{"id":52038,"date":"2017-05-28t10:37:11","date_gmt":"2017-05-28t14:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/48e130086c.nxcli.net\/?p=52038"},"modified":"2018-08-28t07:49:48","modified_gmt":"2018-08-28t11:49:48","slug":"create-marketing-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.g005e.com\/2017\/05\/28\/create-marketing-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"create your marketing plan"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a>the 13 channels you have … but you won’t need all of them. by sandi leyva<\/i><\/p>\n once you know the type of client you want to go after and the number of new clients you need to get, you can begin on your marketing plan.<\/p>\n more small firm growth strategies:<\/b> how to determine your ideal client<\/a> | build your revenue plan in reverse<\/a> | 5 fast, easy ways to turn annual clients into year-round clients<\/a> | how to teach financial literacy<\/a> | how to keep current<\/a> | 10 easy tips to boost your business cash flow<\/a> | how to fire a client<\/a> | how to manage client expectations<\/a> there are simply two steps:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n so that\u2019s where we\u2019re going. let\u2019s start with the channels.<\/p>\n marketing channels or methods<\/strong><\/p>\n when i first started my business, i didn\u2019t know how to get clients. i had so many questions swirling in my head. should i do a mailing? should i teach some more classes? should i wait for referrals? should i put an ad\u00a0in the yellow pages? should i advertise in the local paper? i was truly lost.<\/p>\n worse, i was getting a lot of advice from well-meaning friends, people who did not know a thing about my industry and people who were doing far worse than i was.<\/p>\n one of the lessons i finally learned and that has paid off in the millions of dollars for me is to make sure i listen only to people who make far more money than me, rather than the other way around.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n today, there are many more marketing choices. blogs, websites and social media\u00a0were unheard of when i practiced. when you\u2019ve seen both old and new methods, there are even more questions and a lot of misunderstandings, too. the old methods do not perform like they used to.<\/p>\n the good news is there are a number of marketing channels that work well in the professional services industry. and we\u2019re going to rank them in order of cost-effectiveness for the accounting industry. there will be some you won\u2019t be comfortable doing, such as public speaking. not all accountants should give a talk in public if they don\u2019t have to. that\u2019s ok; you can skip that one and go to the next one if it is not a natural skill for you or if it\u2019s just too intimidating for your personality.<\/p>\n i\u2019ll show you the list in just a minute, but i want to make one more point first. the way to keep your marketing costs the lowest possible is to get as many clients as you can from the number one channel\u00a0on the list. once you\u2019ve done that, go to the number two channel on the list and get as many clients as you can. use only the number of channels you need in order to get to your \u201cnet new clients\u201d number.<\/p>\n once you make your net new clients number, you\u2019re done. you don\u2019t need more marketing channels. you can say no to all those channels that are more expensive, that your peers are pressuring you to do, that other peers are saying they are having success with (hint: they are not taking home as much net income as you are, i can promise you that). you can choose to eliminate your guilt about whether you should<\/em> do a channel, and you have my permission and blessing to stop listening to everyone else (who is probably doing worse than you are) and start listening to the spreadsheets you are making for yourself.<\/p>\n now that\u2019s what i call total marketing clarity. it should give you some great relief about what to do, and perhaps even more energy-boosting, what you don\u2019t have to do.<\/p>\n one more point for even greater clarity<\/strong><\/p>\n this may be the most important point in the entire post. there is only one reason why these channels work and others don\u2019t:<\/p>\n trust.<\/p>\n in our profession, it\u2019s absolutely imperative that we build a certain level of trust\u00a0with our prospects before we do any selling. if the trust isn\u2019t there, neither is the sale.<\/p>\n that\u2019s why many of you say your prospects insist on meeting you in person.<\/p>\n that\u2019s why many of you want to get your remote services going but you haven\u2019t yet.<\/p>\n in marketing, some channels build trust\u00a0better than others. those are the ones we want to use first.