Tricky…but not necessarily impossible. Imagine a pinup calendar with your CPA on your birthday month wearing a strategically placed calculator…and not much else. Whoa, good luck shaking that visual. But that’s not necessarily what I’m talking about (unless of course you have some very brave CPA’s on staff). It’s a tremendous challenge to differentiate what your firm does, especially in a crowded marketplace. So as I define it “sexy” simply refers to the ability to stand out in a crowd. To be the firm that catches the clients’ eye while scanning through a sea of sameness. And that’s not as difficult as some would make it out to be. We find ourselves in a time where popular culture has dominated our collective conscious. It’s SO difficult to shut out the outside world, and if you’re strong willed enough to still use a flip phone I commend you…but also, I feel a little bad for you. Those who embrace the popular culture for what it is will find themselves having a much easier time capturing the attention of today’s clients...
...which brings me to social media. Those who know me will chuckle whenever I mention social media. It’s a passion of mine, but not just because I love posting pictures of my kids or sharing videos of bad lip reading spoofs – but because it’s a ridiculously powerful platform that has literally changed the way that we communicate, and how future generations will collaborate. I heard recently that if Facebook was a country it would now be the largest in the world by population. It’s a great factoid for party conversation, but it’s also a stunning statistic for businesses to notice, and embrace. When used effectively the social space can be a lead-generation platform, an advertising weapon, and without a doubt the single best business intelligence platform in existence. Social, however, is not the only answer. However great your quarter back is, he can't play against the opposition's entire defensive line alone...not even Tebow can pull that kind of miracle (relax it's a joke). Social is one piece of a Rubik’s cube that when manipulated as part of a larger program enables successful marketing…and a little bit of sexiness that firms so desperately desire.
Sexy marketing for accounting firms, to me at least, is a comprehensive-multi-media-theme-based program leveraging every arrow in the quiver collectively: email, direct mail, video, social, events, phone, advertising and any other creative platform you can think of. When all these things work in concert you get a marketing symphony where you’re the maestro. It’s obviously more difficult than I’m making it sound but regardless of the complexity or creativity it is the execution that really matters. Whether it be a small targeted effort, or a massive database blaster – it’s more about how it’s executed and ensuring the right follow up is in place. For a few thousand dollars a creative idea can become a sexy little multi-touch/multi-media marketing program. And with the right follow up plan in place, sexy results in $$$. So the next time you’re faced with hosting a “seminar”…as we so often do…think about spending that money on a small targeted multi-touch effort. Less waste, and you avoid the professional eaters looking for a free meal and some corporate schwag.
The mention of “accounting” will likely never illicit 50 shades of anything. But a firm who embraces technology, social media, video content, dynamic graphic design, and creates a presence for themselves will certainly get a second look…and maybe, just maybe even a slightly wicked smile…