8 Characteristics of the Perfect Partner in Charge of Marketing

If you’re the Managing Partner at a small to mid-sized professional services firm, there’s a good chance that one of the hats you wear is that of Chief Marketing Partner.

If you’re partner at a mid to large sized firm, you need to be extra careful about the timing of your “bio break” at this year’s partner retreat.

That’s because when you come back, you might just find that the rest of the partnership – your so-called buddies – have named you as the firm’s partner in charge of marketing.

Lucky you.

To Build a Business, You Need to Build Your Email Marketing Database

One of the most coveted, but also one of the most difficult challenges for any company is to build an email marketing database. Sure it’s possible to build a list in a “black hat” (Boo!  Hiss!) kind of way, but most firms know that building their list in an ethical and compliant manner is a challenge that must take on.

It’s estimated that in a year, about 25% of a firm’s email list goes sour. So, the challenge of building and maintaining a list must be constant, and should be a key part of any firm’s marketing plan and budget.

Accounting, Consulting and other Professional Services Firms Need to Get More Mileage from Blogging

If the marketing and management team of your CPA, consulting or law firms aren’t familiar with blogging and content marketing in general, you may be missing the boat on opportunities for branding and lead generation. But this post isn’t about the value of blogging (see our whitepaper offer, below), it’s about getting as much mileage out of your blogging efforts as possible.

Is ‘Flipping the Funnel’ an Appropriate Marketing Strategy for your Accounting or Consulting Firm?

I recently read a really intriguing LinkedIn post by Lauren Wilson, Founder of Chicagoland  Marketing and Marcomm  Group who posed the question, “Should we be spending much more time on client "retention and extension" & less on new from new?”

She referenced a blog post in Marketing Sherpa that presented an interview and discussion with Joseph Jaffe and his book “Flip the Funnel”.

Guest blog post by Marsha Leest, President, Leest Consulting

“Feed Me”

What do a business’s lead creation engine and Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors have in common? For their owners to survive, both need to be fed regularly. And that’s where the similarity ends.

Because the internet and social media have given buyers an unprecedented level of access to what different sellers are offering, messaging is crucial. Outlining the company’s value proposition clearly and concisely across various platforms should be one of marketing’s highest priorities.

Rule 5: Top Line Growth Happens at the Niche Level

To date, I’ve addressed four of the 13 new rules for marketing that are going to transform the way that CPA, law and consulting firms grow their top line. Today, Rule 5: new business action happens at the niche level, so allocate your resources appropriately.

The value of niche marketing for professional services firms is undeniable. Niche marketing allows the firm to:

Today's post comes to us from Steve Chipman of LexNet Consulting Group. Lexnet Consulting Group offers a wide range of applications and specialized services related to CRM, email marketing and inbound marketing. We’re pleased to re-post this piece written by Steve Chipman and originally posted on their blog, CRMSwitch, that provides a terrific overview of why companies should invest in CRM.

At CRM Switch, being true to our brand, we mainly cover topics around switching from a contact manager or from an old CRM system to a new CRM system. However, there are many companies that have never implemented any kind of CRM system. People at these companies are wondering why their company should invest in CRM for the first time.

Here are five common organizational problems and a description of how CRM can solve these problems.

Accounting, Consulting and Other Professional Services Firms Need to Step Up Their Content Marketing Program

There’s not one CPA, consulting, law or engineering firm alive today that isn’t doing marketing using content, but very few are actually doing content marketing.

Huh? Permit me to explain…

Got a website? You’re doing marketing using content. Last year, did you do a presentation to a group or prospects or hand out some collateral at a meet and greet with a peer? Well, you’ve done some marketing using content. Did you reprint an article and distribute it? Yep … you know what you did … marketing using content! Did you do a LinkedIn profile or tweet a time or two? Marketing with content strikes again.

10 More Email Marketing Tips and Guidance for Professional Services Marketing

In last week’s blog, Part 1 of our series on email marketing, we started a discussion on email marketing best practices that can help your CPA, consulting or professional service firm marketing program generate more leads and new business.

4 Ways to Create Tangible Differentiation

Here’s a little marketing challenge for your never ending quest to be a better professional services firm marketer. It’s a three-partner:

• Part 1 – answer this question:  What makes your accounting, consulting or law firm remarkably different from your competition?
• Part 2 – visit a few of your competitor’s websites and see if they’re saying the same thing.
• Part 3 – answer this question: if you’re all saying the same  thing about what makes you different then how, exactly, are you different … especially in the eyes of a prospect?