So What is a CPA Firm’s Brand?

Source: Insight, the Magazine of the Illinois CPA Society

Examples of brands are BKD’s “unmatched client service,” and Grant Thornton’s “a passion for the business of accounting.”

Branding should focus on clients’ perceptions of the value you provide. From this will come an appropriate brand message. The brand message should express what you are, not what you aspire to be. According to Troy Waugh, Rainmaker Academy, Nashville, new business is the second consideration, existing clients the first.

Brand statements should reflect the core philosophy with which the firm approaches its business. The firm must be consistently faithful to the brand statement. To assure this happens, training is necessary at all levels of the firm. Everyone in the firm must provide the kind of service implicit in the brand statement. If one partner fails to do this, there is no consistency.

The brand statement must be consistently used in all marketing materials and on the Web site. The constant use of the statement will strengthen the impact of the message on clients and staff.

From Insight, the Magazine of the Illinois CPA Society, August 2005. For the complete article, click on the following link:

http://www.insight-mag.com/insight/05/08/col-8-pt-1-MarketValue.asp.