Inbound Marketing for Your Firm
Source: CPA Trendlines
Following are excerpts, reproduced with permission, from a blog post by Hugh Duffy.*
In this post, guest blogger Hugh Duffy offers four suggestions to maximize your firm's marketing efforts in the current economy.
1. Targeted Marketing
This economy has severely damaged certain industries far more than others. Accounting firms should still steer clear of the real estate and construction sectors and use targeted marketing techniques to target stronger industry sectors that are in better economic shape.
2. Inbound Marketing
Outbound marketing, including telemarketing, e-mail blasts, trade shows, and radio and newspaper advertising, are less effective because prospects have become immune to these techniques. Inbound marketing, on the other hand, is much more efficient and effective because it initiates a response from the prospect instead of asking the prospect to react. Inbound marketing refers to electronic marketing efforts using e-mail newsletters and website marketing on Google, Yahoo and Bing, all in conjunction with social media marketing on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
3. Where Should They Invest? What has the Best ROI?
Accountants should invest their money in venues where they are spending their time, on the Internet and electronically:
• Search-engine-optimized website.
• Pay-per-click advertising.
• E-mail newsletters — educate clients by writing with a strong voice.
• Social media — write frequently and post weekly to Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn using an educational tone, similar to a well-known journalist.
4. Learning How to Sell
Most accountants do not know how to sell accounting services. Spending lots of money on marketing and lead generation makes little sense if the accountant does not know how to close the deal. To avoid this pitfall, we recommend all accountants attend one accounting marketing workshop each year.
To read the entire post, click here.
From CPA Trendlines, http://cpatrendlines.com, June 28, 2010, “Four Tips for Investing in an Accounting Firm Marketing System.”
*Hugh Duffy is co-founder and chief marketing officer of Build Your Firm, a practice development and marketing company that focuses on small accounting firms.