Marketing Your Practice in a Down Economy

Source: Public Practice

The following includes excerpts from an article by consultant Krista Remer of ConvergenceCoaching, LLC, reprinted with permission of the Texas Society of CPAs.

What if you could keep your firm’s marketing engines humming while not increasing your marketing budget—or perhaps even saving a few dollars? To do so, consider the ideas below:

• Look for help from clients. Satisfied clients are often more than willing to refer your services to family, friends, and colleagues because they know that both parties will benefit. But they don’t know that you want more business until you tell them.
• Cross sell. Consider that your existing clients may also need additional services that your firm offers. Use client surveys to gain more business.
• Create client testimonials. They are one of the best—and least expensive—marketing vehicles.
• Continue to schedule meetings with existing and prospective referral sources. Don’t slow down your referral meetings just because you are busy right now.
• Write for your favorite publications. Take the time to stay in contact with the press and write educational pieces or press releases that your clients and prospects will read.
• Utilize your Web site to the fullest. Keep your home page content fresh and highlight upcoming events at your firm, any “special promotions,” and services to which you want to draw attention.
• Work your online social networks. Create a company profile with your firm’s branding and utilize the many available tools for keeping in touch with clients, prospects, and prospective employees.
• Keep your existing employees happy. Don’t forget that your employees are marketers, too, and a good career experience can speak volumes about your firm to clients and prospects.

For the complete article, click here.

From Texas Society of CPAs, Public Practice, March 2009, www.tscpa.org.