Why CPA Accounting Marketing Programs Fail
After developing five accounting firms from 1984 to 1994, I spent the next fifteen years helping more than 2,000 accountants develop and improve their accounting firms as a practice development consultant. This experience showed that many accountants had implemented many marketing programs that failed.
The main reason most accounting marketing programs fail is because the accountant tries to treat their services as a commodity. Unfortunately, this often leads to a very low response and low quality clientele. There are many accountants who have tried very expensive marketing programs offered by many companies attracted by hard-to-enforce guarantees and who have experienced disastrous financial consequences. Most of these marketing failures focus on programs that use commodity marketing techniques.
The accounting industry is not driven by commodities; it is driven by trust and loyalty. Trust must be established. This can not be sold. Consequently, if an accountant tries to sell his accounting services as a commodity or a product, he will fail.
The first step to an accounting services marketing program should be to identify a company seeking the services of a CPA or Accountant. If a company is satisfied with its current CPA or accountant and does not seek the services of a new CPA or Accountant, that company will not change accountants. Any attempt by an accountant using a marketing program to break that relationship through aggressive sales techniques will only diminish the perception of the accountant and his or her company. The wise accountant will never separate an entrepreneur from his current accountant if that person is satisfied with the accountant or CPA. Recognize that the situation is good for both the company and the CPA Accountant. Never try to cut out what’s good for business, not the CPA Accountant or the Accounting Industry.
Having recognized that a CPA Accountant marketing program must have the ability to identify a business seeking the services of a new CPA Accountant, the second step that the accountant marketing program should produce is to have the business seek a CPA Accountant. new to take an interest in you and your accounting firm. If your marketing program has a company looking for a new CPA Accountant who takes an interest in you, the meeting with the new client will be very similar to a meeting with referred prospective clients. They will be openly interested in you. You won’t feel in the position of having to sell them for you or your business to use. Remember, the accounting industry is built on trust. The key to your success in your marketing program is your ability to give you the opportunity to establish trust and demonstrate how you can help the prospect.
Once you have a business in need of accounting services interested in you, the third step for your accounting services marketing program is to show you how to demonstrate your ability to assist your prospect with their presentation. Too many accounting marketing programs fail because they rely on the CPA accountant making sales presentations to potential new clients. Companies are not interested in having accounting services sold to them. Businesses are interested in how the CPA Accountant can help them and their business. The CPA Accountant should provide examples of how they can help and apply those examples to your business. It is important that you understand and see the value it is bringing you. Most companies do not understand the value that an accountant provides. If your accounting marketing program focuses its presentations on you and your company, it is the wrong marketing program; The program should center its presentation around the potential customer and their ability to help them.
Finally, the fourth step your accountant’s marketing program should provide you with are techniques for pricing your services relative to the value you demonstrated in your presentation. Your goal is not to discount your company’s services to attract a new customer to join, but to price your service as a good value relative to the value you are providing. For example, if a potential client may choose to spend $ 1,000 to have a CPA or Accountant prepare their business tax return, he or she may choose to do so. However, if that same CPA or accountant showed the potential client tax saving strategies that will save them $ 5,000 per year in taxes, the client will definitely choose to have that CPA prepare their taxes for $ 1,000. He or she will perceive the use of that highly valuable CPA or Accountant. Notice in the example, the primary factor as to why the prospect decided to join was not the absolute cost of the service, but the value received relative to that cost.
In summary, there are four steps an accountant’s marketing program must follow. It should:
1) identify a company looking for a new CPA or Accountant,
2) generate interest in that business by using you or your company,
3) show you how to demonstrate value in presenting your new client, and
4) the price of your company’s services relative to their value.
If your accountant’s marketing program does not employ any of the four basic steps or is attempting to market your accounting services as a commodity, it is recommended that you abandon the implementation of that program. You will avoid frustrations and possible financial disasters. Remember, the key to a successful CPA marketing program is never sales oriented. It puts you and your business in touch with a business that has a need and is interested in you or your business meeting that need.