{"id":24701,"date":"2012-12-20t09:18:38","date_gmt":"2012-12-20t14:18:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/48e130086c.nxcli.net\/?p=24701"},"modified":"2024-09-01t14:49:21","modified_gmt":"2024-09-01t18:49:21","slug":"what-accounting-firms-need-to-learn-from-pfp-specialists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.g005e.com\/2012\/12\/20\/what-accounting-firms-need-to-learn-from-pfp-specialists\/","title":{"rendered":"what accounting firms need to learn from personal financial planning specialists"},"content":{"rendered":"

is the traditional business model holding back the profession?
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by bruce w. marcus<\/em>
\nauthor of professional services marketing 3.0<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

it\u2019s not a race, nor are there prizes for the winner. but it has been suggested that personal financial planners trading in college, retirement and estate planning are light years ahead of the accounting profession in marketing.<\/p>\n

\"bruce<\/a>
bruce w. marcus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

more for 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 pro members:\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0the delicate art of positioning your firm in the mind of the prospect<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u2022\u00a0 who\u2019s better at marketing?\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 \u2022\u00a0\u00a0 lawyers or cpas?<\/a>\u00a0 \u2022\u00a0even a random disaster can be controlled with risk management<\/a>\u00a0 \u2022 \u00a0managing risk in client relations<\/a> \u00a0 \u2022 \u00a0your clients love you? what if you\u2019re wrong?<\/a> \u00a0 \u2022 \u00a0\u00a0 the three degrees of risk<\/a> \u2022 four essential habits for building client trust<\/a> \u2022 the nine hallmarks of a marketing culture<\/a> \u2022 the four cornerstones to building a marketing culture<\/a> \u2022 getting the client is only half the battle<\/a> \u2022 practice development: it\u2019s not rocket science<\/a> \u2022 nine fundamentals for a healthy marketing culture in an accounting firm<\/a> \u2022<\/em><\/p>\n

as veteran consultant terry lloyd, a cpa and financial advisor, points out, \u201ceven though the lines continue to blur between the services, there are still differences in the way cpas and financial planners are perceived.\u201d<\/p>\n

do the differences really matter? well, yes. while the professional services marketing tools are the same for both professions, the application of each of the tools in each of the professions, is different. and certainly not in the same way in each profession, nor even for any two firms in the same profession, these differences may be subtle, but they had best be observed if marketing programs are to be successful.<\/p>\n

as competition becomes more intense, the distinctive nature of each firm in each profession, small and incremental though they may be, should be examined. in competing, every little advantage counts.<\/p>\n

generalizations, such as the marketing superiority of one firm over another, not only belie reality, they mask those particulars that matter. marcus\u2019s third truism <\/em>is that the broader the generalization, the greater the disparity in details. and generalities don\u2019t solve problems — particularly marketing problems. understanding the details do address problems usefully.<\/p>\n

seeing the murkiness of the generalization that one profession markets better than the other, or even that the same marketing techniques worked in the same way for all professions, we asked a number of leading marketers and consultants for their views. the proposition generally struck them as ludicrous. but in a fascinating twist, triggered by a notion that seemed simple and obvious, many of those discussing the idea came up with different views of the same conclusion. their answers provide some valuable insights. internationally renowned consultant david maister, s<\/em>ays, \u201cpersonally i find the proposition a surprise – i don’t find the financial planning firms ahead in anything at all and have no idea where the hypothesis comes from. it would be an exercise in futility to try to explain a fact that was incorrect.\u201d<\/p>\n

while the differences in the professions rarely reside in old bromides about the differences in personalities, kenneth wright, the former head of marketing for ernst & young, notes an interesting exception. he says, \u201cseems to me that tax accountants are very similar (they believe that clients should come to them for their good work) versus the accounting consultants (who realize that they have to go get clients and show them how good they are). the first group really doesn’t want to market at all – it is beneath them – and the second group doesn’t need professional marketers because they know how to market better anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

at the same time, richard levick, of levick strategic communications llc, believes, \u201cthere are simply too many variables, and too many anecdotes pointing in all directions, to support any conclusion about one profession being more adept at marketing or intrinsically more marketing-oriented.<\/p>\n

however, a few likely truths emerge when we compare the professions, levick says, \u201cno financial planning firm can touch the big four\u2019s marketing and, in fact, it was fear of the multi-discipline practice [in which aspects of financial planning are practiced by accounting firms, and vice versa] that powered some of the best marketing we\u2019ve seen from financial planning firms in the last decade. now that the mdps have been sideswiped, it will be interesting to see if financial planning firms relapse into marketing insensibility. i doubt any kind of study can determine that, but it\u2019s something to bear in mind when we observe marketing among the biggest law firms.”
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\u201cthat said,” levick concludes, “the state of marketing among midsize and small accounting firms is dismal compared to financial planning firms. that has a lot to do with their getting trapped in their own numbers games. unlike the big four, their services are not so diversified or sexy. the nature of their own businesses discourages them from thinking they even have a right to be creative about marketing. also, to be frank, their margins are usually too low to encourage investment in business development. financial planners don\u2019t have that problem as much, so they\u2019re less disinclined to at least think about marketing venues where they can stick their money.\u201d<\/p>\n

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click to buy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

bruce w. marcus is a pioneer in professional services marketing and coauthor of “client at the core.” this is adapted from his new book, “professional services marketing 3.0,” available for purchase here<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n

copyright 2011. used by permission.<\/em><\/p>\n

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