Switched-on, sophisticated brands attract the best new clients and talent and build sustainable businesses beyond personal reputation, yet many leaders neglect this valuable business asset, mistaking brand for just logo and colours. Moensie Rossier explains.
The accountancy sector is a sea of sameness. From William Buck to Hall Chadwick, RSM, Count, SW, and many more, mid-tier companies blur into one another.
You may think you have the edge, but picture a prospective new client confronted with a vanilla set of corporates, all with a generic set of promises – big enough to matter, small enough to care, get strategic support, make better decisions, achieve your goals. These are supported by forgettable variations in features like tenure, footprint and awards. Not to mention a predictable cluster of values that state the obvious and reinforce uniformity – integrity, professionalism, excellence.
With little choice between the options, a new client may walk through your door more by luck than judgement. So why not make your own luck?
The mid-tier of the Australian Financial Review’s Top 100 Accounting Firms has had the best year on record, growing revenue at the expense of the big four in the aftermath of PwC’s tax leaks scandal. But are you happy for the cards to fall as they may, or do you want to claim a disproportionate share?
Brand can help you to maximise the opportunity, to impress new customers faster, before they even meet you. Brand enhances performance at every stage of the marketing funnel, standing out from the competition, setting a clear expectation and providing a sharper value proposition for conversion.
Build your reputation with a stand-out brand – a clear ambition, a distinctive point of view, positioning, value proposition and behaviours. That’s the definition of brand with a “Big B”, as Ethan Decker explains.
And while you’re at it, modernise your “Little b” – your brand’s visual look and feel to avoid giving the impression that your services and technology come straight from the ’90s.
Stop racing to parity, discover your distinction
It's understandable why firms get stuck in a trap of sameness. Seeking to build serious credibility, you benchmark yourself against what competitors are doing and saying and adjust your messaging accordingly. The result is that you end up saying the same things, compounding the problem of distinction. It’s a race to parity.
The few firms that stand out interrogate what sets them apart and amplify it. Review your ambition. Conduct qualitative research with clients and staff to gain genuine – and potentially surprising – insight into the impressions and associations they have with your firm.
Brands may highlight a specialism, a particular area of expertise, a unique belief or philosophy, or way of doing things, such as BDO’s stated belief, which underpins its value proposition and approach to talent: “Ideas change us and lift us up to more than we thought possible.”
Others may see laser focus as risky because why would you shine a light on one thing when you can do many? The fact is potential clients won’t remember the many things. When reviewing their shortlist, they’ll remember the one thing that struck them as different or interesting.
It’s behavioural science, as simple and instinctive as child’s play – you always notice the odd one out. Don’t let that scare you. “Odd” in this context is interesting and different but not at the expense of professionalism. Distinctive positioning can and should be backed by serious brand propositions and consistent communication.
Build a sustainable business that goes beyond personal reputation
Accounting firms have typically built reputations using their partners’ personal relationships as the primary business driver. But looking to the future, will the desired level of business growth materialise from personal networks? Will the company never need to go fishing in a bigger or fresher pond?
Brand is instrumental to unlocking opportunities with new customers as well as talent and protecting a price premium. Well-considered brands, aligned internally and externally, help secure a firm’s future relevance and success.
Move with the times – and show it
Consider also the tactical aspects of “little b” branding – including logo, identity, colours, brochures and social media.
Sticking to the mantra, if it’s not broken, don’t fix it, many ageing brands have never been thoughtfully updated. Their logos are practically illegible in the small spaces of a digital world. In the absence of a brand strategy, messaging and UX review, content has been bolted onto websites, making them dense and hard for customers to navigate.
Dated-looking brands raise questions for prospective clients and employees. Is that the best they can do when they show up for business? Are they too arrogant to make an effort? Are their products and systems from the same era as their brand? Brace for an Excel spreadsheet and some PowerPoint action. This could be at odds with the actual experience, but the first impression counts because it sets an expectation.
Do you want to reflect the attitudes and world of today or 30 years ago? If you don’t have a switched-on brand, you could be sending all the wrong signals to the right people. With a growing shortage of accountancy graduates, stepping up your employer brand as Pitcher Partners has done is a no-brainer.
Pitcher Partners brought its employer value proposition to life under the tagline ‘Lead your way’, creating a new employer brand identity. The EVP launched with a multi-platform graduate campaign. Not only did website traffic and time spent on their site increase, but the percentage increase in applicants per job role rose significantly in just one month.
Brand value has been proven
High-profile corporate acquisitions repeatedly reinforce the tangible value of brands. Experienced analysts place considerable value on reputation, iconic brand assets and culture. Still, sceptics might argue that brand is overrated because people don’t think that deeply about it. In doing so, they’re scoring an own goal.
A big part of branding is subconscious, powered by subtle but powerful codes, behaviours and language, which reinforce trust, thoughtfulness, or innovation. Think Apple. These cues are few and far between in accountancy.
Many leaders neglect their brands and fail to capitalise on this important strategic asset. This in itself presents a fresh opportunity for competitive advantage. To get ahead, do what others don’t.
Moensie Rossier is a strategy director & principal at branding agency Principals
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