<\/p>\n please remember this new saying: \u201cwithout trust, marketing\u2019s a bust.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n it will save you thousands of dollars. for example, should you place an ad\u00a0in a newspaper where the readers do not know you? no \u2013 no trust, it\u2019s a bust. should you do a website\u00a0without testimonials? no \u2013 no trust, it\u2019s a bust. should you do direct mail\u00a0to a generic list where subscribers do not know you? usually no \u2013 no trust, it\u2019s a bust.<\/p>\n should you send a client newsletter? yes, builds trust. should you collect and broadcast testimonials? yes, builds trust. should you ask for referrals? yes, implied trust.<\/p>\n hopefully you\u2019re getting the difference between using marketing channels with no built-in trust\u00a0and those with trust. earning others\u2019 trust should be a huge factor in how you market, present and sell yourself to others.<\/p>\n here are the channels, in summary:<\/p>\n client retention<\/em><\/p>\n the first one is client retention. it\u2019s not really a marketing channel, but it\u2019s a marketing \u201cto do,\u201d so let\u2019s keep it here and list it first. obviously, if you can keep more of the clients you have, you\u2019ll need to look for fewer new ones and this will keep your marketing costs and time down significantly.<\/p>\n referrals from all sources<\/em><\/p>\n the next one is referrals. i\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard me say it a million times before: it\u2019s a great idea to maximize your referrals. but i am not just talking about referrals that you get from your existing clients. there are many other ways to create referral\u00a0sources.<\/p>\n what\u2019s great about getting referrals is they are very close to being pre-sold, and the whole reason for that is our five-letter word, trust. the trust is extremely high when a referral\u00a0comes to you because you benefit from the transferred trust of your referral partners.<\/p>\n reputation<\/em><\/p>\n building your reputation\u00a0usually comes from a combination of actions that you do in numerous marketing channels. there is a core foundation you can set, however. one example is to get your biography professionally written.<\/p>\n when people are able to get to know you from a framework you\u2019ve created that speaks to your reputation, it builds their trust. combine your foundation with other channel\u00a0actions, and you have a winning channel. one example is to post an article\u00a0on a blog that shares your point of view about something related to accounting, technology or small business.<\/p>\n events <\/em><\/p>\n there are lots of actions you can take in this channel. some examples include:<\/p>\n events allow your prospects to see you in action and experience your personality. when you give a presentation at an event, prospects also see your technical expertise. what i love about event marketing is it\u2019s leveraged. instead of getting to know one prospect at a time, it\u2019s a powerful way to make a positive impression on dozens, if not hundreds, of potential clients, referral\u00a0partners and business associates.<\/p>\n online marketing<\/em><\/p>\n having a great website\u00a0is a good start to online marketing, but it\u2019s only a start. this channel\u00a0covers websites and search. your website is your foundation for online marketing success. once you have it maximized, then you can use it in two ways: as a brochure of sorts that people can visit to find out more, and sometimes, it can also generate leads for you.<\/p>\n leads from a website\u00a0can be tricky because most often, they need to be warmed up. in other words, the trust\u00a0can be really low when they come to you, and you have to increase it before you can make the sale. in this way, the channels need to work together. your website leads could opt in to your newsletter\u00a0and automatically get warmed up by reading your emails. i often get calls from those of you who have been on my list for about a year and you\u2019re ready to buy at that time.<\/p>\n sometimes, a lead has found something in common with you, and the trust\u00a0goes up without you having to do much. i\u2019ve had fellow pilots hire me for web work just because i was a pilot. a great bio will help you benefit from a common background you might have with your prospect.<\/p>\n social media<\/em><\/p>\n social media has exploded in the last few years, and it can be a great way to keep up with clients and reach out to new ones. setting up these accounts allows you to develop an online presence where you can stay top of mind with clients and prospects. while most social media accounts are free, the labor to keep them going is anything but.