Suggestions on how to do both came recently from a CPA firm partner and an industry marketing consultant during a session at the AICPA Practitioners Symposium in Las Vegas.
Why market now? Marketing is "in" again, the speakers pointed out, thanks to the recession and increased competition. Marketing more now is especially important for these reasons:

• First, marketing may bring your firm onto potential clients’ radars and can remind current clients about your firm’s value. Your firm may not have needed to do this during the boom years; now is an excellent time to get back in practice before you have to start planning for next year’s busy season.
  
• Second, marketing offers your firm the chance to "make the case" about why you are as good as you are. This is a competitive issue, since many firms are looking to take clients away from others, so you want to be sure to shore up your reputation and value proposition.
  
• Finally, marketing is a terrific training ground to educate your staff about the practices they will need to grow themselves and to help grow your firm in the future.

Marketing for less. The session, entitled "10 Marketing Tips from Small Firms on a Budget," presented by Jean Marie Caragher of Capstone Marketing and Michael Shost of Shost & Company P.C., provided excellent ideas on what you can do right now—even on a shoestring budget. Start with a plan—always key for any practice management initiative—and put some of these ideas from the session to work for you:

• Keep clients happy. Caragher noted that "any client satisfaction program is better than none." However, research that Capstone Marketing conducted in conjunction with Bay Street Group found that 57 percent of CPA firms rely entirely on "just in time" feedback from clients for this purpose. This is significant, since that research also found that leading firms—the most profitable and proactive firms—are five times more likely to have a client satisfaction program.

Boosting a client satisfaction program doesn’t have to be complex or expensive, explained Shost. His Dallas-based CPA firm has 11 employees, and as a "classic" small firm, he is emphasizing client satisfaction for all clients but especially for newer ones. He follows up after a staff person has worked with a client "to make sure the client is receiving what I sold them." Monthly client visits and follow-up information for the client file are also standard at this firm.

Getting more face time with clients is a helpful way to get more feedback, Caragher noted. You can accomplish this with more formal programs such as seminars, which also show off your firm’s expertise as you seek prospects and expanded work from existing clients.

While these are not difficult or expensive actions to take, you do have to plan for them. Caragher suggests establishing a schedule for client meetings each month.

Client surveys are a great way to get information about how your firm is doing, but if you undertake one, be sure to follow up—especially on any negative responses, Caragher added. "There’s nothing worse than no follow-up," she said.

• Pursue cross-selling opportunities. Your established and happy clients can offer new opportunities, even during a recession. To understand how to plan a cross selling approach, make sure that you know what you are doing for which clients. A simple spreadsheet can identify this in terms of service lines, revenue streams, or types of clients served, Caragher said.

Sometimes an idea will come simply by considering common issues that arise with clients. At Shost’s firm, "We saw that for a lot of clients, QuickBooks is always a mess, so I thought, ‘could I sell them some QuickBooks training?’"

This not only offers another service to clients, but also is an efficiency improvement, since more orderly QuickBooks files from clients can save staff time in trying to sort through those files. This, in turn, can save clients money so that they can purchase other valuable services from the firm.

• Pick your services. Niche marketing is coming back into vogue, although it never really went out of style. There is renewed interest in focusing on what your firm can and does do, and where you want to be.

This is a strategic planning process to be sure, but in addition to seeing where your services are concentrated, consider what your firm wants to do, Shost said.

"For us, small business and general service-related work is our focus, but we looked at whom we enjoyed servicing too," he said. He doesn’t enjoy working in manufacturing and cost-accounting areas, so he avoids that kind of work in considering new engagements. Work that doesn’t fit is often referred to peer CPA firms in his area, which helps to build cooperative relationships with those firms.

• Build your network. Networking is one of those marketing techniques that is always important, and this is even more true during a time when you want to get your name and your firm’s reputation out in the world.

"Networking is the number-one marketing tool to generate leads," Caragher said. However, she cautions that your network should not be too big or you will not be able to keep in regular contact. There is no "right" number to have in your network, but plan to be in touch at least every several months with everyone in your network.

Shost’s system includes a standard letter to thank those who provide referrals and to let them know the outcome (whether the referral became a client or not, for instance). While attorneys are an excellent resource for his firm, he pointed out that "my happiest clients are some of my best network." He also counts "my CPA buddies" among his top network resources since they all refer business to each other.

• Put technology tools to work for you. While face-to-face meetings are always best, technology can help to expand your reach to new prospects.

Web sites and blogs, video, texting, and the newest technology, Twitter, are all ways to connect with target markets. Your Web site is a good place to start since the Internet has become practically universal. Caragher pointed out that inexpensive ways to improve your Web site are available, including customizing the low-end Execusite platform, tracking email contacts with ConstantContact and MailChimp, and obtaining e-newsletter content from companies such as BizActions.

• Train your staff. Share what you have learned about building networks and contacts and developing leads with your staff. Networking, in particular, is "an excellent training topic," Caragher said.

"The skills of introductions, telling your story, asking questions, and listening are used in client services, too." She suggests bringing staff along on meetings with your network and clients so they can see how it is done and learn good business etiquette.

Shost uses the time driving back from meetings to coach staff and discuss what happened during the meeting.

• Ask for leads. Don’t be afraid to ask for leads; the best time to do so is when you have done a good job for a client, Caragher said. If it makes you uncomfortable to ask even then, she suggests writing out a script and practicing beforehand. Or, simply ask the open-ended question: "How are we doing?" This may bring you information that can lead to more work for that client. The follow-up: "We really enjoy working with you. Do you know of any other businesses like yours that may be looking for help?"

This article was originally published in IOMA's monthly newsletter, 'AOMAR', and is republished here with the express written permission of IOMA, Copyright(c) 2006. For more information, visit www.ioma.com or for copyright permissions please call 212-576-8747 or email content@ioma.com.

For more information. Jean Marie Caragher can be reached at jcaragher@capstonemarketing.com or at www.capstonemarketing.com (where you can also sign up for her e-newsletter on CPA firm marketing). Michael Shost is at mike@shostcpa.com.