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How�UK�accountancy�firms�position�and�
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SUPPORTED BY:

© 2022 Perfect Client Limited

 WHAT’S
inside
3 Introduction

5-8 Executive summary

10-11 Website first impressions

13-14 LinkedIn first impressions

15-17 Practice Values

18 Consistency of message

19 Call To Actions

20 Website performance

21 A word from our sponsors

24 Conclusions

2. © 2022 Perfect Client Limited

 Introduction

Survival of the distinctive,

why differentiation matters
Welcome to our first report into the
differentiation and positioning strategies
of UK accountancy practices. This research
was conducted over a six-month period
from late 2021 and completed in early 2022.
The detail is granular, rigorous and
unashamedly pedantic. Why? Because as
a team of consultants working within the
accountancy sector we are frustrated with
the lack of choice presented to potential
clients through tired, bland messaging.
By failing to identify and express their
uniqueness in approach, service delivery and
deep expertise are stuck in a non-virtuous
circle, attracting a mixed bag of clients.
This limits the quality of client outcomes,
relationships and fee income.
Military strategy is a bit like
marketing, you can't be
obvious. If you let the procurement
department plan the D-Day landings,
they would have insisted that you
made the journey from Dover to
Calais to minimise fuel costs.
The problem with that approach is
that is exactly where everybody
expected you to do it.
If you pursue logic in marketing, you
often end up in exactly the same place
as all your logical competitors. Which
is an overcrowded space.”
Rory Sutherland

The consequences for the profession are

reduced margins and commoditised
services as clients only means of
differentiate is price.
Firms are falling into the corporate trap of
selling their professional credentials rather
than their emotional intelligence.
You operate in a profession where
compliance and regulatory adherence go
with the territory, these aren’t selling points
to your perfect client. It’s like a bespoke
tailor telling you that they can cut and stitch.

Focusing on the expertise and experience

common to so many firms, doesn’t help to
stand out in a crowded marketplace. Clients
yearn to see you ‘get’ where they’re coming
from, where they want to go and the
problems holding them back.

3. © 2022 Perfect Client Limited

Why perfect clients are so

important
Your perfect clients pay premium fees, value
your opinion and see you as incomparable.
Relationships last longer ensuring a
maximum Client Lifetime Value.
Even if a perfect client pays just twice the fee
of a standard compliance only client, factor in
the increased margin and longevity of the
relationship and the lifetime profit can be 10
times the average.
Then consider the time and resources spent
on acquiring new business and onboarding
new clients. The financial argument for
focusing on perfect clients is clear.
Identifying your
perfect client
Your perfect clients are drawn to you when  their perfect client.
you articulate the specific value you can bring 
to their businesses. These clients are not as
hard to find as you think. But it all comes
down to crafting your message with clarity,
precision and focus. And part of the process
of arriving at this is through gaining invaluable
insights from your best current clients about
how they perceive you, and what differences
they see you making to their business.
And so, we embarked on this research.
We left alone the really big players as they
not only have the financial and people
resources to deploy a wide range of
marketing tactics, but also have the global
reputation and visibility that brings with it a
certain air of invincibility.
But, when you start to look at practices
beyond the Top 20, as defined by
Accountancy Age, there’s more jeopardy
at stake. The market is more competitive,
more crowded, and marketing budgets
and resources are more stretched.
This is why we wanted to get to the bottom
of why so many accountants are going
round and round in circles, unable to break
out of the mould and find their distinctive
differentiator that enables them to attract
In the pages that follow you can see what
we found.
Patrick McLoughlin, Founder Perfect Client

In essence, your perfect client is the one who

buys into the value you have to offer and pays
you a premium because your positioning
makes you incomparable to alternatives.

4. © 2022 Perfect Client Limited

 Summary
Overview
and research
objectives
The legendary Harvard Business School
Professor Michael Porter describes two
basic strategies for competitive advantage:
Differentiate or
compete on price.
So if your firm is indistinguishable from
your competitors, don’t be surprised if
your new business conversations revolve
around fees.
Differentiation
and positioning
The purpose of this research is to identify
and learn from the best differentiation and
positioning strategies developed by some
of the UK's largest firms.
We studied the first impression potential
clients take from the key platforms they’ll
encounter firms on.
5.
For a differentiation strategy to be
successful it’s vital the messaging is
consistent wherever stakeholders come
across the firm. So, we compared the initial
claims and statements made across both
their website and LinkedIn company page.
We also analysed how seriously firms had
taken their declaration of ‘Values.’ Were they
considered and meaningful, or obvious,
minimum standards and random virtues?
Beyond positioning, we also investigated
how firms’ websites performed. If they take
an age to load, work poorly on mobiles etc.
they will massively undermine the
messaging within.
Finally, we focused on Call To Actions, how
potential clients were encouraged to take
action and start a relationship. We wanted
to know how firms demonstrated their
value, in advance of clients working with
them, by offering specific and valuable help
and content.
© 2022 Perfect Client Limited
 Who we
researched
and why
We initially focused the research on the UK’s largest accountancy firms: from
the 20th, to the 100th largest firms as compiled by www.accountancyage.com.

