services firms can separate themselves from competitors who disappear after April. Instead of viewing this phase as downtime, it should be seen as the client loyalty window – a prime opportunity to build goodwill, add value, and position your firm as a year-round partner, not just a once-a-year service provider.
Accomplishing this isn’t necessarily difficult, but there are a few things you’ll want to keep in mind and a few key software tools that you’ll want to leverage to keep clients engaged along the way.
Customer Relationship Platforms
The first type of software tool that you can use to keep clients engaged and retained in the post-tax season, if you’re not already using one, is called a customer relationship management platform.
Otherwise known as a CRM for short, these are tools built to help you manage client information, track the various types of interactions that you and your employees are having on a regular basis, and streamline workflows across the board. Many examples of these tools exist, including but not limited to ones like TaxDome, HubSpot CRM, Zoho CRM, and others.
Why does having a dedicated tool built for this purpose matter? Because, to put it simply, no two clients are created in quite the same way. If you took two clients who look pretty identical on paper, you’re still likely looking at two very different people with very different needs. Trying to cram them both into a “one size fits all” approach to post-tax season client retention is only doing them – and you – a major disservice.
Therefore, one of the most powerful features of modern client relationship engagement tools like those outlined above involves the ability to segment clients into groups based on services used, business size, communication preferences, or anything else that helps you give them a more personalized level of care and attention told etail that they won’t be able to find anywhere else.
Once segmented, these groups can receive tailored communication. For example, an entrepreneur with no employees might receive quarterly reminders for estimated payments and tips on maximizing business deductions. High-net-worth individuals might receive updates on new tax-saving strategies or access to exclusive webinars. This kind of segmentation makes your outreach more relevant and positions your firm as a knowledgeable and attentive partner.
Without software, this level of personalization is nearly impossible to achieve, let alone to grow as your client base (theoretically) does the same. With that type of software, however, it becomes part of your standard operating procedure.
Learning and Ongoing Education Tools
Another way to keep clients engaged during this post-tax season involves leaning not into necessarily selling your services, but selling your authority. That is to say, when tax season rolls around, people choose to go with you because they think that yours is a financial services firm that can be trusted. They’ve come to you based on your reputation. You need to let them know that your reputation doesn’t become an afterthought on April 16th. That means prioritizing learning and ongoing education whenever possible.
Tools like Intuit for Education or Zogo are a great place to begin, but you can even do something like hold regular webinars using Microsoft Teams with a deck that you put together in PowerPoint. Regardless, clients who feel more informed are more empowered, and more likely to trust – and stay with – their advisor.
Many client communication tools allow for scheduled email campaigns, blog or article sharing, and even video content distribution. Use these features to deliver regular content, such as webinars on legislative changes that might impact a client’s tax strategy, or how to better plan for quarterly tax payments. You could write blog posts on industry-specific finance updates or offer reminders about business structures, payroll, and even retirement planning.
Even a short monthly newsletter or curated content feed can remind clients that your firm is active, informed, and invested in their success beyond April 15.
Surefire Local: The All-in-One Post-Tax Season Solution You Need
Finally, we arrive at an all-in-one platform like Surefire Local, among others. If a lot of the work outlined above sounds like it will be time-consuming, that’s because it will be. Therefore, condensing everything you need into a single, easy-to-use platform is a great way to at least save time so that you can focus more of your energy on actually retaining those clients during the busy post-tax season.
One of the key features of Surefire Local is its reputation management system. The platform allows firms to monitor and respond to reviews across multiple sites from a single dashboard, saving time and ensuring consistent communication. By promptly addressing client feedback, firms can demonstrate their commitment to client satisfaction, which is crucial for retaining clients post-tax season.
Another significant advantage is Surefire Local’s content marketing capabilities. The platform enables firms to create and distribute relevant content, such as tax tips, financial planning advice, and updates on tax law changes, across various channels. By providing valuable information, firms can keep clients engaged throughout the year, reinforcing their role as trusted advisors and encouraging clients to return for future services.
Surefire Local is just one example of this type of platform. Rest assured that there are many others, all of which can typically be easily adapted to fit your own unique needs and to play to the strengths that make your business – and your clients – unique.
In the end, an all-in-one marketing platform like Surefire Local provides tax professionals and accountants with the tools necessary to enhance client retention post-tax season. By leveraging its reputation management, content marketing, business listing optimization, and client communication features, firms can maintain client engagement, build trust, and position themselves as year-round resources for their clients’ financial needs.
To find out more information about the types of software tools you can use to keep clients engaged and to retain them, or to discuss your own needs with someone in a bit more detail, please don’t hesitate to contact us today. You can also click here to attend a Surefire Local demo to get more insight into what such a powerful all-in-one marketing platform can do for your retention efforts.