When building an accounting firm, what’s the most difficult thing to do?
A lot of times that answer is: to grow.
It’s been found that accounting firms grow at a yearly rate of just 9.3%, so your firm needs to learn how to get new clients early on. If you can build your client list quickly, you can grow your business by 15% – 20% or more per year.
The trick is choosing the right strategy, whether it be focusing on paid advertising, social media or other forms of marketing.
We’re going to start with the basics of getting new accounting clients before going into very specific methods that work exceptionally well for our clients.
How to Get New Clients Using 10 Quick Tips
1. Get the Basics Right
First and foremost, you need to get the basics right. The basics are the foundation of your entire marketing and client acquisition strategy. There’s a ton to cover here, but some includes:
- In-depth research for your market, clients and prospects, brand and competition.
- Creating a marketing, growth, brand and content strategy that you’ll use to grow your client pipeline.
- Develop a brand strategy that helps you increase your firm’s identity among prospects.
- Create landing pages to convert website leads and set up things like Google Analytics and email marketing tools.
- Ensure you have offerings that provide valuable solutions to your clients and separate you from other firms
It’s important to know your market and client base and really have these key elements in place before attracting new clients.
2. Search Engine Optimization
Did you know that 53%+ of traffic comes from organic search results? SEO, or search engine optimization, is how your firm can come up on the top of Google for targeted keyword terms. Compared to social media, SEO produces 1000% more traffic.
SEO is an art, so it’s something that you’ll want to hire a professional to perform for you. It’s also not an overnight strategy that will grow your business right away; it takes time and effort.
3. Build an SMS List
SMS marketing is huge. The open rate for an SMS message is 98%, which is astronomical compared to other primary forms of marketing. You should work to build up an SMS list. Here are a few ways you can do so:
- Promoting it on your site
- Adding a sign-up button on any sales offers you have
- Running a fun giveaway that they’re entered into when signing up for your list
- Request people coming into your office to sign up
- Attending conferences and displaying the signup
Consider how you can sweeten the deal by offering something special to people who sign up, such a discount on your services or products.
4. Video Marketing and Production
Video marketing is extremely popular. In fact, 99% of marketers using video plan to keep using it this coming year. We wrote an detailed post on this very topic, which you can read, titled: How to Gain New Clients Through Social Media Video Marketing.
You can market this video on:
- Social media channels
- Websites
- Really anywhere
Video is extremely helpful in building the know, like, and trust. If you aren’t using video in your marketing, it’s time to start!
5. Email Marketing
Creating and building up an email list is essential. Email lists help to connect deeper with your current and potential accounting clients. You can begin gaining email subscribers by:
- Asking followers on social media to join your list
- Creating content, such as an eBook, that people need to supply their email to receive
- An email course or fun quiz
- Include sign-up forms throughout your website
- Adding a call-to-action to sign up to your email list on your blog posts
- Encouraging subscribers to share your emails with others
You can also gather email subscribers by plugging your newsletter on a podcast or running a webinar. There are so many ways to grow your list. If you need help coming up with ideas, reach out!
6. Pay-per-click Advertising
Paid advertising is one of the fastest ways to generate leads and land new clients. Create a pay-per-click (PPC) campaign on Google or Facebook that targets your ideal client.
If you offer business tax help in California, you can target just the people searching for “business tax help California” on these platforms.
PPC can help you build a healthy client list, but it’s can be an expensive form of advertising that should not be used without setting realistic expectations and proper implementation of the strategy.
7. Create a Podcast
People love learning. Your firm’s clients want to learn from a professional and use services from providers that they trust. So, when you create a podcast, you’re deciding to share your expertise with the world.
You want to take your podcast seriously if you plan to use it to attract clients.
A few tips include:
- Create a long list of topics you’ll cover
- Determine if you want to have guests on
- Have quality recording equipment. (Need help? Check out this blog.)
- Schedule in your podcast
- Hold your podcast regularly
If you treat your podcast seriously, share great information and remain consistent, you’ll build up a following and your brand identity at the same time. Podcasts are a win-win for service professionals like yourself.
8. Start Blogging
Blogging is one of the leading forms of marketing, but it’s a long-term strategy that takes a lot of time and patience. Regularly blogging while creating reusable content allows you to dive right into the world of content marketing.
Blog content is the main priority for over 50% of marketers.
Ideally, you’ll create content that is:
- Informative
- Educational
- Worth sharing
With the right strategy, you’ll drive organic leads right to your firm.
9. Be a Webinar or Podcast Partner / Guest
One of the underutilized methods of gaining new clients is to piggyback on someone else’s success and audience. Partner with other providers in your industry that offer complimenting services, and be a guest on their webinar or podcast.
If you demonstrate your expertise and answer questions listeners have, there’s a good chance that you’ll get new clients along the way. Start by creating a list of the top 10 podcasts you’d like to appear on and reach out to the hosts. Be sure to share what topic(s) you’d like to discuss, the value it’ll deliver to their audience, and why you’re credible to speak on such a topic.
10. Social Media Marketing
Finally, for our last point, you also want to use social media marketing to your advantage. We really like LinkedIn for social selling, but you can begin building a following on:
- TikTok
- YouTube
- Etc.
Building up a loyal following, through sharing content that people want to read, will help you excel in the world of social media marketing.
If you follow the tips above, you’ll be well on your way to mastering how to get new clients for your accounting firm. Ensure that you measure your success to see which strategies work well for you and adjust marketing budgets as necessary.