We excluded larger firms on the basis that their

expertise and resources were out of the reach of
the majority.

During our research, Accountancy Age updated the list, publishing the 2021 Top
50+50 Accountancy Firms. We therefore included all new firms, ranked from the
20th – 100th to the research.

6. © 2022 Perfect Client Limited

 Summary
of results
1 Positioning comes a
sorry second to branding.
We were surprised to discover how few firms had developed a differentiation
strategy. It appeared that many relied on branding (the visual devices that
create the look and feel of their company) to differentiate their value.

The resulting conformity makes it near impossible for potential clients

to tell one firm from another. It left us wondering if the logos, in the top
left-hand corner of a firm’s Home Page were swapped with a competitor’s,
would anyone notice?

The majority of firms researched focused their messaging on a variation of

‘we are accountants and tax advisors’ or brag and boast claims of being a
‘leading firm’, ‘award winning’ or ‘excellence’ etc.

2 Outstanding doesn’t stand out.

Unsubstantiated boastful claims switch potential clients off. Why? Because
the proposition is based on making the practice the ‘hero’ in the relationship,
rather than focusing on showing empathy and understanding of the issues
their clients face, and what they are looking for from their accountant.

Firms must stop positioning themselves as the hero in the relationship.

Prospective clients don't engage with websites to find out about your
practice. Their interest is only in what you can do for them.

Where you have advantages over your competitors, that are meaningful to
your perfect clients, use those clients to explain them. For instance, this
could be a proven specialism in an area of tax, or management buyouts etc.

As David Maister said, the best way to sell professional services is to

demonstrate, not assert. So let your best clients do the heavy lifting for you.

Client quotes and video testimonials talking through the emotions felt and
outcomes you helped achieve are more effective than a hundred claims.

7. © 2022 Perfect Client Limited

 3 Marketing communications is often
approached from the wrong perspective.
Many firms wrote about their client focused approach. Unfortunately, that's
where any “focus” on the client ended. Instead, navel gazing, and bland “vanilla”
messaging had little or no emotional connection to the clients it was
commissioned to appeal to.

As long as firms’ copy and websites are approved by partners (with their inherent
company-side view), and not from perspective the firm’s best clients, this
problem will continue.

4 Many firms lack a consistent marketing

message, featuring different claims
across different platforms.
Their websites focused on one benefit or area of expertise entirely different to
that promoted on their LinkedIn profile.

Clients attracted to one message are less likely to believe the benefit, when
different messaging appears on other platforms. Behavioral economics labels
this, Goal Dilution: The more singular something is in its purpose, the more
effective we believe it is.

5 There is enormous opportunity for firms

with deep expertise to attract higher
margin clients in for the longer journey.
Outside of firms’ exclusively serving contractors, it was difficult to find any headline
messaging focused on industry sectors or client problems / desired outcomes.

Firms targeting growth, naturally, focus on broader, not deeper expertise. Whilst
it's an understandable approach to take, the broader expertise is claimed, the less
likely it is to be believed.

Broad expertise is also slap bang in the centre of downward fee pressure: service
providers are easy to find, options are plentiful, driving margins down.

8. © 2022 Perfect Client Limited

 Your
Client
Needs

Fee
Pressure
Your Your
Expertise Competitors
Services

Venn diagram from Erik Peterson and Tim Riesterer's excellent book: 
'Conversations that win the complex sale.' 

A massive opportunity
for courageous firms
We believe there’s a massive opportunity for courageous firms. The most
successful firms of the future will compete without serious competition.

By investing in a deeper understanding of their own character and unique value,

as seen through the eyes of their perfect clients, they’ll become incomparable
and irreplaceable.

Their messaging will be unlike anything seen by the firms we have studied.
They’ll take the focus off themselves and onto the emotions, problems and lives
of their perfect clients.

We hope this research will be seen as a landmark in this transformation.

