While advertising and expertise may attract your initial customers, great customer service is what will bring them back to you year after year, and it is what will generate residual business. There are several things that you can do as a tax preparer that will please your clients. First you should be timely with your services. Try to complete tax returns and return them to your customers as quickly as possible.
Secondly printout copies of the returns for the customer to keep for their records without an additional charge. This service will let your customer know that you value their patronage and that you a considerate professional. It will also save them from having to make a copy of their return themselves.
Also provide the client with envelopes that have the appropriate tax department address and the client’s return address printed on them. This will ensure that your customer submits the return to the appropriate IRS location. It also reduces the number of steps that you clients have to complete themselves.
You will also want to place flags next to every place that your client will need to sign and date. Again this will help reduce confusion and will make sure that every place that requires a signature gets one.
Another service that you can offer your customers it to provide them with a neatly labeled folder for their tax return. The label should include their name, the type of return that is enclosed, and the tax year. Inside the folder you can place their federal tax return, a copy of their federal tax return, envelopes that are pre-addressed for the appropriate tax department, and any supplementary information, forms, ext.
The final things that you should always do are to return calls as quickly as possible no matter when they come in (within reason), be available to answer your customers’ questions, and make sure that you are always courteous with your responses even when they seem stupid.
If you provide your customers with excellent customer service they will come back to you year after year, and they will refer their friends and family to you. This is the best and most effective way to build your tax preparation business.