is the right message reaching the right audience?
by august j. aquila
price it right: how to value accounting services
the main reason most marketing programs don’t work is that not enough time is spent up front in the planning stage. marketing, like anything else, takes careful planning as well as execution. i’m going to propose 10 key questions that you need to answer before embarking on your next marketing program.
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- what one purpose do you want to accomplish? too often, accountants begin a marketing program without really knowing what they want to accomplish. sometimes there are so many things they want to do that it becomes unrealistic to achieve all of them. the result is confusion and dissatisfaction.
- how will the success of the program be measured? depending on the program, you will want to have specific criteria for success. if it is an email blast, you will want to measure the open clicks. if it’s a seminar, you will judge success by the number of attendees.
- who is the target market? one key to a successful marketing program is having your message delivered to the right audience. for example, if you are presenting a webinar on practice management software for attorneys, you might target law firms with 15 or fewer attorneys. if you have a seminar on asset-based lending, you want to invite the lenders from banks that offer this service.
- why does your target market need your service? now that you have identified a target market, you must determine the types of problems they are facing. you need to uncover their needs, so that your marketing message offers them a solution. small business owners always need financial resources. if you partner with a local bank and offer a seminar or webinar on financing, you show your market that you can satisfy their needs.
- what are the benefits your target market will receive? buyers make their buying decisions based on one primary factor: benefits. if a prospect does not feel that your services will provide the necessary benefits, they won’t sign up for the webinar. don’t talk about service features or how you do something. prospects don’t care how we do it; they care about the impact your service will have on their business and personal welfare.
- who else offers this service? before you rush out and start a marketing program, know what your competitors are doing. if you want prospects to deal with you, you need to answer this question: “why should they do business with us?” knowing what the competitors are doing will also help you decide how to do it differently, better and maybe more efficiently.
- what is unique about your offering? who isn’t offering the same line of services in today’s highly competitive market? you constantly need to think about what makes your offering unique or different. is it the special credentials of your people? do you have many locations in the area? do you offer a client satisfaction guarantee? if the client doesn’t feel that she received value for the service rendered, can they pay for what they perceived they got?
- what objections do you think your prospects may raise? it seldom happens that a prospect agrees with everything you are offering. most of the time, the prospect will have some concern about the service, your credentials, experience, fees, timing and so on. these are objections and you need to prepare for them. for example, if the prospect says, “your firm is too small,” how do you respond? if you don’t have a ready and good response that is positive and non-confrontational, you may lose the prospect.
- what follow-up steps will be taken? one of the biggest mistakes you can make is lack of follow-up. you held a successful event and 20 people attended. but if you wait three weeks to follow up, all your hot leads are now cold. the follow-up procedures and message are as important as the actual marketing activity itself.
- what follow-up material will you need? make sure you already have this material prepared before you start the marketing program. for example, let’s say that you are offering a free pdf guide on obtaining financing or a checklist on inventory control procedures. if these pieces are not prepared prior to the initial marketing activity, you may delay your response to leads and take the risk of losing a new client.
remember, leads are like ice cubes on a sidewalk during a hot summer day.