By shining the spotlight on today’s lack of differentiation we hope to light the

path to a more fulfilling and rewarding future for the profession.

9. © 2022 Perfect Client Limited

First
IMPRESSIONS
from accountants’ websites
The father of modern advertising David Ogilvy estimated that only 20% of readers, progress
from a headline to the copy below. However, persuasive your website is, get the headline
wrong, and engagement shrinks.

Worse still, if your website is indistinguishable from your competitors, you’re projecting a
message that you are the same as your competitors. When faced with any choice, if the
options look the same, price becomes the major differentiator.

We researched the first clear claim or statement a visitor to the website would see,
excluding statements made on sliders (revolving carousels that display a number of images
and or messages).

'Welcome to 
Website headlines (insertname here)
Chartered Accountants
Other
Struggling to find 7% (Insert name here) 
an accountant that Chartered 
really understands Factual accountants 
Client
your business?
benefits 23% and Business 
Advisers
16%

Big enough to 
cope, small 
enough to care Top 50 firm
Generalities Brag & Boast
Different to / More and slogans
26% Leading firm
than accountants
28%
Award winning
Because you count

10. © 2022 Perfect Client Limited

 Factual:
Typically, slight variations on: (Insert name of practice) followed by accountants, tax and
business advisers. No attempt is made to differentiate the firm.

Brag & boast:

Headlines proclaiming the qualities of the firm. Most popular are: ‘Leading firm’ featured on 5
headlines, ‘Award Winning’ on 4 and ‘Quality’ on another 3.

These numbers only reflect the first message seen on the websites. All 3 terms featured on
other websites under the major heading.

Platitudes and generalities roll off the human understanding like water
from a duck. They leave no impression whatever. To say, “best in the world,
” lowest price in existence,” etc., is at best simply claiming the expected.

But superlatives of that sort are usually damaging. They suggest

looseness of expression, a tendency to exaggerate a careless truth.

They lead readers to discount all the statements that you make.”

Claude C. Hopkins | Scientific Advertising 1923

Generalities & slogans:

These headlines often feature claims that mean little to the reader or potential client.
Most common examples are unsubstantiated claims of being ‘different’ or ‘not like other
firms’ or ‘more than accountants.’

Also popular is an emphasis on ‘relationships’, ‘working together’, with or ‘partnership’.

Another common message is we’ll work with anyone: ‘Whatever you need’, ‘Whoever you
are’, ‘Wherever you are.’

This category includes a handful of websites that lack a focused message but feature Tweets,
a budget report or a list of services.

11. © 2022 Perfect Client Limited

 Client focused:
These are headlines that are either about the potential client, not the practice, or focused
on specific, narrow claims.

More effective examples often include the word ‘you’, not ‘us’, or the practice’s name.
Sometimes they are in the form of questions: ‘Struggling to find an accountant that really
understands your business?’

Just because a headline is client focused it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s effective, some of
the claims were still very general. But at least they are about the reader.

It’s understandable why larger practices avoid these narrow claims. It’s the fear of excluding
any potential enquiry. Yet in practice it results in bland claims that dilute any appeal. 

Other:
The only websites outside these categories led on either Covid resources (4 websites)
or a couple of firms that focused on recruitment and opportunities to join the firm.

Website headlines
Conclusions
Firstly, it needs acknowledging that summarising the benefits of a practice into a short
headline is not easy. Yet almost 1 in 4 firms didn’t even take up the challenge, using this
prime space to confirm the nature of their business – see Factual.

Research shows the first place our eyes focus on, on a website, is the top left-hand corner.
(Not surprising as we read from top to bottom, left to right.) Which explains why most
websites feature a logo and business name, John Smith Chartered Accountants, in the top
left-hand corner. So, it seems a wasted opportunity to repeat the name, or business activity
in such a prominent position.

Equally, unsubstantiated claims of broad expertise, especially when repeated by

competitors, do little to engage prospects or differentiate a firm.

Some firms led with headlines focused on being different or more than accountants.
Without a meaningful explanation their claims fell short. Others tried to extend their appeal
by stating they work with a broad a base of clients. Anyone over the age of fifty, would
recognize Mark Lee’s description of these firms as ‘Martini’ accountants (Remember
Martini’s 70s adverting campaign: Anytime, anyplace anywhere).

If the purpose of the headline is to catch the reader’s attention, surely, it’s more effective to
focus on the reader.
12. © 2022 Perfect Client Limited
 LinkedIn
IMPRESSION No
message
7%
Summary of first impressions Client
Factual
20%
of LinkedIn profile pages benefits
16%
Here we looked at the firm’s dedicated LinkedIn
profile page. Again, we have only focused on
Generalities
the first impression or claim made. So many of and slogans Brag & Boast
the statements, for example ‘award winning’ 20% 36%
and ‘leading’ appear later in firms’ entries.

