{"id":34833,"date":"2014-06-29t05:49:51","date_gmt":"2014-06-29t09:49:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/48e130086c.nxcli.net\/?p=34833"},"modified":"2024-09-01t14:48:53","modified_gmt":"2024-09-01t18:48:53","slug":"what-weve-learned-since-accounting-marketing-was-legalized-by-the-u-s-supreme-court-in-1977","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.g005e.com\/2014\/06\/29\/what-weve-learned-since-accounting-marketing-was-legalized-by-the-u-s-supreme-court-in-1977\/","title":{"rendered":"what we’ve learned since accounting marketing was legalized by the u.s. supreme court in 1977"},"content":{"rendered":"

for good, bad or indifferent.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

editor’s note: this article originally appeared in the september 1980 issue of the virginia accountant. it is one of the first articles \u2013 if not the very first article \u2013 on the advent of legalized marketing for accountants after bates v. state bar of arizona<\/em><\/a>. it is as viable today as it was then.<\/em><\/p>\n

by bruce w. marcus<\/em><\/p>\n

when, a few years ago, the codes of ethics were changed to allow straightforward marketing by profes\u00adsionals, there came into play a new configuration of circumstances and activities that will reverberate throughout the accounting profession for years to come.<\/p>\n

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more for 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 pro members: <\/strong>do accounting firms really want an \u2018image\u2019?<\/a> \u2022 what accounting firms need to learn from personal financial planning specialists<\/a> \u2022the delicate art of positioning your firm in the mind of the prospect<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

for generations, concepts of probity have pervaded public accounting. accountants were to be not merely independent, but well beyond the fray of public quarrel of exposure. the sword of the cpa has always been independence and, it was long felt, independence is compromised by public debate. and now comes mar\u00adketing, the crux of which is visibility.<\/p>\n

now, after all these generations, public accountants may advertise, may compete for one another’s clients, may sing their own praises and may discuss publicly differences that had once been solely family affairs. this is how marketing has come to public accounting.<\/p>\n

no longer do accountants compete solely on the strength of their capabilities. today, every accounting firm\u00a0\u2013 and not just the big eight\u00a0\u2013 competes with every other accounting firm in its market area for clients present and future, for attention, for exposure. ac\u00adcounting firms compete with one another\u00a0\u2013 presentation for presentation, press release for press release, speech for speech, seminar for seminar, and ad for ad.<\/p>\n

marketing of sorts has always been inherent in building a professional practice in any profession. lawyers go into politics and always have. accountants have always joined organizations, given seminars, made speeches, distributed pamphlets and brochures. com\u00adpetition and exposure has existed, but discreetly; per\u00adformed but not discussed.<\/p>\n

now, it is flagrant\u00a0\u2013 for good, bad or indifferent.<\/p>\n

it poses an interesting problem. not only is total marketing a new concept for the accounting profession, but, in searching the annals of marketing literature, we find very little to guide us. the literature of marketing is heavy with tomes on marketing products,<\/em> but virtually nothing on marketing services.<\/em> and unfortunately, as many a professional is beginning to discover, there is a difference in the same thing. the proven techniques of marketing a product are not strictly applicable to mar\u00adketing a service. what\u2019s the difference?<\/p>\n

in marketing a product, the product itself is the interface between the producer and the consumer. there may be a thousand people behind the production of a tube of toothpaste\u00a0\u2013 but all the public sees, knows or cares about is the tube of toothpaste. in marketing a service, every individual who performs that service is the interface with its public; every individual who performs the service is, in effect, the product.<\/p>\n

this makes it possible, in marketing a product, to centralize and focus the marketing effort. once the product is perfected in terms of its potential market, the marketing people take over, to the exclusion of every\u00adone else. the production people, the finance people and the people in the warehouse are not involved with marketing. it is a separate and distinct operation.<\/p>\n

in marketing a service, on the other hand, marketing is decentralized. every activity performed in an ac\u00adcounting firm, no matter how large or small, is visible and of concern to prospective clientele.<\/p>\n

this has its strengths and its weaknesses, as apart from product marketing. a tube of toothpaste has a consistent quality that its users can rely on. there is no consistency, however, in the human behavior inherent in performing a service. one junior accountant having a bad day can destroy the effectiveness of a vast array of advertising public relations and other promotional efforts\u00a0\u2013 an onerous burden placed on the professional. a new customer for a tube of toothpaste faces no personality conflict with the product; personal chemistry between an accountant and a prospective client can readily negate a great reputation.<\/p>\n

on the other hand, the accounting firm that recognizes this distinction faces the opportunity to prepare and train its people appropriately to meet and deal ef\u00adfectively with the prospective client, and to leverage the effects of a carefully built and nurtured reputation predicated on the tools of marketing.<\/p>\n

and here we must look at the term “marketing” in a fresh context.<\/p>\n

every marketing specialist has his own definition, and each can quarrel with the other’s choice of words. here again it’s too easy to fall back on the structures of product marketing for a definition\u00a0\u2013 “to move the prod\u00aduct to the consumer.” but if, in marketing a service, those who perform the service are the product how, then, can this definition apply?<\/p>\n

perhaps the more appropriate definition of marketing, in this context, would be “to define and project the service, in terms of its users, in ways that make more prospective users want to do more business with you.”<\/p>\n

how can this be accomplished within the context of the accounting profession? the answer may lie in another and more functional definition of marketing. marketing may be perceived as:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. defining the market.<\/li>\n
  2. defining the product\u00a0\u2013 the service\u00a0\u2013 to meet the needs of the market.<\/li>\n
  3. defining the tools of marketing to be used to reach the market.<\/li>\n
  4. managing the tools of marketing.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    in terms of marketing accounting services, let\u2019s look briefly at how each of these elements applies.<\/p>\n

    defining the market<\/strong><\/p>\n

    there are two points of view to defining the market for a professional service. on the one hand, a market can be defined in terms of a prospective client universe that can be served by a firm’s existing personnel, capabilities and services. on the other hand, a market can be defined in terms of the marketplace itself \u2013 its configurations and needs\u00a0\u2013 within the framework of a firm’s ability to adapt to those needs. the classic example might be the piano player in the cocktail lounge. some piano players will play anything you want to hear, so long as all you want to hear is “melancholy baby.” others recognize the tastes and demands of the clientele, and use their piano playing skills to play the kind of music the patrons want. clearly, it’s the second piano player who works more regularly.<\/p>\n

    so it is in defining a market. the professional firm has a choice of either scouting out the clientele for the services he has to offer or, on the other hand, deter\u00admining the kind of services potential clientele need within the framework of his capability, so that he can adapt accordingly. it is the latter who is more likely to succeed in the marketplace.<\/p>\n

    defining the product<\/strong><\/p>\n

    the diversity of accounting services offered by even the smallest firm is wide and flexible. if a major purpose of defining the market is to determine the needs of the market, adjusting the service to meet those needs is not only within the realm of possibility\u00a0\u2013 it’s an absolute necessity.<\/p>\n

    even a small accounting firm with capable partners has the ability to amend its services to meet the needs of a larger universe of potential clientele. the need to do this becomes more acute, in view of the fact that many of the big eight firms are now foraging in market areas, such as small business, that had previously been con\u00adsidered not cost-effective. what this means to the smaller firm is that it must focus in areas, and on services, that are most demanded, in which there is the least com\u00adpetition, and that are probably not cost-effective for the local office of the big eight firms or other of its larger competitors.<\/p>\n

    the tools of marketing<\/strong><\/p>\n

    the tools of marketing are those disciplines that serve to project a firm’s capabilities to its prospective clientele. normally, these tools include:<\/p>\n