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While accountants have been able to get away with not having a professional marketing plan in the past, as competition heats up, time is running out.
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Marketing no longer optional, accountants told
13 March 2017
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Speaking to Accountants Daily following his presentation at Walker Wayland's annual conference, QuickFee general manager Michael Kelly said times are changing and accountants can no longer afford to put their marketing on the back burner.
“What accountants don't do well is market themselves, and part of the reason is that the Tax Office tells their clients that they have to go back to their accountant every year, so historically they didn’t have to put as much effort in as what other businesses have into the marketing side,” Mr Kelly said.
“But as firms move towards new firm models, they're going to have to start putting in a bit more effort in terms of working on lead generation and building their referral network.”
Firstly, Mr Kelly said that marketing must be consistent with the accounting firms’ brand.
“It starts right from awareness of the brand. All the lead generation, the marketing material and all that sort of stuff has to be very consistent with the brand itself,” he said.
“That then flows into an education process whereby, basically, you want to be as specific as possible for the target market that you're looking at.”
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Secondly, Mr Kelly said accountants’ marketing needs to be specialised and specific in order to result in any lead generation.
“The biggest thing is you can't be all things to all people. You need to be specific and relevant to a target market that works for you,” he said.
“There are plenty of businesses for everyone in accounting. There is no shortage of business, so what you need to focus on is what you are good at.”
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