Same ol’ Same ol’ New Business Strategies and Tactics or New Plays for a New Year?

I’m excited about the new strategies, technologies, tools and tactics that CPA firms have at their command for producing more visibility, leads and sales results in 2018 than ever before.

(Talk about a marketing geek!)

In the past few years, we’ve seen more CPA firms than ever before build an aggressive content program, explore social media channels, implement inbound marketing programs, and even venture deeper into the world of CRM.

For some firms, digital marketing and sales technology have opened the eyes of firm leaders who have discovered that there are better ways to get a bigger return on the firm’s investment in marketing. For those firms that are ahead of their competitors on the marketing and new business curve, here are five “power plays” for 2018 that will further separate you from your competitors.

Other firms being left behind? Let’s just say that it’s never too late to get curious about how and why your competitors are generating more leads and new business than you are.

It’s never too late to start!

The best and worst content gating practices of the Top 200 CPA firms revealed here!

About once every year or so, I look at the websites of each and every top 200 CPA firm and do a “back of the napkin” assessment of strategic, marketing, and design trends. I also look at how CPA firm websites benchmark against inbound marketing, content marketing, and lead generation best practices of B2B firms.

Overall, I give the Top 200 CPA firms a collective grade of B-.

A Website Needs to Be a Continual Work in Progress

So you thought that you could kick off your shoes and breathe a sigh of relief after the launch of your new website, eh?

Yes, I know your stress level went off the charts, you had somewhere between 1.4 and 1.7 billion disagreements with the agency, your team and management, and that the site came in well over budget and beyond schedule. But now... it’s a thing of beauty, something to be proud of, and it’s highly likely that if you’re part of the team that slogged its way from concept to publication you probably deserve a hefty raise, right?

Marketing Using a Content Strategy Generates Leads and New Business

I just downloaded and read a publication by the International Federation of Accountants calledCompetent and Versatile: How Professional Accountants in Business Drive Sustainable Organizational Success. IFAC states the publication provides  “…a common model for understanding and explaining how professional accountants drive sustainable organizational success, encompassing the public and non-profit sectors.”