<\/p>\n video<\/em><\/p>\n video is now so important and powerful i felt like it deserved to be considered a separate channel. the beauty is hardly any other accountants are doing video, so it can leapfrog you ahead if you act fast. youtube is included in this along with the different types of videos you can create and the tools and skills you need.<\/p>\n email marketing and newsletters<\/em><\/p>\n there are many great reasons to send a newsletter: to increase client retention, to warm up leads from other marketing channels and to make announcements about new services or specials that you are offering.<\/p>\n newsletters are catching on with accounting firms, and email marketing\u00a0is extremely underused, making it a great channel\u00a0for accountants to try.<\/p>\n media<\/em><\/p>\n getting mentioned in the media\u00a0can help a lot more people find out about what you do and how you can help them. it\u2019s much harder today than it was a decade or two ago to benefit from a news media mention, but it can happen, and when it does, it can become a viral blockbuster.<\/p>\n in this category, you can get mentioned as an expert in the news, in an article, in a trade magazine or other media in the industry you serve, or in media in your own accounting industry.<\/p>\n case studies, white papers and published articles<\/em><\/p>\n this underused channel\u00a0is a great way to transfer knowledge and build trust\u00a0in prospects.<\/p>\n a case study\u00a0describes a client\u2019s experience working with you. a white paper\u00a0is educational and explains an aspect of your service or a product you might use. and articles you write often convey your opinion or knowledge of your subject. they also have the added benefit of a third-party endorsement when the magazine or website\u00a0publishes them.<\/p>\n this channel\u00a0is leveraged too like the event channel is, in that you only have to write the report or case study\u00a0once, and hundreds or thousands of prospects can download or request it.<\/p>\n content marketing <\/em><\/p>\n content marketing refers to a strategy rather than a channel, but i wanted to mention it here. it\u2019s key to lead generation and building solid trust with your prospects in a cost-effective manner.<\/p>\n telemarketing<\/em><\/p>\n you might know this is not my favorite channel, but it does work in specific circumstances. when you target your prospects carefully and orchestrate an intelligent series of communications, this channel can be extremely powerful. it is especially effective for reaching mid-sized clients.<\/p>\n direct mail<\/em><\/p>\n since so few people are using direct mail\u00a0these days, it can work. but the response rates are low, and so is the trust, unless you can build it using other marketing channels in combination with direct mail.<\/p>\n 13 marketing channels<\/strong><\/p>\n those are our 13 top marketing channels. combining the channels into an integrated plan will give you exponentially improved results. for example, combine email marketing\u00a0with a webinar, follow up with a white paper\u00a0and a telemarketing\u00a0call, and you\u2019ve got a chance for far more effective results than just using one channel\u00a0at a time.<\/p>\n unfortunately, not every prospect who comes to you will turn into a client. some will hire your competitor, some will do it themselves and some will not act at all. when you create your marketing plan, you\u2019ll need to take that into consideration.<\/p>\n each channel\u00a0will vary as to how many prospects it will take to gain one new client. the measure for this is called the closing ratio.<\/p>\n closing ratio = number of new clients \/ number of total leads or prospects you talked to<\/p><\/blockquote>\n the closing ratio\u00a0for prospects who come to you via referrals will be much higher than the closing ratio for the telemarketing\u00a0or direct mail\u00a0channel. for example, you\u2019ll have to send thousands of direct mail pieces to get a few phone calls. of those calls, maybe one will become a new client. the close ratio for direct mail is very, very low. on the other hand, a lot of people can close nearly every referral\u00a0they speak to. the referral close ratio is very, very high.<\/p>\n we\u2019ll need to add this calculation to each marketing channel\u00a0we add to our marketing plan.<\/p>\n putting together the marketing plan<\/strong><\/p>\n for each service you offer, such as bookkeeping and tax, you\u2019ll want to create a separate marketing plan. you might find those clients in completely different places.<\/p>\n put together a worksheet that looks like this:<\/p>\n from there, you can calculate the number of leads you\u2019ll need to attract from each marketing channel\u00a0in order to get the number of clients you need to make your numbers. cool?<\/p>\n
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