marketing plan for bookkeeping practice

[Slac000]

Hello group,

Can you recommend me please marketing guru to plan (and implement) promotional strategy for my bookkeeping practice. Initially I need a quote to plan the budget and source funds. Implementation will follow shortly after.
It's a newly established practice so I need help with everything - logo, website, business cards, social & google marketing, identifying and reaching market segments, promoting supplementary business services.

Preferably someone who is experienced with accounting practices and knows specifics.

Thanks

 

[fisicx]

Have you identified your target client? This is key to any marketing plan.

You may not need a website, socials or business cards. My accountant only has an email address and has to turn work away as he is so busy.

 

[Mark T Jones]

Agree with @fisicx - Identify exactly who your ideal customer will be and why they might want to use you. (Avoid dull generics like 'good service' etc)

You might benefit from a marketing professional, or you might find the world beating a path to your door.

The important part is to do the basics before you start thinking about promotion and media.

 

[Fagin2021]

Hello group,

Can you recommend me please marketing guru to plan (and implement) promotional strategy for my bookkeeping practice. Initially I need a quote to plan the budget and source funds. Implementation will follow shortly after.
It's a newly established practice so I need help with everything - logo, website, business cards, social & google marketing, identifying and reaching market segments, promoting supplementary business services.

Preferably someone who is experienced with accounting practices and knows specifics.

Thanks

You've said 'my bookkeeping practice' then 'experienced with accounting practices'

Are you a bookkeeper or an accountant ? It makes a difference as to how you market yourself.

 

[Ozzy]

I'm going to come in at a slightly different angle here as I think you need someone to come in and help tease out of you the answers to the questions the other responses are asking you because I'm reading between the lines of your original post and thinking you're not sure yourself yet.
There is no issue with not being sure, and a mentor or coach with a marketing background may be a good fit for you.

Someone with that background may jump in but to get your mind thinking - what kind of customer would you like to work with? I have a bookkeeper friend for example who only works with single-person Limited companies, she is very specific and won't for example touch Self-Assessments either. Have a think about this and also your reasons why then this will help someone in building your approach to market - which might simply be go out networking, or it could be local advertising, etc.

 

[Paul Carmen]

As Ozzy says, this needs to be led by you, with help from a professional, but only you know how your business will potentially work.

It's a competitive field and there are a mix of national and local competitors advertising bookkeeping and accounting services, so deciding your target market, demographics, area, and the services you want to sell/deliver are key.

The other thing to consider is that to promote even one service nationally, with any scale on Google, will require a large budget. We carry out marketing services in this niche, and the CPC for Google Ads is very high for the best performing keywords.

You've then got to come up with a compelling reason for customers to use you, the key drivers for customers are price, service and reviews, in that order, so you have to ensure you have a great message and a compelling high converting sign up process. The big national players are outsourcing work to offshore teams, and offering very aggressive pricing, so this is a difficult angle to compete on.

This thought process should lead you to be very targeted, and create a plan you can build upon, ensuring your marketing is fully measurable, with lead tracking and goals defined. You then need to constantly test and optimise your marketing. If you don't do the research stage, and measure your marketing well, you'll waste a lot of money.

For many startups it's better to target the local area, as if you have an office/shop location, a good locally targeted website, and a Google Business listing, you will start to generate work, build reviews and testimonials. You can also PPC advertise locally with far less risk, using the Google listing and a tightly managed small radius search ads campaigns.

If you start by defining the services and what makes you different, plus how you actually deliver services then that helps too; e.g. many customers don't ever go to their accountant/bookkeeper, it's all done via email and the phone, with all the bookkeeping taking place in Xero, Quickbooks etc.

 

[MarketingQuote]

There are lots of marketing companies that work with accountants, global and sole traders.

We would advise you working with someone local, that way you can visit them.

Where in the UK are you based?

 

[Mark T Jones]

There are lots of marketing companies that work with accountants, global and sole traders.

We would advise you working with someone local, that way you can visit them.

Where in the UK are you based?

Why do they need face to face? Surely Zoom or whatever would work, unless they are specifically targeting location?

 

[MarketingQuote]

Why do they need face to face? Surely Zoom or whatever would work, unless they are specifically targeting location?

Then why not work with a marketing company in the USA or India?

There are a lot of benefits in a face to face meeting, people buy from people.

 

[Paul Carmen]

Then why not work with a marketing company in the USA or India?

There are a lot of benefits in a face to face meeting, people buy from people.

What specific benefits for a face to face meeting?

Someone in the US or India may be fine, as long as they understand the local market (which they often don't), and are ICO/GDPR compliant and insured.

Surely you'd be better off working with an expert in the field, and someone who can demonstrate success in this type of lead gen area?

