Leap Before You Look!
As you undoubtedly know by now, today is Leap Day. The extra day at the end of February that rolls around every 4 years. The beauty of Leap Day is that it provides us with one more day to get things done, one more day to make an impact. From a marketing perspective it’s a perfect time to reflect on what it is you are doing with your efforts, where you would like to make improvements and where you are seeing the greatest results. Why is Leap Day a perfect time to do all of this? Because like I said earlier, it’s a “bonus” day built in to your calendar.
As professional service marketers we get wrapped up into all of the day-to-day activities as well as the longer range planning. Sometimes we have to make time to step back and really reflect on what we’re trying to accomplish and think about where things currently stand. Now, it’s possible to build that into your schedule and quite honestly you should. However, because today, Leap Day, is not an every day occurence I thought it might be a good time to remind you to make the time to reflect and review. You can thank me later.
Happy Leap Day everyone! Make the most of your extra day today.
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Tags: accounting marketing, business development, communications, lead generation, legal marketing, marketing, marketing planning, marketing strategy, practice development, professional services marketing, social marketing, Thought Leadership
Help! I Need Somebody….again.
So, we’re one month into 2012 and you’re already stressed out about social media and how you integrate it into your marketing efforts. Well, the good news is that you’re not alone. The bad news is it will only get worse if you don’t act upon it now.
Social media marketing is not going away. I’ll say it once more; social media marketing is not going away. Has that sunk in yet? Many professional services marketers were unsure whether or not it was something they needed to pay attention to or if it was just a fad. It is definitely not a fad. So, that means it’s something you need to pay attention to.
What does that mean for the savvy professional service marketer? It means you better learn your stuff and learn it fast. Start with a good course on what social media marketing is. From there, work on creating a social media marketing policy for your firm to include who is responsible for the updating, frequency and content. You will also need to decide which platforms make the most sense for you and your firm. Do you need to be on Facebook? What about Google +? Is Linkedin part of your future? What about Twitter? As you can tell there are many things that go into your plans. You need to decide what your ultimate goal is with social media marketing and then use the correct platforms to achieve those goals. My suggestion is that at a bare minimum your firm and staff need to be on Linkedin.
Once you have that done you need to actually do the content creation and updating. It sound simple on the surface but is probably a lot more complex than it appears. Not because it takes a rocket scientist to do the work but because you need to have the time to do it consistently and with quality. Once you start you can’t give up. It requires diligence, commitment and a bit of creativity.
What I’m telling you isn’t really earth-shattering is it? No, probably not. However, it should serve as a good reminder and refresher that you need to incorporate some sort of social media marketing into your firm’s mix.
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Tags: accounting marketing, brand, business development, lead generation, legal marketing, marketing, marketing planning, practice development, professional services marketing, social marketing, social media, Thought Leadership
What’s the Over-Under?
With the Holidays upon us it inevitably leads to travel to see far flung family and friends. Like many Americans I am traveling today as well. I’m heading back to not-so-snowy (yet) Wisconsin for Christmas. However, as I write my blog post I am sitting in Charlotte Douglas International Airport (Charlotte, NC) waiting for my delayed flight to Milwaukee. I had a sinking suspicion that at least one of my flights today would be delayed. Why? Because it’s the busiest travel day of the season, the weather isn’t the best and I’m flying a certain airlines that is almost never on-time.
However, it was just announced that my more than two hour delay will be shortened and my travel should resume soon. Why is this important to professional services marketers? Because when you under-promise but over-deliver your customers can’t seem to help but be a little bit happier and forget that they were so ticked off in the first place. So, even though my flight is going to leave 1 1/2 hours later than scheduled I feel some joy that I will be in the air sooner than I had originally expected when they announced the two hour delay. Under-promise, over-deliver – bring some joy into someone’s day today!
As you go through your day, week and year working with your partners, clients and prospects keep that little phrase in the back of your mind; under-promise, over-deliver! Your life will be a little bit easier because of it.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you, my loyal readers! I hope you get to enjoy some deserved down time away from the office and with your family and friends.
Thanks for reading my blog for the past year and a half. I truly appreciate it. If you would take a moment to leave me a message to provide me some feedback on whether or not you find my words and thoughts valuable I would appreciate it. As always, I strive to provide you with value in every post.
