Don’t rely on referrals!
Accountancy firms often rely on word-of-mouth recommendations for new business. After all, it can be a great way to acquire new clients; research by Neilsen has shown that 92% of consumers trust word-of-mouth referrals from family and friends over advertising. But while accountancy referrals have their advantages and save time, effort and money on marketing spend, it’s actually unwise to rely on them. Let’s take a look at why you should invest in digital marketing too.
Online presence
In today’s world, having online credibility is all but essential. According to a study by Visual Objects, 76% of consumers will search for a company’s website before visiting it. So if you have a poor website, or your firm is difficult to find online, you’re statistically less likely to get business. In order to feel secure about using you, customers need to see you as an authority, even if you’ve been recommended to them by a trusted friend or relative.
Creating a professional website which is regularly updated and having a presence on at least one social media channel means potential clients can at least see you are in touch with modern demands. But you need to do more: offering regular content that is useful and relevant to your target audience helps to establish you as an authority, and gives consumers the security and confidence to choose your firm, in the knowledge that you are best-placed to help them.
On top of that, customers have to be able to find you in the first place, which is where SEO comes in. SEO is the practice of boosting a website’s presence in the results pages of search engines. If your website is down on page two or three of the results, your chances of it being found and visited are dramatically lower than if you appear on the first page. SEO helps your site to rank for a range of relevant search terms that consumers are using. These might be “accountancy firm in Kent”, “outsource SME bookkeeping” or “wealth management services London”, for example. The easier you are to find, and the more content you have that presents your business’ expertise, the more likely you are to gain new clients – not just when they receive a referral, but also in general.
Steady business
Relying on referrals means that you can’t rely on a steady stream of business. If you haven’t had any new customers recently, there’s no one new to recommend you, and that can mean your quiet periods result in lower cash flow, making running the business harder. Conversely, if during your busiest periods work is flooding in due to referrals, it may be difficult to keep up. Investing in specialist marketing for accountants can mean a little more stability when referrals dry up, easing the pressure financially.
Properly targeted marketing can also mean you attract more clients that are right for your business. Every company has an ‘ideal’ client – often this client will want to engage you for several services or commit to a contract of some kind. With referrals, you have no guarantee that you’re being recommended to a client that is a good fit. If that’s the case, and you’re in a position where you can’t decline their business, you’re unlikely to build a good relationship, which can result in both parties being unhappy – and even bad reviews down the line.
By creating specific marketing campaigns to target your ‘ideal’ clients, you are increasing your chances of attracting them and gaining more customers that fit your business.
Industry advances
Being a reliable company that can do the basics across a wide range of sectors and build good relationships is no longer enough for many clients. As in many industries, specialist knowledge is a requirement for customers these days, so your referrals may well run out if you don’t keep up. To encourage engagement and new business, you need to prove you can move with the times – that you’re proficient in cloud accounting and offer services that align with Making Tax Digital, or can give advice and assistance on cryptocurrency taxation, for example. Simply crunching numbers will eventually mean your referrals dry up and your acquisition model will fail.
So where do you start?
If you recognise your business as one that relies heavily on referrals, now is the time to make a change. But where do you start? Online marketing encompasses an awful lot of channels, and can be time consuming. But here’s what you need to have established before you even think about promoting your business – or better yet, engaging a specialist marketing agency for accountants.
Review your brand
Do you have a clear logo, brand guidelines, and a consistent message across all your products and services? Without a precise idea of what your brand is and what you stand for, your marketing efforts aren’t going to get you far. So review your assets, redesign your logo if necessary to modernise it, ensure you have tone of voice guidelines, and create a clear brand ethos. If you haven’t already, document it and disseminate it to all staff for reference.
Update your website
In this day and age, there’s no excuse for a poor or slow website, or one that doesn’t stand up to mobile browsing. So invest in an update. This should not only include new designs if necessary, but also refreshed copy that’s properly thought out and targeted to your primary audiences. Ensure your tone of voice guidance is adhered to, and get input from a marketing specialist regarding best practices for user experience.
Update or setup social channels
LinkedIn and Facebook are typically the channels for accountants to have a presence on. A LinkedIn presence is pretty much essential for any business, as it offers a way to profile your business and create meaningful content that will mark you out as an authority. Facebook, meanwhile, provides a platform for engagement with clients, and can also be a useful place to advertise or remarket to potential clients.
With these basics covered, you’re ready to engage a marketing agency for accountants, such as Whitefish Marketing. We specialise in accountancy marketing, and can help you devise a comprehensive strategy to grow your business.