 

[Mark T Jones]

Then why not work with a marketing company in the USA or India?

There are a lot of benefits in a face to face meeting, people buy from people.

Nobody would accuse me of being an early adopter of technology- but I do know that location really isn't important when buying professional service, unless there is a distinct geographical angle.

I chose my last account because they were local and we could meet. I moved away. They moved further away. The business relationship is unchanged.

If I was to change accountant I definitely wouldn't be bothered about where they were based.

 

[ethical PR]

Hello group,

Can you recommend me please marketing guru to plan (and implement) promotional strategy for my bookkeeping practice. Initially I need a quote to plan the budget and source funds. Implementation will follow shortly after.
It's a newly established practice so I need help with everything - logo, website, business cards, social & google marketing, identifying and reaching market segments, promoting supplementary business services.

Preferably someone who is experienced with accounting practices and knows specifics.

Thanks

The marketing plan will help you identify which channels you need to use and what collateral you might need for your business. The plan will also give you an estimate around likely budget.

Perhaps speak to your local chamber of commerce and ask for recommendations for PR/marketing people with experience in marketing professional services.

A good marketing/PR person with the right experience will help you think through who you see as your target customers and what you can offer which is different/better than your competitors.

 

[Fagin2021]

Hello group,

Can you recommend me please marketing guru to plan (and implement) promotional strategy for my bookkeeping practice. Initially I need a quote to plan the budget and source funds. Implementation will follow shortly after.
It's a newly established practice so I need help with everything - logo, website, business cards, social & google marketing, identifying and reaching market segments, promoting supplementary business services.

Preferably someone who is experienced with accounting practices and knows specifics.

Thanks

For a change I’m going to disagree with most of the posts on this thread! If proven wrong I’ll stick up my hand and confess ‘sorry guv’, bang to rights, society to blame’ etc etc.

From your original post I assume you’re not looking to be a PwC or KPMG with global, national, or even regional ambitions – at least not yet. So…

Local is important. Even if you don’t meet up, there’s something psychologically comforting about knowing that you can . Ceteris paribus (all other things being equal) I would always chose a local accountant over a distant one.

If going local, you don’t require a marketing guru – just think about who is in your area and what they need most. Can you specialise ? For example, I live in an area where the economy is dominated by farming. A good agricultural accountant will know all the ins and outs of grants, subsidies, asset management, stock (livestock) levels and a host of other things different to standard accounting.

The other main activity here is building – from sole traders to small companies. Here, one of the principal skills of an accountant is understanding the rules around sub-contracting and – most important of all – knowing how to prevent a builder from doing something stupid that will land them in hot water with HMRC.

If you specialise – and do a good job of course – word soon gets around and you can leverage this with a bit of (cheap) local marketing like free magazines, directories and the like.

You do need a website – even if it’s just a 3 page WordPress brochure site with some contact details. Maybe it’s just me but I’m always put off when I do a local search on Google and in the 3 pack see…

• Company A – Website1 and [email protected]
• Company B – Website2 and [email protected]
• Company C – enquiries @gmail.com

Of course, having a rubbish website is worse than having none at all.

So, in summary…

• Start local
• Specialise
• Get a website
• Get help with Google local search
• Do some local marketing

Thus ends the pontification.

 

[Slac000]

There are lots of marketing companies that work with accountants, global and sole traders.

We would advise you working with someone local, that way you can visit them.

Where in the UK are you based?

Hi MarketingQuote

I'm not quite sure why I would want to visit them, but let's try. I'm in London, in Barking.

Are you marketing specialist or just someone to collect interest?

Thanks

 

[Slac000]

Thank you everyone for comments. I highly value your input and feedback.

I'm sorry I won't reply individually, but I'll try explain my approach to this. First of all I would like to talk to someone who is already experienced working with accountants and bookkeepers as this is not the product of mass consumption. This is a trust based relation and shining on social media won't necessarily contribute to that. That means my presents on social media will be minimal. I want this person to know where the demand for these services concentrate. I know myself, but I need to find a way to approach that. Yes, I have an idea of my niche, but the problem is that it is very small and highly competitive, means there will be not much business and low profits. Therefore I have in mind alternative segments and maybe supplementary business services to stand out and gain moment. Actually, those complementary services generate a lot of interest, but not necessarily money.

So there are quite a few things to consider to put (or not) together and that's why I want to speak with someone who knows from personal experience what works what doesn't.

Thank you.
S

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

We all work with accountants on here that's why we have no money ??

 

[Mark T Jones]

Thank you everyone for comments. I highly value your input and feedback.

