How Perkins & Co Earned Best of Accounting for 10 Years

About

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

Results

65 NPS

10-Year Diamond Winner for Client Satisfaction

#1

Most Admired Accounting Firm

In this article
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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.

“Before beginning our Net Promoter Score® (NPS) program with ClearlyRated in 2011, we merely guessed at our client experience (CX) which forced us to base strategic business and marketing decisions on assumptions. This was not a good business strategy.”

– Nicola Fleming

Director of Marketing at Perkins & Co

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.

“Leadership believed in the NPS approach and were impressed by ClearlyRated’s knowledge and commitment to meeting our needs. the feedback garnered through our NPS survey program has helped us address client concerns both at the individual level and toward broad, firm-wide improvements.”

– Nicola Fleming

Director of Marketing at Perkins & Co

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

“The awards we earn from ClearlyRated are a differentiator for us, and the NPS is a respected and objective measure of a company’s service, as measured by clients. We feature our awards and NPS on our website, talk about it on our social media, and include it in our proposals and marketing materials. The Best of Accounting award gives us credibility, and we take huge pride in it.”

– Nicola Fleming

Director of Marketing at Perkins & Co

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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