june2022 - 19

THE MILLENNIAL ADVISOR
Firm Management Lessons
from the Grocery Store
GARRETT WAGNER, CPA
CEO/Founder, C3 Evolution Group
garrett.wagner@cpapracticeadvisor.com
IN 2022, WE take many things in our life for granted, but few of those are as well thought
out and designed as the modern grocery store. Back before 1960, if you walked into a
grocery store, it looked nothing like the modern marvels of today. It was in the 1960s
where the grocery store industry realized that by having a deliberate layout and
design, they would see their revenue skyrocket, new product expansion,
and, best of all, customers couldn't get enough of the changes.
revenue growth
are key among
them. Whi le
many firms talk
about these issues,
few attempt to make such
a change happen, and even fewer
You may not think twice about
your favorite grocery store's layout,
but it thinks about you more than you
realize. According to the USDA, the
average amount of time American's
spend in the grocery store has been
on the steady incline over the past
several years. According to the latest
survey, the average American spends
46 minutes per trip in the grocery store
from a study by the USDA released in
2019, and top grocery stores average
closer to two hours.
The modern grocery store layout
is carefully designed to engage you
from the moment you walk in and
see the vibrant colors of the produce
section and then guide you through
the store, making sure you are tempted
to purchase as many goods as possible
on your trip.
The key aspects of the layout
are focused on guiding your journey
to purchase the right products the
store wants you to buy and keeping
you in the store for as long as possible;
everything is intentional.
This transformation aligns
surprisingly well with the challenges
accounting firms are facing today.
The shifts to advisory services and
actually succeed.
For years, firms have struggled
to understand this shift and how to
change their methods of operations.
One of the challenges is that typical
accounting firms are not designed
around advisory services. You can slap
a new coat of paint on the firm, but
it doesn't actually change anything.
Given this, what can we as
accounting firms learn if anything
from the grocery store model?
FOCUS ON THE KEY
PRODUCTS
The first key takeaway is that accountants
need to focus first and foremost
on identifying their key products.
That is right, we are the in business
of providing services or products
to customers. Just like the grocery
store that places the produce up front
because it's a key product, you need
to first know what your key product is
so you can correctly place it.
Your first step is to identify the
three key services that best fit you,
your firm, and your brand. Once you
know what these key services are,
you can begin to build your store
layout, promotional items, end cap
displays, and more, but it all starts
with identifying the services.
Think about the layout for a minute.
Of the three services, which one
is the best to lead with, just like in the
grocery store, to draw customers in?
For many firms, tax services are what
get people in the door, but providing
those services is not the ultimate goal.
Your lead product doesn't have to be
as vibrant as the produce section to
be effective.
CREATING THE JOURNEY
Remember, the key with the grocery
store model is to guide the customers
into spending as much time in the
store as possible, as every minute in
the store means another minute with
them buying something else. For you,
it is about guiding your journey, your
language, your talking points to focus
on your three key services.
No matter what your services are,
you need to understand for each the
key questions to ask, pain points to
identify, indicators of need, and most
important of all, how to price (but
pricing is a topic for another article).
Chances are good that most accountants
can list three services their firm
offers, but too few can answer many
questions about those services.
Since you know the final destination,
say business advisory services
as one of your three products, then
you can create a roadmap around the
journey to reach that point.
One of the major benefits internally
of this approach is that it reduces
our discomfort at trying to think on
our feet and being unsure what to say.
Standard scripts are key, and, just like
with the grocery store where each isle
is designed to lead you to the next,
your scripts of talking points should
guide your clients along their journey
to exploring more of your services.
BUILDING YOUR STORE
If you want to successfully evolve your
firm into the modern area, you need to
start building your grocery store the
right way; learn from the transformation
of the modern grocery store in the
1960s and modernize your practice.
The key to successfully engaging with
the customers is to help your clients
identify and understand their key
needs so you can provide the right
service at the right time.
Just think about the last time you
walked into the grocery store. Did you
complain that it was designed to make
your shopping easier and guide you to
the right products, or did you yearn to
meander around a grocery store with
items randomly scattered throughout?
Grocery stores went through a major
shift in the 1960s with a focus on
guiding the customers on a journey
to buy the right products and have
never looked back since. Stop trying
to be all things to everyone. Focus
on building your store and watch the
success follow. ■
JUNE 2022 ■ www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com
19

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