The Power of Contact Segmentation in Accounting Firms: Why and How to Get It Right

by Feb 4, 2025

In today’s competitive accounting landscape, personalized communication and focused outreach can make all the difference in attracting, serving, and retaining clients. Given the unique challenges that accounting firms face—especially when working with data trapped in Practice Management systems that do not translate cleanly into Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platforms—an effective segmentation strategy is more critical than ever. By segmenting contacts thoughtfully, firms can gain a clearer picture of their client base, tailor their services and marketing messages, and ultimately foster stronger, longer-lasting relationships. Below, we’ll explore the importance of segmentation, outline the challenges accounting firms often face, and offer strategies to create a manageable segmentation process.

Understanding Segmentation and Its Importance

Contact segmentation is the process of dividing your overall contact list into smaller, more targeted groups. Common segmentation criteria include the status of the contact (e.g., client, prospect, referral partner), industry, services provided, relationship owner or demographics. For an accounting firm, segmentation can be pivotal for several reasons:

  • Targeted Communications: By understanding who your contacts are and their specific needs, you can send them communications and content that speaks directly to their challenges. For instance, a prospect in the manufacturing sector may have different needs/concerns than a client in the tech industry.
  • Efficient Marketing and Thought Leadership: Accounting firms often create content to showcase thought leadership—like whitepapers, webinars, or blog posts. When these materials are sent to the right audience, the firm bolsters its reputation as a trusted advisor rather than sending everyone the same information that may or may not be relevant to their situation.
  • Better Relationship Management: When partners and advisors know exactly who they’re dealing with—whether it’s the top 10% revenue clients or a small group of new prospects—they can tailor their interactions more efficiently. This personal touch often leads to stronger professional relationships and increased client loyalty.

Challenges in Organizing Contacts

Despite its benefits, many accounting firms struggle with organizing and segmenting their contacts. One of the primary hurdles is the mismatch between Practice Management systems and CRM platforms. Practice Management systems generally cater to internal processes, focusing on billing and time-tracking, while a CRM is designed for external relationship management and marketing automation. As a result, data doesn’t always migrate easily or neatly from one system to the other.

Additionally, firm-wide participation is often necessary to accurately segment contacts. Partners and advisors usually have the most up-to-date client information—such as revenue generation, industry focus, and service use—yet gathering and aligning this information can be cumbersome. For firms with thousands of contacts, the task can feel overwhelming. This complexity sometimes leads to procrastination or a segmented list that remains perpetually incomplete.

Starting Small: A Gradual Approach to Segmentation

A key strategy to combat feeling overwhelmed is to start small. Rather than attempting to categorize every single contact at once, focus on the most valuable or critical segments first and move on from there. For example:

  1. Current Clients: Your current clients is the most important group to get organized. If you have a large client list, begin by segmenting the top 10% of clients by revenue. This smaller subset is easier to handle, and it ensures you’re prioritizing the clients that contribute most to the firm. Once that group is classified, expand to the top 25%, then 50%, until all clients are accounted for.
  2. Promising Prospects: After the key client segments are in place, consider your top prospects. These contacts are crucial for business growth, and understanding their needs and pain points can significantly improve your marketing and sales strategies.
  3. Referral Partners and Other Key Stakeholders: Next, move on to referral partners—attorneys, financial advisors, and other professionals who frequently send business your way. Properly categorizing and nurturing these relationships can lead to more consistent referrals and collaboration opportunities.

By tackling your contact list in smaller batches, you reduce the risk of burnout and improve accuracy. Keep in mind, contact management is an ongoing effort and will never be perfect. There may be contacts in your database that will never be segmented, and that’s ok. The goal is to focus on your most important contacts first then move on based on priority.

Gaining Firm Leadership Buy-In

For segmentation to work, firm leadership must champion the process. Their endorsement not only sends a strong message about the importance of organized contact data but also encourages other team members to contribute. When partners and advisors see that management values this work, they are more likely to invest the time and effort needed to keep contact information updated and accurate.

Leveraging CRM Tools: Tags and Custom Fields

Most modern CRMs offer features like tags and custom fields that make it easy to filter and group contacts. For instance, you might add tags like “IND-Manufacturing,” “SERV-Audit,” or “DEM - High Net Worth.” When you need to send industry-specific updates or special promotions, you can quickly pull the relevant segments from your CRM without sorting through the entire contact database.

Consider the following best practices:

  • Develop a Tagging System: Decide on a clear naming convention and ensure everyone in the firm follows it. This helps maintain consistency and prevents confusion. Consider adding a prefix to keep tags organized; IND - Industry, SERV - Service line, or DEM - Demographic.
  • Use Custom Fields Wisely: Collect only the data you truly need. Too many fields can deter busy team members from inputting or updating information.
  • Regular Database Maintenance: Schedule periodic reviews to remove duplicates, purge outdated contact info, and add new insights. This ongoing maintenance keeps your data fresh and your segmentation accurate.

Creating a Culture of Continuous Improvement

Segmentation isn’t a one-time project—it’s an ongoing effort. As your firm grows and changes, your contact list will inevitably expand, and existing clients may shift to new services, industries, or needs. It’s crucial to revisit your segmentation strategy regularly to ensure it remains aligned with the firm’s goals and your clients’ evolving situations.

Let's Talk!

Call us at (314) 433-5800 or fill out the form below and we'll contact you to discuss your specific situation.

  • Should be Empty:
  • Topic Name:

Subscribe to our Resources

Get actionable content emailed to your inbox every month.

  • Should be Empty: