10 Gut Wrenching Marketing Tactics You Don’t Want to See Your Competitors Doing

Is 2013 the Time For CPA and Other Professional Services Firms to Re-Think and Re-Allocate the Marketing Budget?

Quite a few CPA and other professional services marketingprograms are gearing up for the annual budgeting process. There’s as many different ways to develop a marketing plan and budget as there are apps for your smart phone (well, maybe not all that many), but the fact of the matter is that even in the face of monumental change happening in the world of professional services marketing, it’s likely that your firm’s budget allocation strategies of the past will drive its allocation strategy of 2013.

Perhaps 2013 is the year that you shake up your marketing budgeting strategy, because after all, according to available data, marketing represents an expenditure of 2% to 5% of your top line. But where do you shake, and how do you start that process?

My recommendation: start by taking a look at what your competitors are doing, because that will give you insight on allocating budget for purposes of competitive advantage (i.e. hitting ‘em where they ain’t), or for purposes of leveling the playing field by taking away competitive advantages that they’ve earned with their smart marketing and budget allocation strategies.

Here’s a list of 10 things that you don’t want to see your competitors doing:

1. Getting ranked on the first page of search engine results for the services you also offer 
2. An SEO optimized website 
3. A consistent blog 
4. Offers on their website in the form of downloadable content like whitepapers or articles that require a form – that’s how leads are generated!
5. An active presence on Twitter, with an emphasis on promoting offers or driving followers to the firm’s website
6. A strong LinkedIn program, from up to date and optimized profiles to active promotion and participation in LinkedIn groups
7. Acquiring a significant number of backlinks to their website, as the number and quality of backlinks is a key variable in how search engine ranking are achieved
8. Showing up on a consistent basis in traditional print media, especially for public relations activities that showcase the firm’s thought leadership
9. Putting your clients on their e-mail list, and reaching out to them on a regular basis using a combination of tools from e-newsletters like BizActions to content driven e-mail nurturing campaigns
10. Putting your clients into seats at their seminars or workshops

This list represents the visible parts of your competitor’s marketing program, and it’s a pretty sure bet that behind the curtain, they’ve invested in new marketing infrastructure and technology (like HubSpot) to deliver these competitive advantages. They’re putting money into inbound marketing to complement traditional 1:1 referral and networking marketing activities, and putting less money into traditional 1: many marketing activities like advertising and telemarketing.

So, is 2013 going to be the year of the same old marketing budget, or will it be the year where you start to reallocate your marketing spend toward strategies and tactics that will deliver  more site traffic, more leads and more new business?

Interested in a complimentary discussion of your 2013 marketing budget and how to shake it up with inbound marketing or a new website? Click here, or call Shannon at 585.329.4579 today.