Early adopters of Xero adopting new website technology
At Xerocon Auckland Laurenson Chartered Accountants entered our competition and won a Xero Partner Package
They said:
“As an early adopter of Xero, we are committed to embracing technology and providing efficient value-added services to the emerging tech-savvy pool of entrepreneurs. We feel a revamped website would provide us with a platform to communicate and engage with success-driven clients who share our vision and focus.”
We thought they sounded like worthy winners indeed.
Our approach
In order for us to deliver a bespoke website that not only captured the personality of the firm, but was tailored to the unique requirements of Laurenson, we needed to understand what makes Laurenson tick, what makes them different from other practices and to answer this question:
Why would I choose Laurenson over another accounting firm?
The first step in the process was a planning session via Skype where we scoped out their requirements and went deep into the psyche of the business – who they are, why they enjoy their jobs and what they love about their clients.
We discovered the following:
- Laurenson are very confident in the breadth and depth of their experience and expertise. It’s a confidence that comes from being in business for 25 years. We needed to make sure that we could harness their self-belief and inject the firm’s personality into the look and feel of their site.
- They place huge value in the one-to-one partnerships they have developed with their clients. Believing that no two customers are the same, they deliver a tailored service to cater to individual customer needs. We wanted to capture Laurenson’s client-centric approach in the site.
- With increasing numbers of people accessing websites via mobile and tablet devices, it was important that Laurenson future-proof their site by ensuring that it looked great and worked perfectly on any device – desktop, tablet or mobile.
- While Laurenson aren’t quite ready yet, they wanted the ability to fully integrate with cloud-based technology in the near future. Fortunately, the platform on which we build Xero Partner websites will facilitate seamless integration with the wide range of cloud-based practice management tools that are in the Xero ecosystem when the time comes.
- Understanding the value in content marketing, Laurenson wanted an effective publishing platform where they could share the latest news, updates and financial advice / tips with existing and potential clients. The WordPress blogging feature we use is perfect for the task.
Injecting personality into accountancy
Use of photography
We wanted potential clients to get a feel for what it would be like to work with the Laurenson team from the moment they first visited the website, and to give them a compelling reason to choose Laurenson over other accountancy firms. It was vital to put faces to names from the outset and provide users with a clear idea of Laurenson’s offerings.
To ensure that the website reflected the personality of Laurenson and their long-standing client partnerships, Laurenson needed to step away from stock photography. We provided clear direction on the photographic style, making sure that each slide represented actual team members interacting with actual clients, capturing the enthusiasm and warmth of the relationships. Each image is supported with clear, concise messaging which defines Laurenson’s bespoke offerings.
Revitalising team profiles
It is the people behind Laurenson that really make the business. So when we looked at how to structure the team member profiles, we wanted to make sure they reflected their individual personalities. The team member profiles are written in the first person and focus on who they are, why they enjoy doing what they do, and what they love about the clients they work with.
Testimonials
Client testimonials are a great way for new clients to find out exactly why existing clients have chosen to work with Laurenson. We provided key questions for Laurenson to ask their clients so that their testimonials reflected upon the strength and value of the partnership they have with Laurenson. We wanted to tell the story of actual clients and show them in their real working environments.
Clear and confident messaging
With 25 years’ experience behind them, we wanted to ensure that the website portrayed the confidence that Laurenson have in their collective abilities. Messaging is clear, concise and consistent in style across the site. We stripped out a lot of content, focusing only on the things that really matter to potential clients – the people they will be working with, the value they will get from the services on offer, and clear, transparent pricing.
What we delivered
1 Full screen photographic slider to showcase the Laurenson team
We opted for a full screen photographic slider to showcase the Laurenson team and promote their client-centric approach.
2 Clear services listing so that clients can find what they are looking for
The services listing is clear, concise, and really easy to navigate through even on a mobile phone. It is followed by a bold call to action to get in contact.
3 Pricing plans are easy to understand and client-centric
The pricing plans are elegantly displayed so that new clients can easily choose the right package to meet their needs.
4 Smart Xero features
We have implemented a suite of smart Xero features including a Xero landing page with client offer, a Xero login so that Laurenson’s clients can now access their accounts simply and easily from the website, a Xero page with all the latest Xero news, and a partner banner on the Xero site.
Recent blog and Twitter updates on the Xero page
Xero landing page
Xero login
5 A WordPress blog to improve search rankings and keep in touch with clients
Adding value beyond providing accountancy services is important for Laurenson. Having a WordPress blog on their site not only enables them to keep their clients up to date with the latest financial news, updates and advice, but also helps improve the website’s ranking in Google.
6 Created using responsive design so the site looks great on all devices
Whichever device Laurenson’s clients choose to use – desktop, tablet, mobile – the website is fully accessible, easy to navigate around and, most importantly, looks great!
Avril Hillind, Director of Laurenson Chartered Accountants, was really pleased with their new site:
“We are absolutely delighted with our new website created by the team at Mogul. At the outset our aim was to achieve a website that felt like us and recognised our strengths to differentiate us from other Accountants, as we are not all the same.
From the very first meeting Mogul delved into what and who we were to uncover our brand essence and understand our business ethos. Once they understood our take on modern business delivery and especially the importance we place on the relationship with our clients they provided insightful briefs for our photographer, those writing testimonials and for us in the material we needed to write to help us bring out our brand, expertise and passions by expressing what we do that is different.
As the project progressed and we saw the first drafts of the website it instantly felt us and we knew they had nailed it. We were not the easiest customer to work with as we had several key staff members out of action with serious illnesses during the project and working with our clients is always the priority. Mogul managed this incredibly well, keeping in touch, being empathic but keeping us gently on track and providing really useful feedback along the way, good project management skills indeed.
The result of working with Mogul is a website that is light years ahead of our previous out of a box website and has exceeded our expectations. Every time it opens on my screen I feel proud that it shows us as we want to be seen to the world and the mobile look is just wonderful, clear, easy to read and navigate.
We will be looking for every opportunity to tell others considering a new website that Mogul are more than just designers they take the time to understand your business and work alongside you to provide a website that is uniquely yours – a rare quality.”
Just what you’ve been waiting for?
Awesome. If you’d like more information, check out the Mogul Partner Packages, or get in touch if you just want a chat about how we might be able to help.
