New customers are great but don't forget the customers you already have!

• The drive to acquire new customers can come at an unexpected cost.
• Why is it so important to keep hold of your existing customers?
• Strategies to maximise customer retention

1. Focus on exceptional customer service

2. Exceed expectations

3. Personalised communications

4. Gather and act on feedback

5. Address customer concerns promptly

6. Continuously improve

7. Encourage customer referrals and testimonials

8. A few other ideas

• To summarise

Most small business owners are focused on new customer acquisition, pouring their limited resources into attracting new customers. Sadly the importance of customer retention often gets overlooked. Nurturing existing customer relationships and encouraging repeat business is absolutely crucial for long-term sustainability and growth.

Retaining existing customers is paramount for several reasons:

• Reduced Customer Acquisition Costs: Acquiring new customers is significantly more expensive than retaining existing ones. By fostering customer retention, businesses can reduce the need for costly marketing campaigns.

• Increased Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): CLV represents the total revenue a business can expect to generate from a customer throughout their relationship. By retaining customers for longer, businesses can enhance CLV, leading to long term growth and profitability.

• Stronger Customer Relationships: By encouraging repeat purchases, businesses can build stronger relationships with their customers. This fosters trust, advocacy, and positive word-of-mouth, translating into enhanced brand reputation.

Businesses can adopt many strategies to retain and maximise business with their existing customers. Below are a few key customer retention strategies and how Wood and Disney use these strategies with our own clients to deliver the best possible service which has led to our enviable record of client retention!

Our client retention record is one thing that gives prospective clients complete peace of mind, helping them feel in the safest possible hands. We firmly believe that high levels of honesty, trust, and just following through with what we say is what keeps our clients from going anywhere. That and the ball and chain of course.

Wood and Disney place excellent customer service at the heart of our business.

How do we deliver excellence?

• Friendly interactions: At Wood and Disney you will find familiar faces. We have been advising clients in Colchester, Essex, for over 45 years. We have been incredibly lucky to retain so many of our staff for such a long time. Three of our team have been with us for over 20 years so we must be quite nice to work for. This means that you will continue to see the same faces for the many years you are with us.  You will get to know key members of our team and importantly they will get to know you and understand your business.

• Prompt responses:
• Our office is manned 5 days a week 9am to 5pm. There will always be someone on hand for you to speak to.
• We aim to respond within 24 hrs to every email or message we receive. We may not always be able to give you an immediate detailed answer to your query, sometimes we will need a few days to fully answer you, but you’ll know that we’ve got your message and that we are working on it.
• All our clients records are held in the cloud so we can access them anywhere and any time.

• Efficient problem solving: “Our mission is to provide our clients with proactive financial support and business advice to ensure their long term success and give them the time, confidence and freedom to enjoy their business and family life.”
• We meet our clients at least quarterly, often monthly to track progress, to make decisions and set new goals. So we are up to date on what’s going on in their business and their lives.
• We are experts. We are professional Chartered Accountants. We have been in business, helping our clients for many years – Peter and Brendon alone have between them 70 years of business experience.
• We give structured business advice. Practical advice and help in delivering and implementing proven, workable solutions for your business. We don’t just give you one-off, stand alone solutions then walk away and just let you muddle through.
  

Wood and Disney's clients have high expectations, and rightly so! Most of our clients have been with us for many years so they are used to, and have come to expect, the exceptionally high levels of professionalism and care, that we provide to every client. But, we continue to strive to exceed their expectations! How?

• Expertise and Experience: Wood and Disney have been Chartered Accountants and Professional Accredited Business Advisors for a long time with many, many, many years of experience behind us. As the old saying goes “Experience is the Father of Wisdom”. But, the quality of our advice is based on more than just letters after our names. Fundamentally we are business owners who happen to run the business of an accountancy practice. It’s not a sideline, or an after-thought, or pretty words to put on our website. It’s what we do day in and day out and that means practical advice that is proven to work. In 2023, Peter was named Top 10 Global Business Advisor of the Year in the Helm global awards.

• Pro-active advice: We don't just wait for your business to get in to trouble before we give you advice. In our view, that's too late and we have failed in our goal of keeping you and your business out of trouble. Wood and Disney use your financial figures as a window into your business to understand and resolve any underlying weaknesses in your business. We believe an accountant's role isn't just about balancing the books. It's about providing strategic, pro-active advice based on our in-depth understanding of your business, you and your aspirations for the future. We plan, control, monitor and advice you on how and when to act so that your business not only survives but also thrives!
  

We get to really know our clients.

Wood and Disney keep in touch with our clients through:

• Emailed newsletter that goes to all clients and interested business people with the latest financial and business news.
• Specialised emails about financial and business matters that are particularly pertinent to you, your business or your market sector.
• By telephone and email to answer your questions or advise you about matters particular to your business and finance.
• Monthly or quarterly meetings to track progress, to make decisions and set new goals.
• We have embraced virtual meetings to keep in touch with clients as frequently as needed. This option is ideal for more distant and overseas clients but is also an option frequently adopted by local clients as it saves travel time and is good for the environment.
• We also visit clients on their own premises. We find it particularly beneficial at the early stages as it gives us a real “feel” for your business to meet you in your place of work.
• Plus every client is always welcome to come and see us at our offices. We have free parking for our visitors and awesome coffee.

It's not just about keeping in touch. Wood and Disney operate a jargon free, friendly, no nonsense approach. We’re easy to work with. We are professionally qualified chartered accountants with all the technical knowledge and expertise that our qualifications encompass. But,

we keep things simple and offer a friendly, practical and no nonsense approach to advice, accountancy and tax. We don’t use complicated language, keeping our office a “jargon free zone”. Even the mention of “debit” or “credit” in front of a client is a hanging offence.



