Marketing Today and Tomorrow

Building your brand and increasing your firm's name recognition is a full time job. It is essential, though, because it is part of the foundation for your future growth, a necessary component to raising retention of existing clients and attracting new clients. But, marketing without business development is only one-half of the story! In order to make the most of your hard work, you need to find ways to convert your  marketing to generate new client engagements.  There are many different things you can do to help transition from marketing to practice development.  

Why market? Why bother? These are important questions that concern many small to mid-size firms and they deserve thoughtful consideration and a reasonable and practical response.

I've had websites on my mind recently and today's presentation by Ilene Greene, President of Marketshare Communications at the Sobel & Co Executive Women's Breakfast,only increased my awareness of how much we need to do in this area. 

As your firm prepares for busy season , this is an excellent time for reviewing all you have been doing - making sure everything is up to date. 

While reading the recent biography of Steve Jobs I came across a bit of advice that I thought was just as relevant for those of us with small to mid-zise CPA firms who are always looking for some marketing and business guidance. Here are his three key observations on what makes a company (or a firm), a success:

1. Show empathy.  Steve described this as creating an intimate conection with your clients and understanding their needs. While he was referencing a product driven world, who better than the "most trusted advisor" to forge a meaningful connection to clients?