Are you a part-time marketer?
Paul Shrimpling of Remarkable Practice explains why the key to mastering marketing is getting all your people partly on board.
Continued...
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Small gifts - good or bad?
Giving a small gift to your clients can be good - or it can backfire.
If I visit a new client outside of Cumbria, I always take them a little box of fudge from the excellent toffee shop in Penrith. But that's as a welcome gift, not a thank you for paying their bill. And I think that works well because it helps to start the relationship off on a good note. A gift when the bill is paid could be considered as a bribe, or something extra that the client is ultimately paying for in higher fees, particularly if the gift bears the firm's logo.
And it can seriously damage a relationship. I knew one accountant who used to give his clients a box of mints when they paid their bill - and one rather peppery client sent the gift back with a short and angry letter to the effect that he couldn't eat the mints because he was diabetic.
So, like any marketing, it's not one-size-fits-all.
M
Part time marketer
Not a bad article. Too often the image of the firm is ignored in routine day to day tasks like invoicing. And a lot can be done to attract and retain clients without paying expensive fees for traditional marketing.
But what's all this about sending vans round to pick up client records? Haven't these firms heard of e-mail or ADSL links? If those clients are still writing up ledgers and cash books by hand then clearly their accountants have totally failed to train them in more advanced methods of book-keeping.
One of the most time-consuming tasks is reviewing and analysing bank accounts. That can be easily done via electronic banking these days without waiting for bank statements or cash books. Most banks are perfectly willing to give accountants read-only access so you can update your records every day from the comfort of your own office.
Vans going round picking up boxes of client records? Do me a favour!
By the way, I don't think the chocolate bars idea is that wonderful. I buy my clients chocolates each year for Christmas but one still dumped me for a cheaper accountant a few weeks later! And I don't think many firms choose a stationery supplier according to which one gives them the tastiest biscuits.