Conduct a Situational Analysis
Identify where your accounting firm is at now.
What services do you offer?
What differentiates your firm from competitors?
How are you marketing your firm?
Determine Your Goals
Where do you want to be?
Do you want to attract more clients?
Gain more profitable clients?
Prep your firm to be sold?
Whatever your accounting marketing goals are, write them down. Make sure to make them S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-based).
Define Your Target Audience
Based on your goals, who do you need to communicate with? Is it your:
Current clients?
Potential clients?
People searching the internet for a new accountant?
Once you define your target audience, you'll also need to identify the
best method to
reach them (e.g. online, social media, email, direct mail).
Develop Your Budget
Identify how much time and money
you can devote to developing your strategy.
Consider:
The amount of time you can dedicate to implementing and managing your marketing
The investment you want to make into your firm's marketing
How much knowledge you have about effective marketing strategies
The amount of time required to see a ROI from your marketing
Determine Your Strategies
Identify how much time and money you can devote to developing your accounting marketing strategy.
Create Marketing Content
Advertisements, direct mailers, your website, emails, all require content. Once you determine the channels in which you'd like to market your firm, you'll then need to put pen to paper (or hire a professional).
Excute Your Accounting Marketing Plan
Once you've crossed your T's and dotted your I's – get the campaign started! Put the direct mailers in the mail, press "send" on that email promotion, post that signage, and get social!
Track and Repeat!
The most important step of all is measuring your accounting firm marketing. You want to know if what you're doing is working – or it's simply a waste of money.
Tip: Use tracking phone numbers on your materials or ask people how they heard about you to see which campaigns are best.