Advertising for Accountants

[piscesaccounts]

Hi,

I am an accountant wishing to increase my client base, I have tried a couple of offline adverts in local newspapers and got no response. There are a couple of other accoutants who advertise in these papers as well so it would seem that they are a good source for clients.

I wondered if anyone might be able to give me advice on how I may advertise my services. I am very keen on using online advertising I don't like banner advertising because I feel it 'cheapens' the good name of accountancy! sorry! I feel it takes something away from my professionalism.

Since Accountancy is a very traditional profession I was planning on using directories like the Yellow Pages, Bt etc.

I have had discussions/hard sell interviews with people from kellysearch.com about advertising on their website but at over £1000 it works out more than I had planned. My cashflow is tight at the moment but obviously when things get better i.e when I do get some clients I will be looking to spend more on advertising.

Should I stick with the newspaper adverts for the time being I have only been in a couple of times, and wait untill my cashflow improves before I spend on online advertising?

Alan.

www.piscesaccounts.co.uk

[globalart4u]

writing online informative articles is a good way of getting people to know what you do - try ecademy and other such places.

Find out what networking groups there are in your area bni, bre, chamber of commerce etc even your local council. What new businesses have started up, go to entrepreneur events, business start up events and network there

[Alpha]

Alan

My honest answer would be No, No and No.

If you put an advert in a local paper the intended audience would have to be looking for an accountant at the time the advert came out (people dont keep newspaper clips just in case they need an accountant in the future!)

Yellow Pages advertising has a mixed reaction but most opinions from peers suggests that again it is a waste of time and money(except a line advert just in case anyone wants to look up your telephone number). If you look in your copy of the yellow pages and see just how many accountants are in there the likely hood of your advert being contacted is pretty low. Again most peers who have tried it report little or no success from this media.

Kellys search again would I belive be a complete waste of money.

What may work.....

Best source of business is referrals, whether it be friends, business acquaintances (eg do you know or ever meet book keepers who may pass work to you and vice versa), other possible referrals come from networking eg BNI, BRE groups and business clubs but the rules of the two former groups are not suitable to many of us.

If you have a problem with cold calling consider a specialist telemarketing company who will offer a fee based on an attended appointment (Many of these wish to have a minimum campaign though usually paid up front, our last campaign had a spend of £1500 at £60 per attended appointment, the firm was not brilliant and we are currently looking at evaluating other possible suppliers but the cost was spread between three practices)

You could try a direct marketing campaign but the success rate is low compared to the quantities mailed and should really be done methodically with a follow up call to reinforce the campaign.

For further ideas why not try asking Andy Barr(10 Yetis) to see if he can provide some help.

If you want further help then by all means e mail me.

[smirch]

Speaking from a client point of view, I would be more attracted to ads that reflected some expertise in the industry my business is in than generic ads, for example try some trade journals - with an ad copy that reflected any expertise you have in the industry.

As your website address will be on all your ads ... I think your website is pretty informative of all your services, (although I don’t like all the 'I's in the content) you could also add some info about any of your clients (even if it’s just their name) e.g. http://www.vpt.co.uk/clientList.html
or any testimonials of your services.

[10 Yetis]

Wow... two accountants, both called Alan.

I wonder if there is any scope foir doing a survey of the most popular name for an accountant and then press releasing the story? <anyone who wants to sponsor me to find out will get product tie in with the press release! :-) >

I pretty much echo what Alan (Alpha) says... i.e. talk to me (joking).

Local press ads are pretty much a no no. They only seem to work well for retail, finance and brand awareness for FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) products.

Smirch is pretty much spot on when he says try an advert in a specific trade magazine. More likely to get a better response rate there.

Online ads are not as expensive as people think. I just helped set up an online ad campaign for a client and even i was shocked at some of the low prices charged by large (national media owned) regional sites.

The one thing I would say is that mailings are a good, relatively inexpensive, way of getting new clients as long as you follow them up with calls and don't just send a dull bl**dy sales letter. Go for something interesting (again, an area I can help with).

Oh yeah... and what is your USP? Can you use this to get coverage in your local media via a press release rather than paying for adverts.

There is no better feeling than getting an enquiry/sale from a 'none paid for source' as we say in the industry!

Feel free to drop me an email if you would like to discuss more.

[kyber]

We have a number of free papers in our area one of which is a bit more sophisticated than the usual bin fodder (decent cover, stapled, colour photos) that tends to be kept to hand by people. Every month there is an article in this latter paper from each of a local solicitor and a local accountant (the same people each month). The articles are a mix of personal diary/blog like comment plus advice. Must do them some good.

Stuart

[piscesaccounts]

Thanks for your all your responses.

