Why your accounting firm’s messaging isn’t working

When accounting firms struggle to stand out, it's often not their technical chops holding them back. It's their messaging.

Enter Joe Kovacs, APR, founder and managing director of Kovacs Communications. With more than 15 years of experience helping accounting and advisory firms sharpen their marketing and lead generation, Kovacs knows how to cut through the noise. In this conversation, he shares why buyer personas beat boilerplate pitches, what makes a value proposition resonate and how firms can stop leaving growth up to chance. 

—Interview by Janet Berry-Johnson, edited by Bianca Prieto

What are some lead generation mistakes accounting firms make, and how can they shift their messaging to attract more of the right clients?

Many accounting firms don’t have a strong concept of what problems their buyers face, hence the importance of creating buyer personas. And because they face these difficulties getting to the heart of buyer challenges, their marketing messages often sound generic or attract the wrong type of client. Firms also may not take advantage of low-hanging fruit, which is asking their loyal clients for referrals. Firms mistakenly believe their clients will naturally refer friends and family, but clients may not think that way unless asked.

Accounting firms should consider who their favorite clients currently are, identify similar types of organizations by building an ideal client profile and then construct a well-researched buyer persona for decision-makers at these organizations to identify their pain points. Marketing messaging will naturally flow from that information.

What are the key ingredients of a compelling value proposition for an accounting firm?

A compelling value proposition articulates how an accounting firm takes clients from their current state of business challenges, financial uncertainty and risk to business solutions, financial clarity and risk mitigation.

The value proposition should clearly indicate which individuals or businesses can benefit from the firm’s solution, what makes the firm’s solution different and more beneficial than that delivered by other service providers, and help the client understand the potential impact of the problem if left unresolved.

A storytelling-based case study is a great way for a firm to showcase its value to prospective clients. By demonstrating how the firm has helped other clients and articulating the positive outcomes, the firm creates a compelling value proposition that attracts other clients.

What types of content are most effective for accountants who want to build trust and generate good-quality leads?

Showing up consistently is the first step. A firm that posts blogs and social posts or sends emails only occasionally can be forgotten in a market of providers who make it a point to stay visible with their solutions and service offerings on an ongoing basis. Two content types that resonate powerfully are short-form video content, since it provides quick answers to address client problems in today’s attention-challenged environment and longer-form content, including blogs and longer videos, which offer in-depth insights when clients need more than a quick overview.

Firms must also understand where clients are looking for information to address their business growth and challenges. A presentation for a chamber of commerce or an advertisement in an industry publication may be a strategic choice for reaching the right decision-makers in the right place.

Many firms traditionally rely heavily on referrals. What strategies do you recommend to build a more proactive lead generation engine?

Firms that rely on referrals sometimes (not always) give themselves an excuse for not marketing. But often, the clients they get are not a good fit. These clients may argue about invoices, not be profitable for the firm, not submit documents on time and not appreciate the firm’s expertise. Accounting firms that rely too heavily on referrals leave the business growth trajectory up to chance, and very often, the results are not ideal.

Once a firm’s leadership team realizes, though, that proactive lead generation strategies can result in better clients, they can adopt strategies like the one mentioned above: building an ideal client profile and a buyer persona, which helps the firm position itself in the right place in the market.

The firm can then develop consultation offers, downloadable web content, participate in networking groups and run targeted ads to reach the right individuals and businesses.

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The Net Gains is curated and written by Janet Berry-Johnson and edited by Bianca Prieto.