Most tax professionals rely on word-of-mouth, or referrals to grow their business. A good network of referral partners is like having a volunteer sales force. People love to give referrals, but it is important to make it easy for them to do so. You wouldn't send...
Earlier this morning, I was reading a discussion on LinkedIn about what makes for good client service for lawyers and accountants. This question always comes up when we conduct customer surveys – something that we always do when helping our customers develop their...
The Daily Drucker is one of my favorite books – it is always on my desk. I’m always amazed at how things Mr. Drucker wrote years ago are still so relevant today. Today’s entry in The Daily Drucker poses the question “If we did not do this already, would we, knowing...
What would you think if I told you I didn’t have time to talk to my customers? Or if I told you that listening to my customers isn’t a high priority for me? You’d look at me like I was crazy, wouldn’t you? But I hear that quite a bit from small business owners who...
I’ve noticed (via my search logs) an uptick in people coming to my site looking for unique marketing ideas for accountants and tax preparers – so here are a few ideas business practices \ marketing ideas to help get the creative juices flowing: Pay me later (or...
When it comes to setting goals, you have probably heard that you should be setting SMART goals. In case you are not familiar with this concept, here is a brief review of the SMART acronym: Specific – the more specific our goals, the more likely we are to achieve them....
In marketing we often talk about defining our ideal customer. When I work on this exercise with my customers, it is common for the conversation to focus on who CAN be our customer versus what an IDEAL customer looks like. Be careful if this happens to you. Focusing on...
Do the conversations you have with your marketing guy (or gal) sound more like a negotiation or a collaboration? Lately, I seem to be hearing more marketing conversations that sound more like a negotiation than a collaboration. I know I’m biased, but I believe this is...
Yesterday I mentioned that the Small Business Expo is coming up in a couple of week, so today I thought I would post some helpful hints for getting the most out of your tradeshow booth. Before the show Prepare 3-6 questions that will stimulate thought and...
I hear this question and see it posted on web sites all the time. The ensuing discussion typically revolves around various tools and tactics that can be used in a marketing campaign – everything from jingle generators, to online advertising, to good old word of mouth....