Three Elements Imperative to Service Innovation

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“Business has only two functions – marketing and innovation.”

That quote by Peter Drucker illustrates the importance of innovation in business. Innovation is what makes the world go around, and it should be part of regular operations. Who in your firm is responsible for innovation? What are you innovating now?

Innovation is imperative when revenue from a service offering has increased to a significant amount while your margin has dropped. To drive additional revenue in this area, you need to change up what you are doing. That may include conceptualizing something entirely new that you want to take to the marketplace. It could also include adopting a service delivery model that that differs from your competitors. Or it could include providing a special feature to every buyer of a specific service. There are many ways to innovate. Read more →

10 Strategies that Will Drive Firm Growth in 2016

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A revolution is occurring in marketing today. Marketing strategies of the past are not as effective as they once were. And there are new tactics today that didn’t exist just a few years ago. This requires firms take a deep look at what they are doing and open their eyes to new things. Growth does not occur from marketing alone. There are many factors that contribute to firm growth and here’s a look at 10 strategies that will grow in importance in 2016.

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Marketers Should Focus on the Big Picture

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As a marketer, if you truly want to make an impact on your firm, you need to think strategically. It is too easy to get caught up in daily marketing tactics and checking items off your to-do list, but if you don’t take time to step back and take in the big picture, you’re shortchanging your firm – and yourself.

What does it mean to think strategically? How does someone actually do it? Start by reading about strategic thinking and planning. Read more about what’s happening in the accounting industry. Talk to seasoned accounting marketers to find out what they do, where they have had success and how they guide the growth of their firms. It’s amazing how much knowledge can be gathered, and this is great foundational information on which to take action.

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How Numbers Guide Market Strategy

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Marketers are known as the creative, personable types. They are the people who put together ads, brochures and other catchy creative pieces. They plan events and have a supply of branded giveaways. However, most people don’t realize that marketers are also numbers people. Numbers and data are the foundation of solid market strategy. From analyzing your client base to digging into your pipeline of opportunities to understanding your market share, these figures hold opportunities for growth. Numbers make great baseline data from which you can measure success, but they also illuminate future strategy.

Market Share

Does it make more sense to focus your efforts on City A or City B? Should you push Industry Y or Industry Z? While there are a lot of factors to consider, marketers want to know the potential for revenue. Let’s assume that City A and City B have a similarly sized market. If you have 50 percent of all business in City A and only 4 percent of the potential business in City B, where should you spend your time? The numbers tell you that you have the most potential in City B. Now, things are not always that simple, but strategic decisions are easier when you take the time to calculate market share. Once you have the overall big picture, take your calculations a bit deeper. Break it down by industry within geographies or within sub-segments of an industry or by any numerous data combination. Use this data to then develop a list of prospects to target.

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Act on the Data from Your Client Survey

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A few years ago I wrote a blog post for Intuit, “Using Client Surveys to Improve Client Service.” I had just wrapped up a client survey for the CPA firm I worked for and was armed with a wealth of information. But this information (a.k.a. data metrics) doesn’t mean anything unless you do something with it.

Whenever you are dealing with data, there are a few steps you have to take. You begin with the measurement, the metrics. You then have to analyze what the information is telling you and garner insights from it. The insights lead to the actions you are going to take to improve your current state.

How does this apply to the client survey process? You have data to look at it from both an overall and an individual basis.

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How Much Does a Firm Spend on Marketing?

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Accounting firms across the country want to know what other firms spend on marketing activities as a percent of firm revenue. This common marketing management question was once difficult to answer because there wasn’t reliable industry peer data. Thanks to the Association for Accounting Marketing, this data is now available. The 2015 Marketing Budget Benchmark Study is an apples-to-apples comparison of spending within firms by firm size, market size and growth rate.

Inside Marketing Budgets

The average firm spends 2.2 percent of firm revenue on marketing, including staff compensation. Firms without marketing staff only spend 1.9 percent of revenue.

And when it comes to staff, firms have one marketer (FTE) per every 65 employees. Personnel costs account for more than one-fourth of dollars spent. Additionally, all but the smallest firms are investing in the use of outside consultants to supplement their marketing.

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