Accounting companies always find it difficult to attract new customers, and this is the result of fierce competition, so you, as the owner of an accounting company, must prepare a strong digital marketing strategy.
It is essential to invest in digital marketing that will position your company as an industry leader to stay ahead of the curve.
There are many different ways to do this, from face-to-face communication to digital marketing, but doing it the wrong way will lead you to spend a lot of money without achieving your goals.
I will explain and show you the most effective marketing strategies for your accounting company so you can start seeing results and growing your business.
What is the importance of marketing an accounting firm
First, you have to set a basic rule, which is that the consumers interests change from time to time.
If your marketing strategy does not evolve with these changes, customers will decide to go elsewhere for services that meet their interests, and your company will quickly become obsolete.
You can create a marketing strategy that resonates and leads to conversions, all you have to do is clearly understand your target market and what they want.
How to market to accounting firms
There are a lot of different marketing methods that accounting firms can use to bring in new clients, but not all of them will be effective.
We have compiled a list of the most effective marketing strategies for accounting firms, to save you effort, time, and money:
Pay only when customers are interested
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a very effective strategy to include in your marketing plan.
You can put your offers in front of potential customers because they are actively searching for them.
If you're not implementing Google Ads, you're missing out on an excellent opportunity to increase leads and grow your accounting firm.
Stay in front of people wherever they are on social media
Social media marketing is one of the most important ways to bring in new customers, all you have to do is set up more accounts and post every now and then.
All you have to do is prepare a strategy that shows the platforms you're using and the content you're sharing.
Make sure that you are aware of the platforms your target market is using and that your content is relevant to them.
To bypass the difficulty of creating a social media account, you must implement social advertising in your marketing plan.
This strategy relies more on awareness of the brand and finding out how it affects your audience.
Before posting, think of it over a hundred times as a foolproof view of your content.
Once you get the content evaluated and work well, then you can drive traffic to your website and convert leads.
Third-Party Trust
Third-party sites that display positive reviews are a great way to gain the trust of potential customers.
When people search for accounting services, they certainly turn to highly recommended listing sites.
Here you have to ask the question, when did you buy anything online without checking reviews?
If you don't pay attention to these sites, you are missing out on an expensive opportunity to reach new customers.
Some of the most popular listing sites for accounting firms are:
- Google Business Profile
- Yelp
- Yellow Pages
Ensure that your company is listed on these sites and that you are in contact with them by regularly checking and responding to reviews.
This will show your resume to potential clients that you are a reputable company that others can trust.
Be active and socially with your audience
When you are done setting up your social media accounts and start posting content, you need to be active and connected to your audience.
Then you have to be ready in terms of responding to comments, questions, and messages.
This is necessary, to build trust and relationships with potential clients, it may seem like it takes a lot of work and effort.
You should also join online communities of your niche and ideas and participate in discussions.
This will help you build relationships with professionals in your field and future clients.
It is important for people to be dealing with people they know, love, and trust.
If you are able to convert leads into customers, this indicates that you have become a reliable supplier of information.
How to Leverage existing clients
The most important thing is to focus on referrals because they have the highest closing rate of any marketing strategy.
It's common knowledge that when someone you know and trust suggests a service, you are more likely to use it.
Therefore, you should take care of your existing customers to benefit from their referrals.
Use easy ways that you provide to your customers by setting up referral cards or an online form that they can fill out.
You can also offer a discount, incentive, or gift to anyone who refers a new customer to your company.
This is a great way to grow your business dynamically and get more customers without spending huge money on marketing.
Be integrated into society
As an accounting firm, you must participate in the financial community.
All you have to do is join relevant online communities, take part in discussions, and attend industry events.
Participation will allow you to build relationships with other professionals and new clients.
Participation also enables you to demonstrate your knowledge and experience.
People are always looking for recommendations, all you have to present yourself as a reliable supplier, it is natural to get clients.
Focus the website as a digital property
Your website is the basis of every digital marketing strategy you implement.
Successful accounting marketing campaigns consist of a powerful website optimized for conversions.
Take care of designing your website to attract leads and get people to contact your company.
Make sure your site is fast, mobile-friendly, and has clear calls to action.
Focusing only on social media platforms, you have no control over it can derail your marketing campaigns if the platform changes its algorithm or policies.
One of the advantages of a website is complete control of your digital presence and it should be the main focus of your marketing efforts.
You can use Elementor + Hosting for your WordPress website. Even if you are not technical, you can use this low-cost website builder that uses premium templates and quality support with just a few clicks!
