{"id":25460,"date":"2013-02-04t14:31:58","date_gmt":"2013-02-04t19:31:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/48e130086c.nxcli.net\/?p=25460"},"modified":"2024-09-01t14:49:20","modified_gmt":"2024-09-01t18:49:20","slug":"the-secret-formula-for-accounting-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.g005e.com\/2013\/02\/04\/the-secret-formula-for-accounting-marketing\/","title":{"rendered":"the secret formula for getting new clients"},"content":{"rendered":"
the 16-step plan to focus on landing one new client at a time. by bruce w. marcus<\/em> here\u2019s a little secret about accounting marketing.<\/p>\n it always comes down to selling the individual clients — one by one.<\/p>\n more professional services marketing 3.0:<\/strong> what we\u2019ve learned since accounting marketing was legalized<\/a>\u00a0 \u2022\u00a0do accounting firms really want an \u2018image\u2019?<\/a> \u2022 what accounting firms need to learn from personal financial planning specialists<\/a>\u00a0\u2022 the delicate art of positioning your firm in the mind of the prospect<\/a>\u00a0 \u2022 even a random disaster can be controlled with risk management<\/a> \u2022\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n you can talk about strategies<\/em>, and image<\/em>, and niche marketing<\/em> and branding<\/em>. you can talk about blogs<\/em>, and social media<\/em>, and press releases<\/em> and webinars<\/em>. but it always comes down to selling the individual clients — one by one.<\/p>\n well… if you’re going to have to do that anyway, why not start with target marketing to begin with?<\/p>\n one of the greatest ads of its kind, for mcgraw hill, says it all. it showed a dour, forbidding looking man, seated in a chair, glowering off the page straight at you.<\/p>\n he is saying,<\/p>\n \u201ci don\u2019t know who you are\u2026 i don\u2019t know your company\u2026 i don\u2019t know your company\u2019s product\u2026 i don\u2019t know what your company stands for\u2026 i don\u2019t know your company\u2019s customers\u2026 i don\u2019t know your company\u2019s record\u2026 i don\u2019t know your company\u2019s reputation. now, what was it you wanted to sell me?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n all those tools and strategies of marketing build a context to facilitate getting to the individual client prospect, and supplying a background to target marketing. in the highly competitive arena that now constitutes professional services, all of the mass marketing techniques build reputation and name recognition. they attract prospects, and define a firm as a foundation for moving those contacts into your arena. then target marketing comes into play, enhanced by a kind of pre-selling. this is why marketing efforts, prior to the face-to-face contact, are important.<\/p>\n what does target marketing mean? it means identifying and choosing your prospective client by name, and going after that prospect with a broad spectrum of techniques, supported by a mass market campaign.<\/p>\n let’s take it step by step.<\/p>\n there’s a large element of networking in targeted marketing, as there is in any professional services marketing. it can’t be done from a distance, in the abstract, like product marketing. somebody has got to get out there and meet and court the prospect, in order to make it happen.<\/p>\n there is one more important factor in target marketing, one that’s perhaps the most important of all, especially for a growing firm.<\/p>\n a manufacturing company is defined by its products. a professional firm is defined by its client base, and the services the firm offers those clients.<\/p>\n target marketing — choosing your clients and then going after them with whatever it takes to win them — defines your practice and defines your firm. if you are what you serve, and to whom you serve it, then you’re better off hand-picking your clients than you are firing a load of buckshot, and eating whatever it is that you hit. that’s why target marketing is better than mass marketing.<\/p>\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 related:<\/strong> managing risk in client relations<\/a> \u2022 your clients love you? what if you\u2019re wrong?<\/a> \u2022 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 copyright. used by permission.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" the 16-step plan to focus on landing one new client at a time. by bruce w. marcus professional services marketing 3.0 here\u2019s a little secret about accounting marketing. it always comes down to selling the individual clients — one by … continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1340,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[79],"class_list":["post-25460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-outlook","tag-marketing"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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