Client Experience as a Growth Catalyst: Integrating CX Across Marketing & BD Teams
- Tricia Boomhower
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
Client experience (CX) is a key growth driver in modern accounting firms. A positive CX helps retain existing clients and attracts new ones through word of mouth, glowing referrals and long-term partnerships.
The challenge? Accounting firms often rely on multiple departments to serve clients, from marketing to business development (BD). If those teams aren't in sync, clients end up with a disjointed experience.
As a marketing leader, you’re in a prime position to align all client touchpoints so they’re seamless and impactful.
Let’s dig into how marketing and BD teams can collaborate to improve the client experience and avoid having touchpoints become bottlenecks. We’ll also cover tools and processes that create a unified, growth-driving CX.
The role of marketing and business development in client experience
Marketing and BD teams play crucial roles in shaping the client experience. If they don’t work together effectively, clients feel the disconnect.
Marketing drives awareness, shapes perceptions and nurtures relationships through content, social media, email campaigns and more. Marketing helps create the first impression and sets the tone for the relationship.
Business development focuses on building relationships, converting prospects into clients and maintaining long-term partnerships. BD teams are involved in deeper client interactions, negotiations and ensuring the firm meets client needs.
To deliver an exceptional CX, these two teams must collaborate closely. For example, marketing can help BD by providing targeted content and messaging that aligns with client needs, while BD gives feedback to marketing on what resonates with prospects and clients.
The importance of touchpoints and how they can become bottlenecks
Every client interaction, or touchpoint, is an opportunity to enhance or disrupt the overall experience. Think about each step in the client journey:
Initial contact. Whether through an online inquiry, referral or marketing campaign, this is the first impression clients get of your firm.
Proposal/engagement. This stage is where BD teams can shine, but miscommunications or slow responses can hurt the experience.
Onboarding/client set-up. A crucial stage where seamless internal processes can make clients feel welcomed and valued, or frustrated if things aren’t organized.
Ongoing communication. Regular check-ins, updates and feedback requests should be streamlined to prevent clients from feeling left out of the loop.
If any of these touchpoints are poorly executed or misaligned between departments, you risk creating bottlenecks that frustrate clients. For example, if marketing runs a campaign that promises personalized service, but the BD team doesn’t have the necessary context or information about the lead, it could create confusion. Similarly, slow internal handoffs between BD and client service teams during onboarding can delay the client’s experience.
Every department that touches the client needs to be aligned on messaging, processes and expectations. If there are delays or breakdowns in communication, clients notice and won’t hesitate to take their business elsewhere.
Tools and processes to support a seamless CX
To ensure the client journey is smooth from start to finish, you need integrated tools and processes that support collaboration and efficiency across departments. Here are a few tools that can help:
Customer relationship management (CRM) systems. CRM platforms like HubSpot or Salesforce allow marketing and BD teams to share client data, track interactions and align strategies. They give you a 360-degree view of each client’s journey and ensure no one works in a silo.
Marketing automation tools. Automating email campaigns and lead nurturing with tools like Mailchimp or Marketo allows marketing to provide timely, personalized messages to prospects and clients without overwhelming the BD team.
Collaboration platforms. Communication and task management tools like Asana and Slack keep everyone on the same page. You can set up shared channels for teams to collaborate on client projects, track progress and ensure that nothing slips through the cracks.
Clear processes are just as critical as the tools you use. Client journey mapping helps you identify key touchpoints and opportunities for improvement. For example, you might set up an automated lead handoff process that triggers an email to the BD team when a client fills out a contact form. This ensures BD is ready to jump in at the right moment with the proper context.
The power of consistent communication and feedback loops
Effective communication is the glue that holds everything together. For client experience to thrive, marketing and BD teams must maintain consistent, transparent communication.
Regular check-ins and cross-departmental meetings help ensure everyone aligns on client needs, expectations and current status. Use these meetings to discuss what’s working well, what’s not and how to improve the client experience.
Once you engage a client, collect feedback regularly through surveys, calls or informal check-ins. By closing the loop on feedback, you identify friction points and can quickly address them before they affect the client’s experience.
For example, if a BD team member hears a client complain about billing, they can quickly pass that info to the marketing or finance team, who can address it promptly. This shows clients that your firm is responsive, attentive and proactive.
CX is a competitive advantage
Client experience isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a competitive advantage. By aligning your marketing and BD teams, eliminating bottlenecks and leveraging tools and processes that streamline communication, you can deliver a consistent, exceptional experience that drives growth. And when your clients feel valued and understood, they’ll stick around and perhaps even become your best advocates!
So, if you want to boost your firm’s growth, remember that integrating CX across teams isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s a must-have for staying ahead of the competition and building long-term, profitable client relationships.
Do you want to fast-track your firm’s success in the areas of marketing and business development?
The Boomer Marketing & Business Development Circle is a peer group of top marketing and business development leaders in the accounting profession who are committed to aligning marketing and business development initiatives with firm strategy. Apply now to get plugged into the Circle and start growing your firm.
As Marketing Coordinator at Boomer Consulting, Inc., Tricia leads digital marketing and inbound lead generation initiatives, aligning closely with the firm’s growth strategy. She brings a diverse background that includes working with small business startups, such as helping launch a fruit snack company in Colorado. A Colorado State University graduate with a degree in marketing, Tricia is passionate about working with purpose-driven teams to create lasting impact both within and beyond the workplace.
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