How to Leverage Google Search
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) will help your website find when people search for the content you provide.
SEO is that it attracts customers 24/7, even when you are closed.
Make sure your website is optimized for relevant financial and accounting keywords and that you post new content regularly.
Also, consider setting up Google My Business to improve local SEO and make it easier for people in your area to find your company.
Google search is a powerful tool that your accounting company can use to get more clients.
Focus on your local area
Local SEO is powerful for accounting firms.
While local SEO is focused on finding you in your city or town, organic SEO can also get you to find you across the country.
You have to rely on local SEO because most accounting firms serve a specific geographic area.
When it comes to financial services, many business owners and professionals still prefer to have the option to go to the office and meet face to face.
That's why it's important to focus on local SEO and make it easier for people in your area to find your company.
There are a few ways you can improve your local SEO by claiming your Google Business profile listing, optimizing your website for local keywords, and listing in local directories.
You can ensure that your company is the first company that people see when searching for an accountant in your area, by focusing on local SEO.
Connect with your audience with videos
Nowadays, video marketing is one of the most effective ways to connect with your audience and build trust.
When you interact with people with your face and they hear you speak, they are more likely to feel that they know you.
This is important when it comes to financial services and accounting because people want to work with someone they can trust.
All you have to do is video marketing in several ways, including creating useful educational videos, promoting customer testimonials, recording live events, and publishing interviews with experts.
Ensure that video marketing needs high-quality content and delivers value to your target audience.
High-growth accounting firms understand that this new world of digital marketing revolves around content with value.
Create valuable content
Blogging continues to be one of the most effective online marketing tools that you can use to reach potential customers.
A blog post can help other marketing ideas work better.
An example is writing a blog post about how to choose an accountant, from which you can tell small businesses about your company.
You can write a blog post about tax planning strategies to attract high-income individuals.
This is an effective and feasible way to take advantage of search engines for organic search engine optimization.
Or you can discuss state-specific tax strategies for high-net-worth individuals.
All you have to do is increase the importance of your website for your local SEO campaigns.
You can also use your blog to attract the types of customers you want and then link it to your other marketing materials in the blog post.
All the above examples will help you in increasing the traffic to your website and improve your SEO.
Connect with people who have shown interest
Marketing for Accounting Firms Can Get Expensive.
For example, in terms of expanding your marketing team, increasing ad spend on your social media pages, or optimizing your website, there are always ways to spend more money.
One of the most effective strategies for accounting firms is to reach people who have already shown an interest in your company because it is less expensive and more effective in attracting customers.
In marketing, there is a rule called retargeting and remarketing.
They are referred to as people who have visited your website, subscribed to your email list, or followed you on social media.
For people who are interested and interact with everything you do, it will be easy for you to convert them into customers.
We assume that potential customers have landed on your tax strategy page on your website.
Therefore, you can create educational and entertaining content revolving around tax strategy for people who are interested in tax strategy.
Now you can run a social advertising campaign on Facebook with a special offer only for the people who arrived on your website page.
There are many ways to do this but make sure you are on the pages and actions that have the greatest chance of becoming client.
Nurturing potential clients according to their geographical area
Email marketing is a must for your digital marketing strategy.
This method focuses on retargeting people who are interested in your company's offerings at no additional cost.
For example, to attract small business owners in the tech industry, you can create a segmented email list and send them personalized content tailored to their needs.
You can also use email marketing to persuade and bring in potential customers who are not quite ready to commit to your services.
This can be done by sending them useful content, such as a guide on choosing the right accounting software, tips on reducing their tax bill, or financial solutions.
You define your value through your valuable content and therefore you will get better open rates by providing relevant and useful information.
Digital marketing for accounting firms is inexpensive and complicated. All you have to do is use a mix of strategies to attract the right clients and grow your business.
How to Create a Marketing Plan for Accounting Services
Many accounting firms make the wrong of optimizing digital marketing in their marketing campaigns, which results in wasting time, effort, and money on marketing.
That's why creating a business plan for marketing your accounting firm is essential.
Your marketing plan should be tailored to your company's strengths and the needs of your ideal customers, and also be flexible enough to change as your business grows and develops.
Pay attention to the target market
Trying to market your company to everyone is a recipe for disaster.
You will end up spreading yourself too thin and not be able to create targeted content that resonates with your audience.
The success of your marketing plan by choosing the target market for your campaigns is essential to your success.
