Offline Marketing for Accountants

What is your current marketing plan to acquire more clients for your accounting firm? Are you exploiting the right channels to reach your target audience and generate consistent leads? Accounting firms have to run a strategic and tight ship to keep a consistent stream of customers coming through the doors or reaching out via phone calls, emails, and contact form submissions.

In the digital age, you may think that an online marketing strategy is a major key to success, which it is of course. But that doesn't mean that you should neglect the offline marketing tactics that are out there. Plenty of customers can still be communicated with via these more traditional advertising methods.

Benefits of Offline Marketing

When you run an accounting firm or serve as a solo accountant, you need to find a way to combine a message with a medium to persuade potential clients to pay for your services. Offline marketing has a few distinct advantages over other online channels.

Comes Across as Trustworthy

Although there are plenty of offline scams that can be found, people are generally distrustful of certain online marketing methods. Maybe it is the hundreds of spammy emails that they receive every week or the annoying pop-up ads that are frustrating to close. Either way, offline marketing includes many channels that seem more authentic to consumers. A physical sign or a radio ad is not going to result in your computer getting a virus or taking you to a link that does not match the ad.

More Personable

As an accounting firm, you need to earn the trust of clients. These people are going to trust you with their personal and/or business finances, so you need to earn that trust first. Offline methods tend to present a more personable interaction with consumers and business owners who belong to your target audience.

Perfect for Local Advertising

If you want to focus your marketing efforts on the local community, then offline marketing can be a fitting plan. Advertising your accounting services to current clients and potential customers in your target market can be more cost-effective if placed in the right locations. Radio ads on local broadcast stations will reach listeners in a certain geographical area. Well-placed billboards will be noticed by regular commuters who drive to and from work every day. When you have a tight marketing budget, focusing on a local marketing campaign could pay dividends.

Ideas for Offline Marketing Efforts

Before implementing offline marketing strategies, you need to know about the opportunities available to your accounting firm. Let's take a look at a few offline marketing ideas that can help you reach more potential clients while retaining existing clients.

Promotional Items

Have you ever noticed a branded t-shirt or tote bag that came from another local business while in public? That company is using promotional products to increase brand awareness. You can do the same as an accounting business owner. Find out what your prospective clients would be excited to receive as a gift and invest in some everyday items that contain your brand message. Clothing, office supplies, health/wellness accessories, and fun gadgets will provide additional exposure while moving people along the customer journey.

Publication Paid Advertising

Many people who need help with financial planning may be on the older side, especially as they look toward retirement and estate planning. You can target this group specifically with local newspaper and magazine ads. With this marketing channel, you can build brand recognition and convince more adults to consider your accounting firm when they need financial assistance.

Referrals

Having a referral program to incentivize current clients can help you find new clients to pay for your services. Client referrals are a very cost-effective method for spreading the word about your services and creating more loyalty to your brand.

Community Involvement

One marketing channel that is perfect for this particular industry is engaging with the community (opens in a new window). You can sponsor local events like other businesses in the area do. A partnership that benefits both you and another local business can help gain visibility for your firm and do the same for them. Investing in the community can increase your brand image, improving the public perception of the business, which will open the door to attracting new customers.

Direct Mail

There is still a role for direct mail if accounting firms want to expand their reach. With this type of offline marketing campaign, you can target specific zip codes or neighborhoods with your messaging.

How Offline AND Online Marketing Can Work for Accounting Firms

The best marketing strategy combines offline and online methods. When your goal is attracting potential clients for your professional services, a single marketing channel will not accomplish your marketing goals.

Social Media Sites

Social media platforms provide a unique opportunity for a digital marketing strategy. Combine social media posts with promotional item giveaways to get new clients excited about your brand. You can also pay for social media ads to reach new audiences. Image and video marketing are powerful tools for the accounting industry professional.

Website SEO

Organic traffic to your website should be a goal for your digital marketing plan. By investing in search engine optimization, you can increase traffic to the site from search engines. One effective way to do this is by crafting a Google business profile.

For your offline marketing, build a unique landing page that can only be accessed by people who heard a certain radio or television ad. Then you can track how successful that marketing channel was with the number of landing page visits.

Content Marketing

Creating content is a massive tool for many small business owners. It allows them to share their expertise with more people. Create content that brings value to consumers with a regular blog post. then share this digital content on social media pages to increase its reach. Eventually, this practice could help you earn a speaking engagement, which will put you in front of many potential clients.

How Will You Market Your Accounting Firm?

There is no straight and formulaic answer for how to market accounting firms successfully. Your level of success will depend on the local market, public perception, target audience, and other factors. Ideally, you can use a combination of offline marketing and multiple channels online to attract clients.

Whether you invest in Google ads, email marketing, local SEO, billboards, TV ads, or printed materials like flyers, make sure that both the message and the medium are designed to connect the ideal customer with specific services that can benefit them.