Capstone Marketing Blog, Marketing, Rewards

Does Your Accounting Firm Need a Marketing Rewards Program?

A marketing reward ribbon for accounting firms

The ninth in a series of blog posts based upon The 90-Day Marketing Plan for CPA Firms: How to Create the Roadmap for Your Firm’s Growth.

Craft a marketing rewards program that will work for your accounting firm. I have worked with many firms and developed rewards programs based on points.  Marketing activities and points are tracked with the time and billing system. There are minimum points by level and everyone who reaches their points gets a prize, e.g. a gift card.  You are encouraged to have an item for working in teams, e.g., when a partner or a manager takes somebody at a lower level to a networking function or to lunch with a client or prospect. It is a part of their job, let’s face it, but give them credit and acknowledge what they are doing.

Your rewards and recognition program should coordinate with your marketing plan goals. Reward the behavior that will aid in goal achievement. Recognize efforts and results. Here are a few activities for you to consider:

– Attended community, professional or volunteer meeting
– Attended networking function
– Face-to-face meeting with client
– Face-to-face meeting with referral source
– Active participation on BOD or committee of chosen organization
– Referral received for new business
– Referral given out
– Referral (cross-selling)
– Face-to-face meeting with prospective client
– Breakfast, lunch or dinner with a client
– Article published/Writing and publishing an article
– Editing articles
– Proposal written
– Proposal presentation/delivered to prospect in person
– Speaking engagement
– Obtained new client

When implemented consistently a rewards and recognition program can play a significant role in creating a marketing culture, encouraging teamwork, enhancing marketing skills, and celebrating successes.

Want to learn more about The 90-Day Marketing Plan process? Click here today!

Budget, Capstone Marketing Blog

Calculating Your Accounting Firm Marketing Budget

Calculating Your Accounting Firm Marketing Budget

The eighth in a series of blog posts based upon The 90-Day Marketing Plan for CPA Firms: How to Create the Roadmap for Your Firm’s Growth.

There are at least two ways you can look at developing an accounting firm marketing budget. First, you can look at the amount spent in the prior year and increase/decrease, as appropriate.

Second, you can look at what you would like your firm to accomplish in the upcoming year and determine the amount necessary to help make it happen.  This is proactive approach and gives your marketing program a greater chance to succeed.

I’ve been in this industry a long time.  I started as a marketing coordinator at my first CPA firm at the end of 1985.  In all that time, the average that is spent on marketing in CPA firms still averages between 2% and 4% of net revenue.

The latest study on spending from the Association for Accounting Marketing shows that, as a fairly unbreakable rule, most firms are spending under 2% of net revenue on marketing. A tabulation by Inside Public Accounting finds much the same thing.

Marketing Budget Items

  • Advertising
  • Consultants
  • Content creation
  • Direct mail
  • E-newsletters
  • Inbound
  • Meals/Entertainment
  • Membership dues
  • Networking
  • Newsletters
  • Postage
  • Promotional items
  • Proposals
  • Research
  • Salaries
  • Seminars
  • Social media
  • Sponsorships
  • Subscriptions
  • Technology
  • Trade shows
  • Training
  • Webinars
  • Website
  • Miscellaneous

Want to learn more about The 90-Day Marketing Plan process? Click here today!