Realistic Keys to Making Marketing Work

Source: Capstone Connection, Marketing Ideas & Strategies for CPA Firms.

Following are excerpts from an article by Jean Caragher, reproduced with permission. Unlike so many marketing treatises, this one has practical, implementable ideas.

• Define your ideal client and go after more like it. This can be achieved by analyzing:
  • Fees collected by industry.
  • Fees collected for each service.
  • Fees collected by geographic area.
  • Your clients ranked in descending order by fees collected.
  • Your clients ranked by size, e.g., annual sales.
  • Your clients ranked by realization rate.
• Create SMART Goals--specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. For example, "Conduct three seminars targeted towards attorneys by December 31, 2010" is a SMART goal. "Obtain more new business" is not.
• Put Your Plan in Writing. If your marketing plan isn't in writing then you don't have a plan. A marketing plan keeps you focused and holds people accountable.
• Develop a Budget to Support the Plan. You can look at the amount spent in the prior year and increase/decrease as appropriate. A better way is to look at what you would like your firm to accomplish and determine the amount necessary to help make it happen. Most CPA firms continue to invest between 2% and 3% of net revenue in marketing.
• Follow Up. Implementation is where the rubber meets the road. Tracking all of your firm's marketing activities will enable you to identify what is working and what is not. Track the following:
  • Referrals received, i.e., leads.
  • Proposals won and lost.
  • New clients.
  • Referrals given out.
  • Direct mail campaigns, including number of pieces sent, number of leads, meetings, and new clients/projects.
  • Seminars, including number of attendees, leads, meetings, and new clients/projects.
  • Web site, including number of hits and sections visited most often.
  • Marketing budget.

For the complete article, click here.

From Capstone Connection, Marketing Ideas & Strategies for CPA Firms, Blog: What I've Learned So Far, December 1, 2009, http://www.capstonemarketing.com/index.html.