I'm sorry I won't reply individually, but I'll try explain my approach to this. First of all I would like to talk to someone who is already experienced working with accountants and bookkeepers as this is not the product of mass consumption. This is a trust based relation and shining on social media won't necessarily contribute to that. That means my presents on social media will be minimal. I want this person to know where the demand for these services concentrate. I know myself, but I need to find a way to approach that. Yes, I have an idea of my niche, but the problem is that it is very small and highly competitive, means there will be not much business and low profits. Therefore I have in mind alternative segments and maybe supplementary business services to stand out and gain moment. Actually, those complementary services generate a lot of interest, but not necessarily money.

So there are quite a few things to consider to put (or not) together and that's why I want to speak with someone who knows from personal experience what works what doesn't.

Thank you.
S

There is an element of contradiction / surprse in there, in that small niches tend to be uncontested so command higher proces.

@ethical PR PR has widely suggested that you 'employ' someone to help you find your niche - one that has a bit of margin in it.

Until you know who your customer is, and what your assed value is, any promotional spend will be a bottomless pit.

Similarly, without that information nobody can tell you whether you need to be local, whether you need a website or how you should promote yourself.

 

[VJR Business Support Ltd]

Thank you everyone for comments. I highly value your input and feedback.

I'm sorry I won't reply individually, but I'll try explain my approach to this. First of all I would like to talk to someone who is already experienced working with accountants and bookkeepers as this is not the product of mass consumption. This is a trust based relation and shining on social media won't necessarily contribute to that. That means my presents on social media will be minimal. I want this person to know where the demand for these services concentrate. I know myself, but I need to find a way to approach that. Yes, I have an idea of my niche, but the problem is that it is very small and highly competitive, means there will be not much business and low profits. Therefore I have in mind alternative segments and maybe supplementary business services to stand out and gain moment. Actually, those complementary services generate a lot of interest, but not necessarily money.

So there are quite a few things to consider to put (or not) together and that's why I want to speak with someone who knows from personal experience what works what doesn't.

Thank you.
S

As someone who has run a Bookkeeping / VA practice for 8 years now and who does their own marketing, my advice would be this.

1) It takes time for clients to engage with you. People need to know, like and trust your firm.

2) whilst a website isn't that important, it is useful and helps with the SEO results.

3) Start local. Think about your target market, identify your niche and start engaging with that market / creating content that would appeal to them. In my experience, once I niched down, I got enquiries from all over.

4) Network, Network, Network ( But in the right places)... so for example, if you want to work with property developers, then go to networking events for property people.

5) Whilst you will want to consider a marketing budget, there is plenty that can be done yourself for free if you have the time/ knowledge

6) Utilise AI.

 

[fisicx]

@Slac000 - as others have said, start local. Get a GBP set up. Be seen on local websites. Run workshops. Run a promo in the local shopping centre. Get adverts on your car. Consider paying for a billboard. Network. Talk to people.

None of which requires a website or socials.

Forget all your supplementary things for now. And don’t target a competitive niche. You want money coming through the door, an easy source of this are all the local traders. Take away the source of all their pain.

 

[ethical PR]

Thank you everyone for comments. I highly value your input and feedback.

I'm sorry I won't reply individually, but I'll try explain my approach to this. First of all I would like to talk to someone who is already experienced working with accountants and bookkeepers as this is not the product of mass consumption. This is a trust based relation and shining on social media won't necessarily contribute to that. That means my presents on social media will be minimal. I want this person to know where the demand for these services concentrate. I know myself, but I need to find a way to approach that. Yes, I have an idea of my niche, but the problem is that it is very small and highly competitive, means there will be not much business and low profits. Therefore I have in mind alternative segments and maybe supplementary business services to stand out and gain moment. Actually, those complementary services generate a lot of interest, but not necessarily money.

So there are quite a few things to consider to put (or not) together and that's why I want to speak with someone who knows from personal experience what works what doesn't.

Thank you.
S

So have you done as I suggested and asked your local chamber for recommendations?

 

[Dany Grantsev]

Hello group,

Can you recommend me please marketing guru to plan (and implement) promotional strategy for my bookkeeping practice. Initially I need a quote to plan the budget and source funds. Implementation will follow shortly after.
It's a newly established practice so I need help with everything - logo, website, business cards, social & google marketing, identifying and reaching market segments, promoting supplementary business services.

Preferably someone who is experienced with accounting practices and knows specifics.

Thanks

I know an excellent digital marketing agency that can cover everything from Paid Ads to Analytics, SEO, email marketing, and more. As I remember, they have experience working with accounting practices.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

1 - contact all of your local accountants and tell them about your services
2 - go networking and meet local businesses - they may not know it, but most will need your services!!

 

[Slac000]

So have you done as I suggested and asked your local chamber for recommendations?

Not yet, but I keep this in mind. Thank you for advice.