Filed under: marketing, Professional Networking, Social Media Marketing, Thought Leadership | 1 Comment
Tags: accounting marketing, business development, business networking, center of influence, client satisfaction surveys, client service, lead generation, legal marketing, marketing, marketing planning, marketing strategy, networking, personal brand, personal branding, practice development, professional services marketing, social marketing, Thought Leadership, value proposition
It’s early December, the air turns a little colder and crisper, the days get a little shorter, shopping gets a little more hectic and we all get giddy with anticipation for the Holidays. It should be a joyous time to celebrate with friends and family, and reflect on the end of yet another (hopefully) productive year. However, for those of us in the accounting marketing profession we know that the Holidays are just the appetizer to an even more hectic time; tax season. Also known as busy season.
For as long as anyone can remember public accountants’ schedules have been more than full between January and April 15th due to tax work. For those of us who work in the marketing and business development departments for public accounting and consulting firms we know that this period is also a great time to market the firm, uncover needs and cross-sell services to clients. That’s why I call it opportunity season instead of busy season.
It’s for this reason that December and early January tend to get crazy busy for marketers. If you haven’t already, you should be getting in front of your partners and senior professionals to talk about how to uncover needs and have conversations with clients about their current and future situation. Where do they want to go with their company? Are they looking to retire, sell the business or pass it on to another generation? Are there technology solutions that can make them more efficient and profitable? What about financial planning or investment advice?
These are the types of conversations you need to have with your clients if you truly want to serve them. The advantage to doing it during opportunity season is that you are already having conversations with them about tax work. You already have their attention. This is a great time to really be their advisor that is looking out for their best interests. Now, before you start trying to sell your clients everything but the kitchen sink I should mention that you really shouldn’t be selling at all. You see, if you want your professionals to be truly successful they need to be adept at having honest, open conversations with clients and then trying to come up with solutions for their problems. By having these types of conversations while you have the client’s attention you are positioning your professionals to advise and counsel. Having that type of relationship will reap benefits long after “busy” season ends.
So, the next time your partners and professionals complain about busy season, remind them that it is really an opportunity season to grow the practice and serve their clients. Let them know you’ll be there to help and coach them as needed. Ultimately it’s up to them if they want to focus solely on tax compliance or if they want to step outside the box a bit and use the time to uncover new opportunities.
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Tags: accounting marketing, business development, lead generation, legal marketing, marketing, practice development, professional services marketing, prospecting, referrals
Helloooooo! Anyone out there? I was amazed when I looked back at my last post and saw that it has been over 6 months since I last posted. Wow! Where did the time go?
Well, that’s an easy question to answer. I took a new position with a great mid-sized accounting firm in South Carolina as their director of practice development back in June and my head has been spinning ever since with too many priorities competing for my attention. You know what they say, time flies when you’re having fun!
As a professional service marketer I’m used to juggling multiple activities and projects at the same time. Anyone worth their weight in the industry is adept at this. The one thing that has made my life easier is the relationship with my managing partner and the partnership in general. Without their support and patience I would be up the creek so to speak.
So, the message for all of you that are contemplating the move from marketing manager to marketing director and taking on the total marketing efforts of the firm is a simple one; keep expectations realistic and keep the lines of communication with the managing partner and partner group wide open. I have spent a lot of time educating my partners and senior managers about what it is marketing and business development can and should do, and what activities we probably shouldn’t engage in at this particular time. In addition I’ve made sure to keep them as involved as possible in everything my marketing manager and I do. Again, if you’re working alone in a vacuum your life expectancy at the firm is a whole lot shorter.
It’s an old cliche but it holds true; under promise and over deliver. Yeah, I know you’re probably rolling your eyes right about now but it’s true. Under promise, keep expectations realistic, keep the partners informed and fulfill your promises. If you do that you’ll be just fine. If you don’t……………….well, don’t come back to me for advice. Welcome to the professional services marketing carnival!
Filed under: marketing, Social Media Marketing | 1 Comment
Tags: accounting marketing, business development, communications, lead generation, legal marketing, marketing, marketing jobs, marketing strategy, practice development, professional services marketing, public relations, social marketing
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