Factual statements
One in five of the first impressions seen under a firm’s LinkedIn profile page simply listed
the business sector and/or services provided with or without the firm’s name.

One in 10 LinkedIn statements started: Chartered (and or Certified) accountants and insert
tax consultants/ advisers, business advisors, financial planners etc.

Brag & boast

Almost 4 out of ten of the first statements seen fell into the Brag and Boast category.

The most popular listings were:
‘Award Winning’ used by 7 firms.
‘Top 40 or 50 or 100 accountancy firm’
seen 4 times. The word ‘experts’ or
‘expertise’ seen 4 times.
Others claims included the usual list:
Leading, brighter, clever, passionate, trusted,
exceptional, more than accountants or
different, passionate, great service, etc.

That which is written to please the

writer, rarely pleases the reader.”
Dr. Samuel Johnson

13. © 2022 Perfect Client Limited

 Generalities & slogans
One in 5 messages was a generality or slogan. The most popular theme was ‘working
together’. Five firms centered their message around the word ‘together’. A further 3
continued opted for: ‘partnership’, ‘by your side’ or ‘with you’.

Specific client benefits

differentiators
A total 16% of firms focused their message on specific sectors/benefits.
Some claims were certainly more powerful than others and many could have fallen under
other categories. But if there was an attempt to identify a specific target market or
outcome, we have included them here.

There was a tendency to position benefits / differentiator messages around the word ‘you’,
not ‘we’. This difference in perspective, views firms’ services through the eyes of their clients
and the outcomes they can help them achieve.

Statements varied from identifying specific benefits relevant to specific target markets,eg:
‘Supporting, advising and protecting family businesses and individuals for the long term.’
Whilst others focused their claims on specific outcomes for example:
‘Your Growth Partners’
‘Maximise your potential’
Some just listed the specific sectors they focus on and the region they serve:

‘London accountancy firm specialising in SMEs, media, entertainment,

legal & professional services, healthcare, property.’
‘Accountants for Contractors, sole traders and SMEs’

No Message
The final category represents those 6 firms where we could find no specific claims or
statements in either their banner image or tag line. Where no tagline copy is provided
LinkedIn add the industry sector, location and number of followers under the banner image,
see below. This leaves only one line of copy visible under the ‘About’ heading, at the bottom
the page. This is clearly a massive, missed opportunity on a professional social media
platform to make some key differentiator statement.

Conclusions
The first impressions seen on firms LinkedIn company pages follows the general pattern of
the website headlines above. Although some firms didn’t bother to add any message or
copy to their profiles. Slightly more firms focused on brag and boast claims, 36% compared
to 26%, on their websites. By and large the same messaging appeared on both platforms.

14. © 2022 Perfect Client Limited

 PRACTICE
Values
Values are the zeitgeist of the 2020s just as mission
statements were for businesses in the 1990s.

Genuine values are a business’ North Star. They’re lived and

breathed by everyone within the organisation. Values should
be a powerful differentiator, a window to the soul of the firm.

Yet, as the research below demonstrates, in practice, they are

often just another example of vanilla, me too messaging.

Values should be written on the walls as verbs……please don’t write

honesty on the wall. If you have to write honesty on the wall, you
have much bigger problems.”
Simon Sinek

We found Values listed on over half of our sample’s websites, 56%. The majority had
dedicated a specific page to their values or featured them on their ‘About Us’ page. We
divided the values listed into 4 groups: Minimum Standards, Brag & Boast, Client Focused
and Team Focused.

Client focus
Professional
expertise Working Together
QUALITY
relationships enthusiastic
Passion
be the best
Responsibility
Quality Service
understand Client first CARING
COLLABORATE empowerment

teamwork
INTEGRITY
supportive Care
passionate one team
SHARING Excellence
Honestyapproachable Respect
Commitment
Trust committed

Do the right thing

Fariness
15. © 2022 Perfect Client Limited
 Most popular values
listed by firms
Integrity 38%
Team / Teamwork 26%
Innovate/ innovation 22%
Excellence/ high standard / be the best 22%
Respect 16%
Honest 14%
Do the right thing / ethics (not repeated with integrity) 14%
Client focus 14%
Together (in it, working, succeeding) 14%

