Marketing for Accountants
Almost every single one of the over 5.9 million private businesses operating in the UK require the services of an accountant.
With such a large market, you may be wondering why accountants need to market at all. Many accounting firms obtain new clients through word of mouth. In fact, the smaller businesses gain around 50% of new clients in this manner. But in order to reach the clients who do not use referrals you have to think differently. Luckily there are many ways to contact these potential clients and gain their custom.
Where to Start?
Possibly the most important aspect when looking at marketing for accountants is to define your business. ‘I am an accountant’ is far to broad a spectrum to effectively market your company. You need to identify your key customer markets. Determining whether you specialise working with certain industries or specific business sizes is key to unlocking the potential of your marketing.
Luckily, three easy steps can help you with this – making an inventory of your skills, identifying your customers needs and focusing on what differentiates you from the other players in the same market.
As above, it is important to make an inventory of your skills. Do you specialise in payroll, year end or non-profit accounting? Defining exactly what you can offer to your clients ensures your marketing is more effective. You can use this information to identify your largest source of income and then specialise in that field. Alternatively you can use this information to decide which parts of your business you would like to grow and target that particular market.
What do your customers need? A question every business asks! If you can answer this you are already on the right track. Using your inventory of skills you can identify the needs that your particular customers require. This enables you to determine whether you are offering the right services. You could be offering a partial service to some customers, covering some but not all of their requirements. Identifying where your business operates allows you to plan your next steps.
Standing out in a crowded market is difficult, especially when the primary services you offer are very similar. Differentiating yourself is key and marketing these differences will help you on your journey to the front of the field.
What options are available
Currently, the web is the most effective marketing tool that allows you to reach the largest possible audience. This is fortunate, being as this is where your prospective customers spend most of their time. In 2019, the average UK internet user spent just under 3 and half hours on the internet every day. During lockdown this increased to over 4 hours per day surfing the web. Meaning that on average, internet users were online for upwards of 28 hours every week – over an entire day!
Let us start by looking at your google listing. One of the best marketing tips for accountants, and any business in fact, is to feature organically at the top of the first page. Most search engine users scroll over the paid advertising sites often featured at the top of a SERP (search engine results page). The first organic result gains the lions share of SERP web traffic. Therefore it is critical to aim for the top spot. Using SEO (search engine optimisation) to achieve this goal is not just crucial, but necessary. Without a significant and constant investment of time and resources, SEO techniques often fizzle out. This is why many businesses turn to specialised marketing and PR firms like VerriBerri to assist them.
Social media also cannot be overlooked, but again they require a large investment of time in order to maintain a worthwhile presence. Many companies often start with a single platform. Prioritising the social network where they expect most of their customers to be. This is another reason a company may choose to outsource their social media marketing. Specialised marketing firms can monitor multiple social media platforms on a regular basis.
Channeling Success
Ensuring a successful marketing campaign is difficult, but never impossible. It requires expertise and industry knowledge. Technical skills in areas such as graphic design and SEO algorithms. But above all, an intimate understanding of how strategy, branding and online marketing work in unison to create a successful campaign.
Your strategy is key. At VerriBerri we take the time to sit down with you to discuss your company. Knowing how your business operates allows us to identify your strengths and the qualities that differentiate you from your competitors. We use these to appeal to new clients and reach a larger audience.
Does your company have a brand? Can your clients tell you apart from your competitors? Having a unique brand is crucial to standing out from the crowd. Our re-branding department can have a significant impact on the success of your business. Working on everything from logos to a complete website overhaul, we can modernise your organisations brand. We work with you to identify the image you want your company to project. Providing your company with a unique identity to secure new clients with.
As we touched on previously, online marketing is an integral tool to connecting you and potential clients. Effectively monitoring your social media feeds and responding quickly to a clients message is critical to generating loyalty to your brand. For accountants, one of the best marketing tips is to build a loyal client base, repeat business is the lifeblood of your business.
Contact Us
While taking the step to use a dedicated marketing and PR firm might seem a little daunting at first. This is the way to ensure future marketing success. We will work with you to specialise your business and reaffirm your client relationships going into the future.
At VerriBerri we will work with you to set up a solid marketing strategy that promotes your vision for your business. We use all the tools available to us to ensure your success. If this sounds appealing and you would like to work with us, call our marketing team on 01376 386 850.