How Well Established is Marketing?

Sources: Practical Accountant and AOMAR

From Practical Accountant

The Association for Accounting Marketing (AAM) conducted the “2006 Accounting Marketing/Sales Responsibility and Compensation Survey.” The results include:

• The marketing profession is still young—66 percent are the first or second marketing person to have held the job in their firms.
• Marketing success is rated according to:
  • Timeliness of projects
  • Awareness of the brand
  • Meeting budgets
• Bottom line results are typically not used in measuring marketing success.
• Nearly 80 percent of firms want to know how to use sales professionals.
• The level of maturity of the marketing function:
  • Just getting started 14%
  • Making progress 48%
  • An integral part of the firm 38%
• The level of maturity of sales/business development:
  • Nonexistent 8%
  • Just getting started 24%
  • Making progress 46%
  • An integral part of the firm 23%

From AOMAR

AOMAR analyzes the AAM survey and its own CPA Firm Statistical Analysis Reference Handbook 2007.

• The AAM survey shows 62 percent of respondent firms have formal marketing/sales plans and strategic business plans. According to the Handbook, only 25 percent have a formal marketing plan.
• According to the AAM survey, marketing expenditures average two percent of revenue. About 22 percent of firms spend less than this. Thirty-four percent spend more—up to 2.9 percent, and 18 percent spend three to 3.9 percent. Eleven percent spend four percent or more.
• The most popular marketing tools, according to the Handbook:
  • Web sites 66.7%
  • Cross-selling 63.8%
  • Networking 59.0%
  • Soliciting client referrals 50.5%
• Practice areas—only 21 percent say they don’t have distinct practice areas, according to the Handbook.
• The Handbook lists the most popular niches:
  • Business valuation 22.7%
  • Small business 21.8%
  • Estate planning 20.2%
  • Nonprofit 19.3%
  • Litigation support 18.5%
  • Construction 17.6%
  • Personal financial planning 16.0%
  • Other 15.1%
  • Technology consulting 13.4%
  • Health care 13.4%
  • Government 12.6%

Jean Caragher, a CPA firm marketing consultant with Capstone Marketing, says her research indicates that over 75 percent of firms market by niches. She says partners rate the success of these strategies higher than their marketing people rate them. Firms are no longer impulsive about adopting the popular niches. Firms need to be analytical about it—finding the existing strengths and capitalizing on them. Firms continue to be deficient in marketing training—they rate marketing training as one of the major functions needing improvement.

The full AAM survey report is 68 pages and can be purchased from the Association (www.accountingmarketing.org).

IOMA’s CPA Firm Statistical Analysis Reference Handbook 2007 is available from IOMA (www.ioma.com or [email protected]).

From Practical Accountant, June 2007, SourceMedia Inc., One State Street Plaza, 27th Floor, New York, NY 10004, 800-221-1809. For the complete article, click here, then select the article Firm Marketers’ Current State from the June 2007 issue.

Also from Accounting Office Management & Administration Report, July 2007, p. 1. See Focus on Niches & Better use of Marketing Expertise to Manage Your Growth. For subscription information contact Institute of Management & Administration, Inc., 3 Park Avenue, 30th Floor, New York, NY 10016-5902. One-year subscription $399. 212-244-0360, [email protected].