Experience of My Firms App

Experience of My Firms App

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We are considering investing in 'My Firm's App' if anyone on AW has already done so.  Could we ask your opinion of the App and whether you feel that it is effective in attracting new client enquiries (We appreciate that there are benefits to existing clients, but the main trust for us would initially be attracting new clients).

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By JCresswellTax
04th Feb 2014 14:18

We use Mercia

And its great.

But we certainly havent had any new client enquiries off the back of having an app.

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Richard Sergeant
By Richard Sergeant
04th Feb 2014 16:32

I wouldn't expect much in the way of new business from an App

I think there is a great PR and Marketing opportunity around Apps but have not been able to see a consistent and deep enough positive response from firms to suggest that generating new fees from existing clients or from brand new clients was happening.

I'd also just take on board that there is a further overhead, and possibly a mismatch between website and app content. Ride the wave while you can if it's appropriate to your firms strategy is my advice, but be clear about your objectives and how this will monitored and nurtured over time - otherwise it's a vanity project waiting to be downloaded, and possibly deleted a few months later.

Good luck!

 

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By chatman
08th Feb 2014 12:27

Not Impressed.
I was put off by the awful grammar in their marketing letters.

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Stewie
By Stewie Griffin
18th Feb 2014 16:40

What would you use it for


Having an app just for the sake of it seems pointless.  If it's just full of tax tables and other stuff clients wont use why bother?

If you could make it valuable to them, then go for it, otherwise keep your cash.

I can't see a prospective client picking a firm just because it has an app

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By jon_griffey
18th Feb 2014 16:54

Vanity

There are a number of companies now marketing apps to accountants.  As I see it there is a bit of novelty/vanity value in being able to say 'look how IT savvy we are' but before long a lot of accountants will all have basically the same app and realistically who is going to bother using it?  It's just another overhead/waste of money.

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By StartUpAcc
18th Feb 2014 17:01

Agree - not worth it


I agree with Stewie and Jon : Having another app on the client's phone which nobody will use is a waste of your resources. Look tech savvy to your clients by offering them the best accounting software to run their their business.

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Glenn Martin
By Glenn Martin
18th Feb 2014 17:58

Modern Day Verision of the tax table card

IMHO.

Unless your a large firm dealing with 1000's of clients etc cannot see the point.

I love other peoples tax tables as it saves me writing them out etc but I am accountant and use the information in them.

Most clients don't even read them, and I would imagine would the APP would be the same, small novelty value at first but just a dormant icon on your phone after that. How much time will you have to update it and keep it fresh each month for no return.

better off investing in other forms of direct marketing or PPC I suspect.

 

 

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By Joel Oliver
11th Apr 2014 16:35

Response from MyFirmsApp
As mentioned in a post above, there are indeed benefits in terms of PR and marketing, but the opportunities an app can offer are far greater than this. With so many small business owners now using mobile devices to help run their enterprises, accounting practices which offer their services beyond the desktop are providing a very important function.

We appreciate that, as with all emerging technologies, there can be an element of suspicion or intrigue about the validity of a new product, but evidence seems to suggest that mobile apps are a genuinely trusted and valued service. The growth in the use of mobile devices is not a phase - and the reality is that it will become ever more important to meet the demands of customers by delivering a quality mobile experience.

We would never propose that a firm should have an app simply for the sake of it; if an app is to be truly successful it must offer real value to other user. Like many other smartphone users we’ve downloaded our fair share of apps that simply didn’t get used and got deleted. In fact we find that experience makes us more determined to create something of true value.

In response to the comment suggesting that a prospective client wouldn’t pick a firm just because it had an app... We couldn’t agree more. Having an app is far more about taking the great products and services that your practice offers and helping to deliver them in way that gives your prospects and clients, who are becoming increasingly mobile, a brilliant experience. Simply having an app is unlikely to attract hundreds of new clients, but having a service which makes life easier and more efficient for your customers will certainly present an attractive opportunity.

Finally, we acknowledge that we may have been guilty of focusing more on the product and not necessarily our messaging (and on occasions our grammar!), but we’re taking steps to improve things and look forward to delivering content that is more befitting of our service and the type of communications that AccountingWEB members would prefer to read!

Joel Oliver
MD MyFirmsApp
[email protected]  

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Replying to Glennzy:
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By chatman
11th Apr 2014 16:45

Suspicion of new things? Really?

Joel Oliver wrote:
as with all emerging technologies, there can be an element of suspicion or intrigue about the validity of a new product

This comment seems to imply that people do not have well considered reasons for their lack of interest in this app, other than suspicion of something new. Reading the comments, this does not seem to be the case.

I actually find it quite offensive when people put my objections to something down to a fear of change or of something new, and I think if you fail to recognise what people are saying to you, you will have trouble selling anything.

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By Joel Oliver
11th Apr 2014 17:07

Apologies

Hi Chatman, my comment wasn't supposed to be at all patronising or offensive in any way and I apologise. Intrigue or suspicion of a new technology was just one example of why people may not immediately get the benefits we believe there are to having an app. Some opinions may vary from our own, but I acknowledge the vast majority on here and elsewhere are well considered. Again, I apologise if you were offended by anything in my previous post.

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