The target market is the people who are willing to use your services.
To choose clients, consider the following:
- Who are your ideal clients?
- What type of businesses do they own?
- What are their pain points?
- What solutions are you offering them?
- Where do they hang out online?
You will understand better who you should target in your marketing once you have answered these questions.
You should now focus your efforts on reaching and talking to as many people as possible.
This way, you can better understand what they are interested in and what they are looking for in an accountant.
You can also use this information to create targeted content that resonates with them and attracts them to your company.
Choose a realistic budget
The accounting industry is competitive, so you need to decide on a budget that can move the needle for your company.
First, you may need to focus more on building your brand and use a more hands-on marketing approach.
You can start allocating your budget to different channels, once you have an idea of how much you can realistically spend on marketing.
What are the appropriate channels for your company
There are many marketing channels available, but not all of them will be suitable for your business.
You need to identify the most effective channels to reach your target audience.
You should also consider which channels will provide the best return on investment (ROI).
You want to create a comprehensive mix of channels that can provide short-term and long-term results.
Short-term results may have more initial costs, such as PPC, and you will only succeed if you keep investing.
Whereas with long-term results it will continue to work for you long after the investment with as little effort as SEO.
Find what works for your competitors
Don't make budget your biggest problem, you don't want to try to reinvent the airplane wheel.
Spy on your competitors and follow their news through their websites or social media and see if there is anything you can learn from them.
You can also use tools like BuzzSumo to research viral marketing campaigns and what other content is working well in your industry.
The above-mentioned site will give you an idea of the trending topics that resonate with your audience, and also create similar content for your company.
Set SMART goals
Now that you have identified your research and the ideas you want to achieve, it is time to define the main goals of your company.
Don't choose your goals at random. All you have to do is choose your marketing objectives smartly.
- Geographical location: focus your goals on a specific area or scale.
- Measurable: You have a way of measuring whether or not you have achieved your goal.
- Realistic: goals that are achievable and realistic given your resources.
- Relevant: Objectives are relevant to your overall business development strategy.
- Time Factor: Set your deadline for when you want to achieve your goal.
An example of a SMART goal for an accounting firm is as follows:
“To increase website traffic by 10% in the next quarter by creating and promoting blog content on relevant topics.”
This goal is specific (increase website traffic), measurable (by 10%), achievable (with some effort), relevant (people interested in accounting topics), and timely (in the next quarter).
Now that we've shown you the idea of setting SMART marketing goals, you can start planning your campaigns.
Monitoring, measuring, and pivoting
Successful companies don't focus only on the short term and the money they make.
Monitor systems that track your marketing efforts and know what works and doesn't.
Your data flow helps you decide where to allocate your resources to achieve the best return on investment.
And if something isn't working, don't be afraid to pivot and try something new. The key to success is constantly learning and adaptation.
If you can do these things, you will be well on your way to being successful in marketing your accounting firm.
Reasons Why Your CPA Marketing Fails
Now that you have a basic understanding of how to market your accounting firm, let's look at some common mistakes that can cause your marketing efforts to fail.
Getting cheap professional services
Many companies are looking for marketing services and consultants to assist in their marketing efforts.
While there is nothing wrong with being cost-conscious, you should be careful not to be too cheap.
Be sure to get professional help from someone knowledgeable and experienced in marketing that will save you time and money in the long run.
Use one marketing channel
Getting good results from one marketing channel is a great start, but you don't put all your eggs in one basket.
You need to create a comprehensive mix of channels that can provide multiple points of failure if one of the channels changes its target capabilities or reach.
Setting an unrealistic goal
Just because you know an accounting firm that has been able to populate their appointment book with just Facebook ads doesn't mean that it will work for you.
You will diversify your different marketing efforts based on your company's size, location, focus, and budget.
It is essential to focus on setting realistic goals that reflect your situation.
Failing to adapt marketing
Naturally, your customer's behaviors change.
If your digital marketing strategy, referral program, or content marketing efforts don't adapt, you risk losing out to competitors and playing catch up.
How much does an accounting firm spend on digital marketing
There are ways to estimate your marketing budget, you just need to focus on a successful digital marketing plan and don't make it daunting for you.
First, calculate your revenue for the year and then allocate 3-5% conservatively if you're focused on steady growth and retention.
To scale and achieve more success in marketing, set 5-10% of revenue to achieve this goal.
Use 10% of that to explore and test built-in channels or develop new tools and technology for your firm.
This will give you a baseline when estimating your marketing budget.
