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A
lthough the CPA Leadership Report March-April article on the “dismal” state of accounting
firm marketing addressed several valid issues that some accounting firms
are facing; it failed to recognize the tremendous strides that have been
made in accounting firm marketing and the forward momentum that firms
are experiencing as a result of ongoing focus, strategy, and dedication.
“I can’t think of a more exciting time to be in
accounting marketing,”
says Tracy Crevar Warren, chief marketing and business development
officer for Dixon Hughes PLLC and president of the association for
accounting marketing (AAM). “Marketing is finally finding its own place in
accounting firms today.”
For many firms, marketing has become part of the culture, not just
something that CPAs do at the conclusion of tax season. She
continues, “Perhaps
this is due in part to firm leaders recognizing the importance of the
marketing role and enabling marketing professionals to help guide their
firms in setting strategic direction for their firm’s growth.”
Overall, middle market CPA firms
are doing better than ever in their organized marketing efforts,
according to Michelle Golden, president of Golden Marketing Resources.
While we’ve come a long way in a short amount of time, we are still a
“young” profession and experience growing pains from time to time.
Golden points out that “Not all firms have organized marketing
efforts. . . but those that do seem to be focusing on many of the right
things.”
Mirroring the growth of the
profession is the growth of AAM, which is now in its 13th year. With
over 500 members in the United States, Canada, England, France and most
recently Japan, AAM is on its way to becoming a worldwide professional
association. For more than a decade, AAM has established itself as a
resource for pioneers in this field by helping members, including
marketing professionals, CPAs and partners, to find better ways to do
their jobs by offering educational opportunities, benchmarks, tools and
introductions to state-of-the-art products and services. This year’s
conference will feature a managing partner panel to focus on marketing
success in the industry.
As firms enjoy the fruits of their
marketing success, they naturally reach for more. That “more”
these days is an increased focus on sales and business development as
part of the marketing mix. Many successful firms have developed
sales-driven marketing cultures, integrating marketing and sales
processes. In fact, in a recent (Fall 2003) survey of AAM members, close
to half of respondents indicated that their primary area of
responsibility was either sales or business development. And as
evidenced by frequent posts on AAM’s online discussion list, many firms
are adding and/or seriously considering adding sales and business
development roles in order to focus on long-term growth opportunities
for their firms.
The observation that marketing
projects are viewed in terms of short-term costs and return drew the
greatest response from marketing professionals who believe changes are
occurring. Many firms today are reaping the benefits of having more
seasoned marketing professionals in place.
In fact, the once ten-month average
tenure of the marketing professional has made an enormous turnaround as
they are taking on greater leadership roles within their firms including
partnership positions. Along with this experience comes an
increased focus on long-term strategy and ROI as opposed to short-term
projects and quick fixes that can result in long-term failure.
Though most firms do expect to
track ROI, the general consensus is that firm management understands
that success takes time and the costs to achieve success can be
difficult to gauge. In fact, Wade St. John, partner at Smith & Howard,
recently noted that he’s not surprised when it takes up to three years
for a prospect to become a client. Kimberly Cooley, marketing director
with Henderson Hutcherson & McCullough PLLC, said, “We all know that ROI is
sometimes slow in coming. Our partners recognize this and do not expect
a blow-by-blow on ROI tracking for the money and time spent actively
seeking the business.”
According to Leslie Guelcher, marketing director with McMahon, O’Polka,
Guelcher and Associates, Inc.: “. . .18-24 months to see ROI on any project
is typical. But more importantly, the partners and team members
also see it now.”
Despite some critics, we are now
witnessing marketing and business development establishing themselves as
regular fixtures on the CPA firm landscape. This is due to the many
successful efforts of partners, management teams and marketing
professionals that take courageous steps on all levels to make
accounting firms more successful. So from the insider’s perspective,
this is an exciting time to be in accounting marketing.
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