Pull out your business card. What impression of your firm does it leave in the minds of the people you meet? Does your firm come across as traditional? Contemporary? Innovative? Would it stand out from the cards of your competitors? Does the identity on the card ring true to people at your firm? In today’s market, where companies are cutting their internal audit departments and the accounting industry is still experiencing job losses, every accounting firm needs a strong brand to increase name awareness, protect and build market share and instill loyalty in its staff. To build a memorable brand that inspires confidence and trust you need to ask yourself what is unique about your firm and then pinpoint why that matters to your clients?
What’s your promise to clients?
At the heart of any successful brand is a promise, a promise of the distinctive value you offer clients. To create a brand that resonates with clients and staff, you need to do more than differentiate yourself from your competition. You need to demonstrate how that difference is meaningful to clients. A brand promise is a brief statement that succinctly captures the distinctive value you offer clients. It expresses your firm values and spirit but it also articulates what it is about YOU a client should care about. Do an audit of your existing marketing materials and ask yourself these questions:
- Can you describe your brand in a single sentence? A single word?
- Does your brand include a distinctive promise of value that is meaningful to your targets?
- Does your brand capture the essence of your firm for your staff?
If your answer to any of these questions is no, then it is time to re-evaluate your positioning.
Develop an integrated strategy
Once you’ve identified the value you deliver and what makes you special, how do you promote your brand? Powerful brands start with a plan that integrates offline and online efforts. What’s yours? Remember, every accounting firm is different so don’t embark on a new initiative just because a competitor is doing it. Use your brand to guide your strategic marketing and communications decisions. Here’s a list of several smart tactics to raise awareness of your brand:
- A direct mail campaign to key clients and hot prospects
- An advertising campaign in key markets
- A print piece that tells your story and how you’ve helped clients achieve their goals
- A web strategy incorporating social networks, blogs and targeted online ads to promote your brand, demonstrate your value and drive people to your site
While these are best practices for boosting your brand, don’t neglect the opportunities you have to share your brand message everyday. Use your email signature, voice mail and out of office message as branding touchpoints to promote blogs, thought leadership or upcoming events.
Use client teams to support your brand relationships
Following the development and implementation of your integrated marketing strategy, what are you doing to ensure your professionals are committed to your brand? Client teams are a key way to rally your professionals around your brand and foster meaningful, long-lasting client relationships. Build your teams from a cross-section of your professionals—from your marketing group to your managers to your directors—and make sure they deliver consistent messaging when they discuss the firm with clients. Train them with the firm’s key messages and elevator pitch. Encourage team members to check in with clients on a regular basis to monitor the relationships. Are clients satisfied with the work and the relationship? What is working and what improvements can be made? Are there opportunities to cross-sell additional services?
Don’t forget about your internal audience
While developing an integrated marketing campaign and client teams to boost your brand, don’t neglect internal branding. All of your professionals, from your administrators to your IT department to your partners, should be brand evangelists, promoting the value your firm delivers. Get people excited about the brand by hosting events like a brand day or producing a booklet about the firm, its values, brand promise and key messages. Award brand stewards. Internal branding programs build confidence across the firm that positively affects staff—driving them to believe in and support the brand—and help you cultivate a client service-focused culture.
Be consistent
The success of any brand depends on delivering your message regularly and consistently. Brand perceptions develop through the cumulative experiences people have with your brand from your marketing materials to your offices and your reception area. All materials you develop, initiatives you undertake and interactions you have with your staff should reinforce your brand promise and core messages to create a coherent identity in the minds of your audience. Be sure to regularly evaluate every brand touchpoint to uncover any inconsistencies in your message. You should always be asking yourself:
- Do all our communications and touchpoints work in unison to create a unified image of the firm?
- Do we have a consistent message that we’re promoting?
- Are all our communications on point?
A successful brand can mean the difference between a focused, thriving accounting firm and a rudderless, languishing one. Build your brand on the distinctive value you offer and promote that promise of value through an integrated marketing campaign. Mind the details and remember that every point you interact with a client—from your billhead to your building—is a branding opportunity and a chance to make a positive impression. Use client teams to personalize your brand and add value to your client relationships. Further engage your professionals and staff with an internal campaign that cultivates a culture of commitment to the brand and a focus on client service. And throughout all your branding initiatives, make sure your message is delivered regularly and consistently.
This article originially appeared in AAM MarkeTrends' January/February 2010 issue.