Wood and Disney gather feedback from our clients in a variety of different ways:

• We talk to our clients regularly and check that they are happy with the service we provide or if there is room for improvement.

• We welcome, check and respond to reviews on Google, Facebook etc.

• In 2023 we carried out an Impact Survey, where clients were asked to rate our services and identify areas that they felt could be improved. We had a great response with:
• an overall satisfaction rating of 4.9 and
• 100%  would recommend us to a friend/colleague.
• 100% believed that using our services has been a good investment for their business.

Take a look for yourself at the feedback we have received from clients on our dedicated web page >> What our clients say about working with us 

At Wood and Disney we believe in addressing our client's concerns promptly and satisfactorily. Wood and Disney aim to respond within 24 hrs to every email or message we receive. We may not always be able to give an immediate detailed answer to a query, sometimes we will need a few days to fully answer, but you’ll know that we’ve got your message and that we are working on it.

• If a query or problem is more complex or a client isn't initially satisfied with our response, then we will keep looking for an answer or solution until we are all happy that the question is resolved. We will keep you updated with progress at all times so that you are in the loop and know what we are doing and how we are working to resolve your issue.

Wood and Disney are interested in long term relationships with our clients. Our approach is centred on your confidence in our ability to manage your financial matters for the long term. Don’t forget it’s our mission to “Build Better Futures”. Our approach with our clients is to act for them for decades rather than for our own short term gain and to uphold our reputation for excellence. 

Wood and Disney never rest on our laurels and are always looking to improve the quality of our service.

We have a long history of innovation and leveraging technology, always with the aim of providing a better service to our clients.

• We are leaders in technology with 4 technology awards under our belt including the 2015 “Most Innovative 2-4 Partner Firm” awarded by the 2020 Group of Accountants in 2015. We won the AVN Practice Differentiation award in 2017 and the AVN Changing Lives award in 2018. We are a paperless office and have been since 2003 meaning no lost files and immediate document recovery.

• Wood and Disney have been using cloud accounting software since 2008, in fact we were one of the first practices in the UK to see the potential of the cloud and start to move our clients onto cloud accounting systems. We are experts in many cloud accounting apps and use many apps to manage our own business, saving us both time and money. For more information take a look at our web page >> Cloud Accounting Solutions

Wood and Disney have been at the forefront of innovation for decades using technology to assist us since the 1980's.

• Going paperless in 2003 we became a paperless office meaning no lost files and immediate document recovery.

• We adopted cloud bookkeeping in 2008, and going fully cloud-based in 2016.

• Our Wood and Disney “Accountant in your Pocket” mobile app went live in 2015.

• In 2022 we launched our very successful “Future Proof Business Assessment” a free to use on-line assessment of how future proof your business really is.

• In the Spring of 2023, we researched and developed an NTAG215 NFC tag marketing solution, to enable visitors at exhibitions with NFT enabled mobiles, to access web based information from tags attached to our displays and literature.

• Most recently we have been assessing new Apps which utilise AI based tools to increase business and financial efficiency for their usefulness within our own business and to our clients.

Wood and Disney's most recent business tool kits include:

• The structured advisory process called "Your Journey To Freedom",

• Long term cash flow management and business resilience builder: "The Strategic Cash Retention Program" and 

• Our Net Asset Growth toolkit: "The NAG Index".

Wood and Disney constantly strive to improve our service. We are always looking for ways to innovate, embrace and leverage new technology to provide our clients with a better service and to help them Build Better Futures.

We are always delighted when we get positive feedback from clients whether it takes the form of a review on Google, a like for a post, or an email or phone call saying thank you. It make a huge difference to all of us at Wood and Disney.

Client referrals have always been important to us as they not only demonstrate that a client is pleased with the service we offer and is happy to recommend us to others, but it is also an excellent way of acquiring new clients. In our 2023 Impact Survey,

• 55% of respondents stated that one of the reasons that they chose Wood and Disney as their accountant was through personal referral.

• 100% of respondents aid that they would you recommend Wood and Disney to a friend/colleague.

Wood and Disney see positive client testimonials as an important way of building trust and credibility with potential customers. When potential customers see that clients have had positive experiences working with us, they are more likely to believe and trust that we will deliver the expertise and quality of professional advice that we promise. You can take a look for yourself at the feedback we have received from clients on our dedicated web page >> What our clients say about working with us 



Depending on the market that your business operates in you could also consider implementing:

• Loyalty Programs: Implement loyalty programs that reward customers for their long term patronage. Offer points, discounts, or exclusive benefits for loyal customers, incentivising them to continue making purchases.

• Express Gratitude: Regularly express gratitude to your customers for their continued patronage. Send thank-you notes, offer special promotions, or celebrate their anniversaries with the brand.

• Create a Sense of Community: Foster a sense of community among your customers by organising events, hosting online forums, or creating social media groups. This builds engagement, loyalty, and a sense of belonging.



By implementing these strategies, businesses can effectively enhance customer retention, increase customer lifetime value, and achieve long-term success. Remember, a loyal customer base is the bedrock of a sustainable and thriving business.

Wood and Disney's client retention record is one thing that gives prospective clients complete peace of mind, helping them feel in the safest possible hands. We firmly believe that high levels of honesty, trust, and just following through with what we say is what keeps our clients from going anywhere. That and the ball and chain of course.