who is your ideal customer? how will you track your interactions?
by august j. aquila
if you recently passed the cpa exam, bar or other professional designation, congratulations. you put a lot of work and time into learning about the technical aspect of your profession.
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unfortunately, what they didn’t teach you is how to build a professional practice, gain clients and understand client needs. these talents are just as important as being a good auditor, tax consultant or management consultant.
no one doubts that marketing today keeps firms relevant to the needs of the marketplace; it helps create satisfied clients and builds within the firm a marketing culture. building a marketing engine for your firm can be a complex and multifaceted task. don’t become overwhelmed. you don’t have to do everything the first day. my purpose is to help you get started, to expose you to the key marketing and sales concepts and steps to consider when building your practice.
let’s look at what you need to learn to be successful in today’s marketplace:
- define your objectives: start by clearly identifying your marketing objectives. what are you trying to achieve? increase brand awareness, generate leads, boost sales or improve customer retention? setting clear goals will help you align your marketing efforts and measure your success.
- know your target audience: you can’t be everything to everybody. you must understand who your ideal customers are. you can do this by creating buyer personas that outline their demographics, preferences, pain points and buying behaviors. this information will guide your marketing strategies and communications.
- develop a strong brand identity: build a strong and consistent brand identity that resonates with your target audience. define your brand’s mission, values, voice and visual elements such as logo, color palette and typography. your brand tells the market what you stand for. consistency across all marketing channels will also help establish brand recognition.
- build an integrated marketing strategy: create a comprehensive marketing strategy that encompasses various channels and tactics. consider both online and offline marketing techniques, including digital advertising, content marketing, social media, email marketing, search engine optimization (seo), public relations, events and more. each channel should work cohesively to support your overall objectives.
- content creation: develop high-quality and engaging content tailored to your target audience. this could include blog articles, videos, infographics, whitepapers, case studies and social media posts. valuable and relevant content positions your firm as an industry thought leader and attracts potential customers. it opens the doors to ideas and solutions to issues your client may not have thought of – yet.
- leverage digital marketing channels: establish a strong online presence by utilizing various digital marketing channels. optimize your website for search engines, run targeted digital ad campaigns, engage with your audience on social media platforms, and leverage email marketing to nurture leads and maintain customer relationships.
- marketing automation and crm: gone are the days of individual rolodex and partner databases. implement marketing automation tools and a customer relationship management (crm) system to streamline your marketing processes. automation helps with lead nurturing, email campaigns, analytics tracking and customer segmentation. a crm system helps manage customer data and interactions, enabling personalized marketing communications.
- track and analyze results: it has never been easier to track and analyze marketing results. regularly monitor and analyze your marketing efforts to measure their effectiveness. use analytics tools to track website traffic, conversion rates, email open rates, social media engagement and other relevant metrics. this data will inform your future marketing decisions and allow you to optimize campaigns for better results.
- adapt and evolve: marketing is an ongoing process, so be prepared to adapt and evolve your strategies as needed. stay up to date with industry trends, consumer preferences and technological advancements to ensure your marketing engine remains effective and relevant.
- don’t give up: remember, building a successful marketing engine takes time and continuous effort. it’s important to test and refine your strategies, learn from your successes and failures, and stay agile in an ever-changing business landscape.
not only are your clients the center of your professional skillset, but they are at the center of all marketing activities and ideas. to make sure that you understand that it is the client’s needs that you must address, and not just the professional services you offer.
marketing is not an exact science. it is a mixture of art and science. sometimes your marketing activities will work wonderfully and other times you will be scratching your head. just remember that the real purpose of your firm, as peter drucker said, is to create clients. if you continue to focus on that one truth, you will have profits, good people and fun building and marketing your firm.