6 Nooks Where Curiosity Leads to Bigger, Bolder, and Better Marketing

A couple of weeks ago, I talked about a meeting that I had with partner from a professional service firm where he declared that their firm just didn’t need any more marketing.

As you might recall, my takeaway was that: (1) regardless of the truth of the matter, he just wasn’t curious about marketing, and (2) the $13.45 (with tip) that I paid for coffee and parking was well worth the “aha!” moment I walked away with.

You might say, I got curious about curiosity. So, I built my blog post around marketing curiosity and questions partners might consider when climbing a marketing curiosity curve.

Lest ye think that I’m leaving marketers unscathed, I started thinking about the role that curiosity can play within the scope of their responsibilities. It’s tough to be marketing curious if most of your time is spent on tactics or responding to partner requests, but nonetheless, as our friend Albert might say… “Success comes from curiosity, concentration, perseverance, and self criticism.”

Agility is more than a mindset… It’s a process too!

I was sitting on the porch of a cabin in the Ozarks just after dawn, sipping a hot cup of coffee, watching the sun starting to peak over the mountain range when I saw the red-tailed hawks dancing above the tree line.

I pondered their grace and beauty (or “thunk on it a bit,” as they say in the Ozarks), but it was their agility that was stunning. Swooping. Diving. Turning. Reacting.

And when it came time to write this week’s blog post, I thunk about what it means to be agile when it comes to marketing and the possibilities for employing this approach in professional services firms that help their clients deal with regulatory and compliance issues.

“We don’t need any more marketing,” said the partner.

As I was waiting in the coffee shop the other day to meet with a lead from a referral I got, I reviewed my pre-meeting notes. Just by looking at their website, I had a number of insights and recommendations ready for discussion.

We exchanged a few pleasantries, played the “who do you know” game, talked about the chances of the Bills this year (optimistically), and then turned to the marketing discussion.

The conversation went something like this:

Me: “So, I appreciate the chance to talk about marketing with you. What are some of the marketing and business development challenges you’re facing when it comes to growing your practice?”

Contact: “We don’t need any more marketing.”

Seize the Day by Starting with the Cornucopia of Blogging Opportunities

Do you remember that great movie with Robin Williams where he played a teacher at a prestigious boy’s school in the 1950’s?

There’s a scene in that movie—Dead Poets Society—where John Keating, the teacher (Williams), takes his class of stiff, scared, don’t-rock-the-boat students out of the classroom and into the hallway. There, he stops in front of a trophy case where he dramatically encourages his class to make their lives extraordinary. To seize the day … Carpe diem!

I like to bring this message—seize the day—out to CPA firm partners when it comes to making the marketing of their niche practice extraordinary. There are so many opportunities to be extraordinary by virtue of the fact that there’s a never ending supply of tax, regulatory, operational, and fiscal management change ripe for use in new business.

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-.

Is there “one best way?” The answer is …

In my career, I have helped my employers and my clients generate tens of thousands of leads using a wide variety of strategies and tactics. Just a quick side note: none of these involved cold calling or dialing for dollars—they all had their roots in identifying, reaching, and motivating prospects to take action, ranging from sponsoring award programs to conducting surveys, and a lot more.

Looking back over all of those leads, I’ve created 5 categories for their sources. You may have used (or are using) one or more of these right now:

Janice and I were at a flea market the other day where on one vendor’s table, I spied something that I hadn’t seen in a long time—an Official Tudor NFL Electric Football Game. It’s basically a tabletop game played on a metal vibrating field where little plastic men wearing little magnets on their little feet compete for gridiron glory running frenetic versions of actual football plays.

Start a New Season with a New Promise for More and Better Leads, and Faster Sales

When I was a kid, my Dad would play hooky from work and take me to the home opener of the Triple A Buffalo Bisons baseball team. Oddly enough, I seem to remember that with a note, the public schools in Buffalo would excuse you for the afternoon so you could go to the game.

Marketing/Business Development Alignment in CPA, Consulting, and Other Professional Services Firms

Our wives dragged me and my friend Greg kicking and screaming to the movies the other day, where we ended up paying a ridiculous sum of money to see a romantic comedy that frankly, I would not bother with even when it enters the realm of “free movies.”

(But then again, I’ll be paying a cable bill for the privilege of getting it “free,” so. Hmmmm...)

Large competitors may outspend you, but don’t let them outthink you!

While it may not be possible to outspend them, it is very possible to outthink your larger competitors by packaging, publishing, and promoting the thought leadership of your firm’s subject matter experts. The goal: use the thought leadership of your firm’s subject matter experts to get more visibility, generate leads, and ultimately, generate more new business.