Values by category
Minimum Standards
Integrity 38%
Respect 16%
Do the right thing / ethics (not repeated with integrity) 14%
Honest 14%
Professional 12%

Brag & Boast

Innovate/ innovation 22%
Excellence/high standard / be the best 22%
Service (Quality, exceptional, best etc) 12%
Passion / passionate 12%
Focus (on its own, not associated) 10%
Different, Distinctive 10%

16. © 2022 Perfect Client Limited

 Client Focused
Supportive/support supporting clients 12%
Caring / Care 10%
Approachable 10%
Collaboration 10%

Team Focused
Team / Teamwork 26%
Together (in it, working, succeeding) 14%
Empower 12%
Enthusiastic 6%
Bold, brave courageous 6%

Values listed by practices

Conclusions
True values are asserted in behavior, they are identified not chosen. They are
as influential in recruitment and training as they are in marketing. You
might see them listed in the reception area of a business, but you will know
them by the actions of team members.

Rather than reflect the non-negotiable culture and beliefs of the leadership
many seemed to be a random list of virtues. It was disappointing to see,
again, the minimum standards clients expect dominating.

Does a compliance based, professional services business really need to

mention integrity (as listed by almost 1 in 5 firms), honesty and respect?

If values are valued by an organisation, could they be demonstrated by

examples of behaviour or decisions made?

17. © 2022 Perfect Client Limited

 Consistency
of message
across websites and LinkedIn
Pleasingly, most firms, 57%, had a consistent
message in their LinkedIn company page
heading and their website headline, slider or
immediate follow-on copy.

The remainder led their website and LinkedIn

company profiles with different messages.

Consistency of message
Conclusions
Why this is important? If your firm’s competitive advantage isn’t price, you will
need to demonstrate how you differ from competitors.

Your perfect clients will be drawn to you by the claims seen on a range of
platforms and the claims you make in person. If these aren't consistent, they
won't be believed. The more claims they see, the less they’ll believe them.

The best differentiated firms research their perfect clients to understand why
they value them so highly. They listen closely to understand their expertise, as
seen through the eyes of the best clients and the problems they have helped
them solve. They then position themselves, without trying to appeal to every
possible potential client, with confidence and courage.

After such a commitment, they make sure their messaging is tightly aligned to
connect emotionally to those clients who benefit most from working with them.

18. © 2022 Perfect Client Limited

 Call To
Actions
Most website visitors are not at that stage of the
decision-making process to pick the phone up
or fill in the Contact Us form on your website.
But that doesn’t mean that you can’t start a
relationship with them during their visit.
Offering valued content, bringing help and
support in exchange for their email address is a
great way to build a rapport and demonstrate
the difference you can make.
If that help and support focuses on
overcoming a problem commonly
experienced by your perfect clients, it will
work exceptionally well. It demonstrates
you understand their challenges and have
the experience and expertise they need.
We only counted Call To Actions (CTA)
offering more than general offers to: ‘Get in
touch’ / ‘Book your meeting’ / ‘Enquiry’, etc.

None 46%
Sign-up to Newsletter /emails / updates / latest news / stay in touch 32%
Resources incl insights/ tax tables / tools / library / calculators / guides / webinars 16%
Industry trends / specialist sectors 6%

Call To Actions
Conclusions
In almost half, 46% of websites, we found no Call To Actions beyond the standard ‘Get in touch’
on a firm’s Homepage.

Almost 1 in 3 three firms offered a sign up to generic information, newsletter, emails etc. While
16% offered value through tools, calculators, tax tables etc. Slightly more than 1 in 20 firms
offered more focused content on industry trends and specific sectors.

Naturally, the most effective CTSs offer greatest value. Put yourself in the shoes of a potential
client. Ask yourself how tempting is an offer to sign up to ‘a newsletter’, ‘emails’ or worst of all
‘latest firm news’? Consider the bargain. For a prospect to take the time, type their first name and
email address and the threat of further clogging their Inbox, you need to offer considerable value.

The days of building an email list with a promise of: Free Report - 7 ways to pay less tax, are well
behind us. Those firms that understand the problems their best clients struggle with (after,) can
use focused content, gated through CTAs to attract great clients. The help and insight they
deliver demonstrates the value they bring, creating trust and reducing the distance of the leap of
faith to get in touch and get a time in the diary.