One of the adverts that I placed was in a local trade newspaper - I know the owner and got a really good deal on the advert !

I will look in to all your advice you have given.

Perhaps we could draw a venn diagram of accountants named Alan and those not!

Alan.

www.piscesaccounts.co.uk

[BMS]

Odd, first Financial Director that I worked for was called Alan.

Perhaps its a cloning issue ?????

[10 Yetis]

Just done a google search on Accountants called Alan and there are loads!

[Ozzy]

News Bulletin : Alan IS The Accountant!

[BMS]

Ozzy

Thinking of changing my name to Mr. Alan Alan by deedpole. Would you consider this to be a shrewed marketing strategy.............

[Alpha]

Paul

After checking the memory banks I can honestly say that your first FD wasnt me.......phew I thought a few skeletons may fall out of the cupboard. :D

[piscesaccounts]

When I was at Uni there was three other Alan's on my course ......it used to cause havoc!

Alan.

www.piscesaccounts.co.uk

[oldeagleeye]

Alan (OP) You might find joining the Accountants Circle forum worthwhile too. I saw a couple of post on there looking to buy small client lists - there are probably others offering them.

I would like if I may make 2 comments. Starting out on a budget is one thing but there is no need to advertise that you have a cheap DIY job from 1 & 1.. I would drop that link if I were you.

It is of course not for me to question your pricing but it seems unusally low which leaves little scope to run promotions in the members offer section. I am not suggesting for one minute that accountants on here form a cartel but you might want to look at competitive pricing. To go really cheap seems to me like undermining professional standards and fees as dare I say happened when it comes to some web designers. Rob

[itsallaboutlearning]

I currently work for a company in a specialist area of accountancy...

and we advertise on google in that specific area
and get a good response

So if you are experienced qualified in a specific area ..advertise in that area on google or areas relevant

[LowcostPR]

Why not try social networking?

Have a look on the web to see if there are any groups near you, and book a place. Face to face meetings are always a good way to build trust, you can also informally discuss your work, and best of all....... you can have a good fry-up!

[brite-i]

Hi Alan,

There are loads of ways to get publicity for your business without having to spend much money.

The first thing I would say is that having professionally written and designed marketing material makes a massive difference to the response rate and the investment could be the best thing you do. (But I'm bound to say that!)

Some things you must do if you want to succeed – and I learnt this the hard way – is to find out what your customer's needs are and deliver a service that meets these needs, always focus on the benefits of doing business with you (i.e. that you can save them £100s of pounds by.....etc), offer guarantees of some sort and be passionate and proud of your business and your prices. Testimonials are also key for building trust. And finally, stress the value of your product or service - it's a myth that people buy on price, they buy on perceived value to them.

And some things you shouldn't do: try selling a product or service that people don't want, waste money on ineffective advertising, and use your website to try and sell straight away - instead use it as a chance to build a relationship with your prospective customer. There are a load more but I believe these to be the most important.

As for cheap publicity I would recommend signing up to as many free offline and online directories as possible with links to your website if possible. I'd also look at PR which could include writing articles for local press or online blogs (think of all the VAT issues at the min, offer expert advice, again if it's online, get a link to your website), don't discount banner advertising as it is really starting to take off again and is reasonably cheap, look at Pay-per-click advertising as after all, you only pay for the people who click through to your site, offer incentives for referrals, try to strike up some joint ventures, and use the phone and email effectively.

I hope that gives you some ideas and that you've found this useful. Sorry it's so long, I got a bit carried away with the moment!

Good luck.

Jeff

[brite-i]

Stupidly didn't see the date of this thread until it was too late! Oh well, I hope others find the advice useful....

[oldeagleeye]

I didn't see the date either Jeff. Pity there was some good advice for the guy from you there. Rob

[DFL]

Alan

Couple of angles:

Can you profile your ideal client first?

[Alpha]

Alan

Couple of angles:

Can you profile your ideal client first?


Alan (piscesaccounts) hasn't been on this forum since his original post in 2005:rolleyes::D:D

[DFL]

I'll get me coat :eek:

[Michelle Carvill]

Haven't you explored Google Adwords - you can do this on a geo-targeted basis - so you could target your local region (if that's your audience). This can prove quite cost effective. And if you become quite targeted on your location - so your keywords follow something like: accountant [town/village] you are based - then this could be worth exploring. Or small business accountant, paye accountant etc - being more targeted. Probably not the most sought after search terms and so you may get them for a good price.

Further you mention advertising online with YELL - people tend to use YELL when searching locally and dependent upon where you are located, it may be that the keyword for your area is available.
Best wishes
Michelle www.carvillonmarketing.com (http://www.carvillonmarketing.com)