How to be a Niche Player

Source: CPA Practice Management Forum

What Makes You an Expert?

Simply having a couple of clients in a niche doesn’t make you or your firm a niche player. An owner of a niche business will immediately discern that you are not an expert. The niche business owner wants an accountant who can offer feedback on ideas, provide sensible advice, and develop solutions to problems. You may be expected to offer advice on a range of issues—labor, operations, systems, and profit improvement. The owner’s management team may be unable to confront him with hard issues—like telling him he is the problem.

You must be able to talk about industry trends and identify benchmarks. You should become the confidant of the owner and his executives.

Staff Training

Training is not an overhead item that needs to be minimized. It is an investment. You must develop a CPE program for staff and should bring staff people with you to client meetings. After a meeting, hold a debriefing session to share perspectives. The CPE program should include:

• • Industry information.
• • Services provided.
• • How to analyze income statements.

Staff should conduct industry research, join trade associations, read trade journals, learn who the key people are in the industry, and in general become immersed in the industry.

Marketing Plan

The leader (at a minimum) of the niche area should focus on non-compliance services. If you feel you need a marketing expert to help develop a plan to exploit the niche, hire one who is an expert in that niche. Other aspects of your marketing plan should include:

• Analysis of your client base.
• Evaluation of your expertise.
• Defining your target market in terms of:
  • Geography.
  • Size of companies.
  • Needed services.
• Determine the services you will provide.
• List the referral sources—known and unknown.
• Arrange to be a speaker at trade association events, get involved in committees, write articles and develop networks.
• Prepare a list of target clients and plans to recruit them.

From CPA Practice Management Forum, CCH Incorporated, 800-449-8114, April 2007. For the complete article, click here.