Why Accounting Firms Can No Longer Skip On Marketing Budget
The pandemic has exposed businesses to unprecedented working conditions with social distancing, remote working and restrictions in place. Facing a volatile environment where rules and ways of conducting business can change all the time, businesses are evidently pushed towards a sped-up digital transformation.
This, in turn, highlights the need for a strong digital presence if businesses want to succeed – or even survive – during and after the pandemic. Businesses moving to the digital landscape would also face competition that is more fierce, with an active digital footprint being the key to differentiation online.
Accounting firms can no longer skip on marketing
Your success online will not automatically follow your success offline. As borders get blurred online, you might not even see the same community presence as you do offline. Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean that you’re starting on a level playing field with your competitors. It just means that you have to put more effort into your digital marketing, or you will be left at the bottom of the search results pages.
Furthermore, this means that your ad hoc marketing is no longer sufficient. With the intense competition you’re facing online, and the countless data-driven, cutting-edge technologies you can easily utilize, there is no space for guesswork in digital marketing. Implementing impulsive tactics will only result in inefficient marketing spending.
This is where a marketing strategy comes in. Like any other strategy, marketing strategies start with a goal and objective in mind, with the following plan on what you need to do to achieve that. More importantly, a good marketing strategy would ensure that you communicate with your potential customers with a consistent voice across all communication channels.
Together, relevant key messages and communication, along with coherent supporting tactics, make up a solid marketing strategy that will improve your position in the digital landscape.
It is clear that accountants in 2021 have to do more than just accounting
Accountants have never had to think about marketing as much as they do today. The modern accountant knows that they have to invest in good marketing strategies to actually reach their client base.
With the potential to: improve their brand awareness and reputation, create a strong foundation for the sales team down the funnel or maintain customer relationships in the long run, marketing is not something accountants can put aside for later.
But what do accountants know about marketing?
Don’t always think about marketing as something grand, monumental and never seen before. Good marketing is more about consistency. Consistency with your brand values, consistency with your audience, consistency in your message, and every interaction throughout.
Your first venture into the world of marketing should begin with setting up a good, starting foundation. This can be done by having a website, Google business listing or social media accounts (e.g., LinkedIn for professionals, Facebook for community, and so on).
From then on, you can build greater value and presence by adding more relevant information and content that can help improve your search engine performance or social media following. You can also add email marketing to the list, if you want to better maintain the relationships you have built online.
As the tasks get overwhelming, you can use the many available technologies to assist you in the process. From automation software, CRM platforms to social media management tools, your marketing activities can – and should – be suited to the scale and needs of your business.
Accountants don’t have to “D-I-Y”
Having said that, if you are still unsure about what you need to do about your marketing performance, it is better to outsource the work to a professional. After all, you would want your marketing activities to be done correctly, so that they draw customers in, and not drive people away.
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