19. © 2022 Perfect Client Limited

 Website
PERFORMANCE
However well written and targeted your Hubspot consider anything higher than 
website is, if no one can find it, or security 88% to be good, but anything lower means
warnings flash as it takes an age to load, it’s you should make changes to increase your
not working for you.
score. To determine how well your website
is doing, you need to use a program that
There are a number of website grading tools
runs numerous tests on your page and tells
available. We’ve used Hubspot’s as they are the
you the results within a few seconds.
highest profile provider with over 5,900
employees operating from 11 global offices.
That said, it only provides a snapshot summary.

Overall Performance SEO Security Mobile

Grade Score Score Score Score

Our sample
Average
68.4% 13.6/30 25.8/30 7.8/10 21.9/30

2021
Average 69.1% 13.8/30 27.5/30 6.3/10 26.6/30

Summary
The overall grade is slightly below the average score achieved across all organisations that
used the tool in 2021.

The firms researched achieved a 15% higher score for Security, than the average. Yet they 
were almost 20% below the 2021 average score, for performance on mobiles.

Find out how you measure up at: https://website.grader.com/

20. © 2022 Perfect Client Limited

 A word from our sponsors
‘I talk to accountants in practice almost daily,
coaching them to run their business better
and find more fulfilment in it. When we go
over the challenges they’re facing, I hear the
same problems come up time and time
again. And chief amongst these is getting
their clients to pay them a decent fee. They
tell me that their clients won’t pay anything
more, that they’re only interested in
low-value services and that they’ll leave if
the accountant tries to increase their prices.
It can be a hard job to convince them that it
really is possible to attract the kind of clients
who will pay higher fees.
So the Positioning In Practice report from
Perfect Client is a hugely useful piece of
research both for me and for any accountant
who wants to understand how to win better
quality clients.
Many accountants just don’t understand
what they’re doing wrong and why they’re
meeting such strong price resistance. But the
report’s subtitle says it all really – Survival of
the distinctive. These accountants haven’t
grasped how to differentiate themselves
from their competitors, so they leave their
clients and prospects no alternative but to
compare on price.
The research findings are genuinely
eye-opening. A failure to understand what
clients and prospects actually want is all too
common, as is falling at the first hurdle when
it comes to the firm’s website.
21.
Which of course means that there are great
opportunities for accountants who take the
report’s recommendations on board.
I am delighted that AVN is sponsoring this
report. It’s certain to have a big impact on
accountants everywhere.’
About AVN
To find out how AVN can help your practice
join us on an upcoming Masterclass.
You can find out more here:
http://www.avn.co.uk/masterclass/
Shane Lukas
Managing Director
AVN Inspiring Accountants
‘We are delighted to be one of the official
sponsors / supporters of the research report
‘Positioning in Practice.’
The research findings are of great value and
interest to Delphi Alliance member firms
especially as the recommendations into the
differentiation and positioning strategies can
be applied to all professional services firms
and not just accounting firms.
© 2022 Perfect Client Limited
The report certainly provides an insightful
perspective on how some of the UK’s largest
accountancy firms position and differentiate
their practices to attract the perfect client.
Interestingly, one can conclude from the
research that many accounting firms are
struggling to differentiate themselves from
the competition and even unknowingly
positioning themselves in competing on
fees alone to attract their perfect client.
Also intriguingly, accountancy firms tend to
lack emotional connection with their
potential clients and should do well to
position themselves on their clients and less
on themselves. Emotional connection is a
powerful way to develop value before a
potential client has made a purchase service
decision.
From my experience there's nothing more
valuable to client’s loyalty than an
emotional bond.
Evidently accounting firms who focus on their
best clients’ perceptions on working with
them can gain an invaluable differentiation on
how they differ from the competition.’
About Delphi Alliance
The first multi-practice global Association
linking professionals from twelve different
lines of services with exclusivity membership
rights by country and by line of service,
building synergies and creating new business
opportunities between member firms both
locally and globally. To find out more visit:
https://www.delphialliance.com/
Chris Boreham
Delphi Alliance
22.
‘We are pleased to be sponsoring this
report. As a Director of VFD Pro I know
accountancy firms are always looking for
ways to improve the support and value
they offer for clients.
The challenge many face how to
communicate their offering to their target
audience, in particular their marketing and
how best to differentiate and position
themselves as the go to firm. As the
research says;
‘Being outstanding doesn’t stand out.’
This research provides valuable insights
and advice for firms who know they have
something to offer but don’t know how to
get on the ‘radar’ of the businesses,
(potential clients), that most need their
help. It highlights the need to connect on
a deeper and emotional level by focusing
the communications on the client and
their needs, rather than those of the
practice.
This research is thorough and insightful
and it has caused us to re-think our own
communications strategy and processes.
Our most successful clients are driven by
a desire to offer more than compliance, to
help clients not only Survive, but to Thrive,
Grow and above all, to Exit successfully.
Communicating that message can be
difficult, this research will help firms
position their practice and help the right
clients/prospects understand the true
value they can bring.’
© 2022 Perfect Client Limited
 About Virtual Finance ‘We felt it was important to sponsor this
research because, while it focuses on
Director (VFD Pro) accountants, many of the learning points are
relevant across all professional services. If
VFD Pro enables progressive accountants to
you take any professional service, be it
help their clients be more successful.
lawyers or architects how many times do we
Business owners almost always struggle to
see the firm putting themselves at the centre
reach their full potential due to a lack of
of their website and positioning.
management information, insight and they
really need help in instigating sound
Clients are not interested in how long you
financial management and controls.
have been established and the what the
research calls unsubstantiated ‘brag and
VFD Pro automatically extracts data (from
boast claims.’ The sad fact is few
clients accounting software, Xero, QBO,
professional services firms focus their
Sage etc.), generating in depth, analysis are
messaging on the problems and
reporting, pre-populating sophisticated, (but
opportunities facing their best clients. The
easy to use for an Accountant), models to
issues potential clients are searching their
support management planning, decision
websites and content to find help on!
making, forecasting and the ongoing
process of tracking actual Performance vs
Instead, they find the same claims of being
Forecast to support clients on their journey
better or different, meaningless slogans or in
to success.
1 in 4 cases state the only fact the website
visitor is aware of, variations of: ‘we are a
This transforms the typical backward looking
firm of Chartered Accountants’!
‘compliance’ service, into a future focussed
support service, helping clients improve
This report will help firms who understand
cash flow and increase profitability and the
the importance of differentiating to learn
value of their business.
from the mistakes that accountants are
making. More than that it explains how to
To find out more or to request a free trial,
connect emotionally and start a relationship
visit our website:
by focusing on their interests.
www.vfd-pro.com
That’s why we are recommending it to the
Steve Darnell 13,000 members of our group Marketing
Virtual Finance Director Professional Services.’
(VFD Pro Ltd)
About Marketing Professional Services group
If you would like to join the group, we would
love to welcome you on board –
just click the link:

