Case Study | Perkins & Co + clearlyrated
How Perkins & Co Earned Best of Accounting for 10 Years
The First-Ever ClearlyRated Best of Accounting 10-Year Diamond Winner for Client Satisfaction
About Perkins & Co
Ranked the #1 Most Admired Accounting firm; #4 among all professional service firms, Perkins has 11 times been voted one of the Most Admired accounting firms in the area according to the Portland Business Journal.
Industry
Accounting
Company size
201-500 Employees
Business Type
Small
Website
Case Study | Perkins & Co + clearlyrated
How Perkins & Co Earned Best of Accounting for 10 Years
The First-Ever ClearlyRated Best of Accounting 10- year Diamond Winner for Client Satisfaction
About Perkins & Co
Ranked the #1 Most Admired Accounting firm; #4 among all professional service firms, Perkins has 11 times been voted one of the Most Admired accounting firms in the area according to the Portland Business Journal.
Industry
Accounting
Company size
201-500 Employees
Business Type
Small
Website
Results
Note: To qualify for Best of Accounting an NPS of 50 is required.
65
NPS
10-Year Diamond Winner for Client Satisfaction
#1
Most Admired Accounting Firm
OVERVIEW
Making strategic business decisions without real client service insights can feel like throwing darts in the dark. That’s how leaders used to feel at Perkins & Co, now one of Oregon’s most admired accounting firms and ClearlyRated’s first 10-year Best of Accounting Client Satisfaction Diamond winner.
Challenge
As an accounting firm, leaders at Perkins & Co understand the value of good data. But until 2011, they didn’t capture any numbers related to their service performance. The client satisfaction information they did have was sporadic at best, coming only via individual conversations with clients. This also meant the firm was at risk of being biased since they typically talked to clients with whom they already had strong relationships. Not only that—they also lacked accounting industry service benchmarks and, therefore, couldn’t be sure how their own service measured up to their peers.
It became clear that they needed a true understanding of their service leaders’ relationships with their clients—and the ability to verify rather than assume. Only then could they proactively build a smooth CX and remove the risk of making false assumptions that resulted in lost business.
Solution
ClearlyRated helped Perkins & Co execute an NPS survey program delivered via ClearlyRated’s ready-made platform. This strategy provided reliable, timely, trackable data within a short implementation period.
Prior to running their first NPS survey, ClearlyRated educated employees at Perkins & Co about the survey process and benefits. Upon delivering the survey results, ClearlyRated’s customer success manager guided Perkins & Co in how to use this critical feedback to improve business decisions and adjust internal client service processes. This strengthened client relationships and helped to avoid the unpleasant surprise of losing a client without warning.
outcomes
Thanks to their ability to gather quantifiable data and anecdotal feedback, Perkins & Co has accomplished the following:
- Improvement of internal processes tied to their CX thanks to client comments
- Baking client service into their firm’s culture via training, clear expectations and related rewards
- Driving business growth by gathering authentic reviews and client satisfaction numbers that bolster marketing efforts
Top 5 Internal & External Program Wins for Perkins & Co
- Establishing a process for gathering client feedback that improves client retention
Leaders say the data they have gathered over the years has repeatedly influenced their client service approach, while helping them understand what it means to be an excellent service provider. They now have the tools to resolve and repair relationships with unhappy clients as well as retain and grow satisfied accounts. - Creating and implementing firm-wide communication standards
One of the most tangible products that has resulted from Perkins & Co’s survey program is the firm’s communication standards. All employees receive this training on Day 1, both related to firm-wide standards and to expectations for their position and level within the firm. This training has helped set the expectation to build strong, authentic client relationships by being proactive and leading with the positive. - Forming an inspired company purpose
With help from multiple years of client surveying and feedback, leaders at Perkins & Co identified their company values and distilled their company purpose: “To ignite possibilities that help our clients and employees thrive.” - Celebrating service wins
The ClearlyRated platform’s “shout-outs” feature allows Perkins & Co to celebrate top performers and entire teams for delivering great service. This helps them reward and acknowledge employees for exceptional performance grounded in client service excellence. - Obtaining positive client testimonials
Perkins & Co easily gathers new client testimonials as part of their NPS survey process. They now have a healthy database of positive client experiences they can use in marketing and proposal efforts without manually requesting testimonials from clients.
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