Hello, this is Matsubara, CRM Evangelist.

"When a client leaves, it's always so sudden for some reason."

I've heard this phrase many times from owners of tax accountants and accounting firms.

But was it really "sudden"? Clients who leave don't suddenly lose interest.
The temperature must have dropped beforehand.
It's just that there was no mechanism in place to notice that change.

This article tells the story of a tax accounting firm that improved its client retention rate from 88% to 96% by introducing emotional temperature analysis.

*This article is a fictional story based on industry realities and implementation patterns of multiple companies.

Was the "sudden departure" really sudden?

This story takes place at a tax accounting firm (with 8 staff members and 120 client companies).

In one particular year, 14 of our client companies terminated their contracts within the fiscal year.
Of these 11 companies, the general consensus was that "there were no particular problems."
When I asked the person in charge, all I got was, "We suddenly received a cancellation notice."

However, when I later interviewed the person in charge at the client company whose contract had been terminated, a common pattern emerged.

"I felt like I was getting less contact from the person in charge during the last year."

"Once the financial year ended, there was no contact until the next financial year."

"I was just approached by a teacher I knew. That's all it was."

It wasn't sudden. The temperature of our relationship had been gradually decreasing.

The introduction of emotional temperature—the first discovery

The first thing we did after implementing EMOROCO CRM Lite was to set emotional temperature levels for all 120 of our client companies.

The moment the setup was complete, the administrator looked at the numbers and fell silent.

"33% were 'cool' or lower. To be honest, I thought it would be around 10%."
The problem was there all along, it was just that we couldn't see it."

Designing proactively to avoid being "below cool"—3 workflows

After completing the emotional assessment, we designed a proactive follow-up strategy for clients who were at a "cool" or lower emotional level.

Workflow ①: Early detection of emotional temperature cooling

Workflow ②: Proactive follow-up 3 months before the closing month

Workflow ③: 60-day alert since the final meeting

"Narrative Memo" changed the way things were handled.

The biggest change in this office wasn't the workflow.
This involved using "narrative memos."

Before implementation, this kind of thing happened every time the person in charge changed.

Person A will hand over Company B, which they had been in charge of for five years, to Person C.
Person A has the following information in mind: "The president of Company B is driven more by personal feelings than by numbers," "There was a tax audit three years ago, which has caused some distrust since then," and "He is considering passing the business on to his son."
But C doesn't understand any of this.

C's first visit begins with zero context for the five-year relationship.

Since introducing narrative memos, we've established a rule that staff members record 1-3 sentences after every interview.

For clients where we accumulated a wealth of narratives within six months, a handover document was no longer necessary when the person in charge changed.
The new person in charge can now read through past narratives and start conversations by saying, "I've heard all about this from my predecessor."

Changes after one year

A retention rate increase from 88% to 96% may seem like a small change when viewed numerically.
But it will have a big impact on sales.
If the average monthly consulting fee per client is 50,000 yen, an increase of 9 clients would result in an annual revenue difference of 5.4 million yen.

The reason why "referrals doubled"

An unexpected change that occurred alongside the improvement in retention rates was an increase in the number of referrals.

"I've decided to only ask for referrals from clients who have a high emotional temperature."
Previously, I would ask anyone, including clients with whom my relationship was strained, which I think was counterproductive.
"I've become able to see people's emotional states through their emotional temperature, which has allowed me to choose the right timing and the right person to talk to."

The "emotional temperature" feature in CRM 4.0 is not a "management tool."
It's a compass for understanding the current state of your relationship with your customers.
Knowing your current location will help you decide what to do next.
I can now see, like a map, which clients I should ask for referrals from, which clients I should rebuild relationships with, and which clients I should visit immediately.

Summary — "Sudden dropouts" can be prevented.

When a client leaves, it's rarely truly "sudden."
There are always warning signs.
If the frequency of communication decreases, responses become less responsive, and meetings become more perfunctory, these can be recorded as signs of a "decline in emotional temperature," allowing you to take proactive measures.

If I had to summarize what this firm learned in one sentence, it would be, "The problem was there all along, it was just not visible."

Start by setting the emotional temperature.
Something changes when you check the percentage of all your clients that are below the "cool" stage.

Click here for a 30-day free trial of EMOROCO CRM Lite.
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Related article

• "It's over once the financial statements are finalized" won't get you chosen—How tax accountants and accounting firms can systematize their financial closing follow-up using EMOROCO CRM Lite's task management and workflow.
• What happened to a company that continuously used Emotional Temperature for a year? — The compounding effect of CRM 4.0
• Business Succession × EMOROCO CRM Lite — A complete design for "relationship asset succession" to pass on 30 years of customer relationships from founders to the next generation.
• Reasons for Choosing EMOROCO CRM Lite: Real Voices from 10 Companies That Have Implemented It