www.linkedin.com/groups/67296/

Andrea Moulding
The Marketing Professional Services group

23. © 2022 Perfect Client Limited

 Conclusion:
BE distinctivE.
BE CONSISTENT.
If you don’t know how you
differ, you can’t differentiate.
When your perfect client is anyone,
your messaging dilutes your impact.
The key takeaway from the research is the
difficulty potential clients and employees have
in telling one firm apart from another. The
majority of firms either haven’t bothered to
message their difference or have relied on
boastful, unsubstantiated claims of superiority.
There is an argument that more substantial
practices, providing a large range of services
to a broad range of clients, refuse to exclude
potential new business by narrowing their
focus. There’s also a more cynical argument
that firms struggle to differentiate because
there is so little difference in their DNA. That a
firm with 10 plus partners is in reality 10 plus
firms with their own style and agendas
working under one roof.
24.
(Our research on values, might on the face
of this back this up: if values are the driving
force of a business and so many firms list
the same ideals. But we believe it's less an
issue of similarities, more a lack of effort in
digging beneath the surface)
Experience tells us most of these firms are
led by strong leaders with distinct visions
of their future and the cultures they want
to build. The issue lies in clarifying and
communicating that vision in a meaningful
way to the clients and team members
they want to build their futures on. So
why is this?
© 2022 Perfect Client Limited
 Over reliance on branding
Ask practice leaders about differentiation
and they’ll likely point you to their branding.
They might talk about their brand values and
personality even their tone of voice. All very
important stuff.
But branding means different things to
different people. If you expect branding
to successfully differentiate your practice
it must include a heavy investment
in positioning.
Focused on better not different
Many firms make the mistake of focusing on
being better, not different. The problem is,
their description of better is so vague, it’s
shared by competitors. When everyone
claims to be outstanding, no one stands out.
Many think they are:
“But our difference is crystal clear!”
From my experience, most practice and
marketing leaders believe they are positioned
differently to their competitors. It’s only
when listening to their explanations and
reading their copy you see the same words
used repeatedly.
It’s not surprising. In such a mature market,
where firms offer the same services,
delivered by people with similar
qualifications, differentiation must be
built on deep foundations.
25.
Unlike branding, positioning is not
seductive. It’s not focused on you, but your
clients. It takes a commitment in time and
resources to understand who benefits most
from your services and why.
It’s about identifying and owning that
segment of the market that finds you
irresistible and incomparable. It takes the
spotlight off you and on to the problems
and opportunities of your perfect clients.
You can't start to explain how you are
better until you understand how you are
different. Even then, the wider you cast
your net: the more services you provide
across a broader range of clients, the
harder it is to establish a point of difference.
A couple of sessions in front of a
whiteboard collecting the team’s opinions
will only leave you with a list of virtues.
You can't differentiate in isolation. If more
firms compared their messaging and claims
to their competitors, they would see their
“differentiation” is built on similarities.
© 2022 Perfect Client Limited
 The wrong perspective
Perspective is everything. Whilst your view of
how you differ from your competitors is
interesting, it’s also irrelevant. Your focus is on
delivering the service, you don’t experience it. If
you want to know what it’s like to fly with Ryan
Air, you wouldn’t ask the pilot.
Differentiation is viewed from the wrong lens.
Firms must focus on their best clients’
perceptions of working with them:
How do they help them?
How would they describe their
relationship?
How does it differ from their relationship
with their previous adviser?
What do they value most?
What problems do they help them solve?
First impressions, last consideration
Your first challenge in attracting quality new
clients is catching their attention. In the age
of social media, when it’s estimated that we
are exposed to at least 5,000 marketing
messages per day, that is no easy task.
26.
If firms want to connect with and attract
new clients, just like their perfect clients,
they need to think like their perfect clients.
They need to understand how those clients
felt when facing the problems they
specialise in helping them overcome.
They need to understand and
communicate through their perfect clients’
secret language. Accountants talk about
‘working on the business, not in it.’ The
owner of a plumbing business talks about,
‘getting off the tools.’ They need to
demonstrate they understand and connect
on an emotional level.
Without that initial engagement all your
marketing is a waste of money. You can’t
build a relationship with me or develop my
interest without catching my attention.
So why is there so little consideration for
the first impression you project?
© 2022 Perfect Client Limited
 How
can help
Like you, we can’t help everyone, nor do we want to. We help
courageous firms, with strong leadership teams to attract high
margin, joy to work with clients.

Improve your profitability by attracting the clients who benefit the

most from working with you. They pay you higher, more profitable
fees and stay with you longer. So the average profit per client is
transformed, meaning you need to spend less time and money
churning new business.

Improve satisfaction across your team. Your perfect clients value you
and your approach, they respect your opinion so your relationships
are stronger and more enjoyable. The outcomes you help them
achieve are highly valued making your work more meaningful.

Repel ill-fitting, high maintenance, low margin clients to leave you

distraction free to focus on the work, and clients you love.

Own a clear and undisputed position in the market. The area where
the benefits of how you delivery your services, and your best clients
most important needs, join to form an incomparable relationship
where you connect emotionally.

Attract more committed team members, easier by standing apart in a

crowded marketplace. By building a distinct, values-based practice
character you’ll appealing to potential team members aligned to your
essence.

Establish a single, emotionally powerful marketing focus, the

foundation for all your marketing communications. Allowing you to
deliver consistent messaging across all your
marketing channels.

27. © 2022 Perfect Client Limited

 What
you get
One of the biggest challenges our clients face is understanding how to
step back and take a look at themselves from the perspective of their
best clients. It’s a process that fraught with subjectivity, self-doubt and
over-analysis. Plus, there’s also the small matter of the day job to do.

Perfect Client can bring you the perspective to dig deep into the heart
of your leadership team’s beliefs, approach and ambitions
to discover and illuminate the essence of your firm.

We’ll match this with a powerful insight into the emotional attachment
your ideal clients gain through your working with you.

Our Perfect Client process is a module-based professional service that

works through gaining a forensic understanding.

It’s not a quick fix. It takes an investment in time and a commitment in

resources. It’s for courageous firms, with strong leadership teams not
afraid to shake up the status quo.

What we do and don’t do

We work directly with people that make decisions.

We don’t report to people who report to you.

We work with committed, respectful teams who once started, stay on track.

We work with leaders open to sharing their goals and excited about the
opportunities we create together. We don’t work in isolation or rely
on guesswork.

28. © 2022 Perfect Client Limited

 So what
NEXT
Every Perfect Client partnership
starts with a conversation.

Get the ball rolling

Make a time in your
diary to talk with me.
Patrick McLoughlin.

BOOK NOW

Click me!

29. © 2022 Perfect Client Limited

POSITIONING
IN

© 2022 Perfect Client Limited