When you’re trying to get your marketing message out it’s key to remember that you’re not just trying to compete with the marketing of competing accounting firms – instead you’re competing with every single distraction the internet age has to offer. You have to make the few seconds of attention you have count or you’re going to get swept aside.
Outsourced accounting services can help you make the most of your marketing message and can help you have an effective message ready for a wider range of potential clients.
Mistake #1 – You Try to Close the Deal Immediately
Trying to close a deal immediately is also known as “being pushy.” Potential clients aren’t buying a magazine at the check-out here; they’re handing over all of their financial assets. This requires trust to be built up and this just can’t happen in one social media message or via a single email.
The best way to spread the word that you’re trustworthy is to have a happy current clientele base. Outsourced accounting services are a major tool you can use in making sure they stay happy by having all their work done on time and with complete professionalism.
Remember, most of your happy clients are involved in social media themselves via Facebook, Twitter, and so on. So when one of their friends sends out a post asking for a reliable accountant your current client will be glad to pass on your name.
You can also swoop in to save the day if someone posts a question, delivering up your tip or expert hint for free – what a stand-up guy or gal! Positioning yourself as a helpful hero in a time of need can pay huge dividends.
This of course means more time spent on social media. Outsourced accounting services can help you here too, freeing you up from basic compliance work so you can concentrate more, amongst other things, on bringing in new clients.
On the other hand, none of this is possible if the only social media messages you send out are strictly advertisements. Interact, don’t advertise, and remember that building up a loyal returning client base will never be immediate.
Mistake #2 – You’re Not on Social Media
This point goes hand-in-hand with the first point. If you’re not actively engaged in social media (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, a website) you are missing out on an immense pool of potential clients.
There are over 12 million Australians on Facebook. Over 2 million New Zealanders have an account.
Nearly 3 million Australians are using Twitter. 19% of all New Zealanders who are online use Twitter.
Almost all of them (the adults anyway) will require accounting services at some point. And some of them will need a variety of services (e.g. people starting their own businesses).
These niches are a beautiful thing for an accounting firm looking to expand its client base. The more niches you can service, the more chances you have of bringing in clients who will use you for all of their accounting needs.
Outsourced accounting services have you covered on the niches that you’re not a specialist in, saving you from having to hire and train in-house talent and pay for their equipment and space. You can expand your menu of services almost immediately for a fraction of the cost that it would require to get a variety of specialists in under your physical roof.
But none of this potential for fantastic growth matters if you’re not online to interact and build relationships with these different niche markets.
#3 You Make Your Marketing About Yourself Instead of About Your Potential Clients
One of the biggest mistakes anyone can make when marketing their business is that they make their marketing about themselves instead of what they can do for their potential new clients.
So put yourself in the shoes of the type of person you’d like to have as a client. Let’s say you’re going after the new-business-owner crowd. What are the hurdles they’re going to have to overcome? What is going to make them want to give up?
Make your marketing about those problems, and then offer to be the one to solve them. The more problems you can solve, the better. Outsourced accounting services can greatly expand the number of pain points you can alleviate.
Make your marketing reflect the point of view of what a client is looking for, instead of just throwing information about yourself out into the internet world.
