Collaborative value of a marketing consultant

Collaborative value of a marketing consultant was previously published in The Bottom Line, Government / Compliance, March 2015.

There’s a wide range of possibilities between just going where the wind blows and deliberately determining the future of an accounting practice. But are accounting practices aware of where they land on this spectrum?  If they wanted to take a more active role in shaping the future of the practice, would they meet their goals?  If not, could a knowledgeable and experienced marketing consultant make a meaningful difference?  Given the murky waters of an unregulated profession, how would one go about making such an assessment?

On the cusp of change, there are often more questions than answers. Here are some practical tips on how to assess the firm’s needs and, if it makes sense to move forward, how to work with a marketing consultant.

Find the gaps.

In order to determine whether strategic marketing advice is a critical gap, some of the questions to pose include: 

• Does it feel like the marketing plan is always in trial mode? 
• If the performance of the marketing plan is in question, is there clarity about why it’s not working? 
• When switching marketing tactics, is there any certainty about decisions and the decision-making process? 
• Does it seem like the competition is getting business when they’re not best suited for the job? 
• Is there a general sense of frustration due to lack of progress? 
• Is pride in the firm’s accomplishments accompanied by worry that those achievements might as well be a well-kept secret? 

Investigate the options. 

If the answers to the questions above point to the need for strategic marketing advice, learning to assess the talent and fit of a marketing professional is the next step, and key to that is the ability to remove the divide between the professions. 

Marketers and accountants bring different perspectives, training and focus to the table.  That's the very reason why there is value in the collaboration, assuming the marketer understands and respects the sensitivities of professional practice.  Therefore, look for individuals with applicable experience.  

Ask about past projects, including the rationale behind campaigns and ensuing results.  Pay close attention to approach and style. Consulting gets pretty involved, so it works best when there’s a natural cultural fit. Learning about a consultant’s history is informative. Bear in mind, though, that more will be learned from their questions than answers.  At the beginning of the process the key to success is insight that comes from real understanding of context, not standard textbook replies.

What are the rules of engagement? 

There are many creative ways to engage a consultant. Any assessment of the most feasible arrangement should take into account the firm’s goals (are they aggressive or moderate), budget or cash flow considerations and whether any internal resources might be available to support the process.  

Mid-sized firms may already have dedicated marketing resources and there may be specific scenarios where the firm would benefit from senior-level advice or training. A marketing plan, communication strategy or positioning statement are examples of high-level directional materials that could serve to guide the internal marketing team’s efforts, ultimately delivering a higher return on marketing expenses and salaries.  

For small firms that prefer or need to do everything themselves, a list of recommendations or an assessment of where the firm is going wrong could be sufficient to redirect the focus and improve impact.

For those wishing to minimize initial risk, it’s worth considering starting small. Graduated contracts allow the firm and consultant to get to know each other, building confidence in the relationship before digging too deep into either the work or the budget. 

Choosing the right projects to assign to a marketing consultant helps to ensure that the investment made in these services adds value to the firm. For example:

• The marketing plan isn’t just a paint by numbers to choose Facebook or LinkedIn, speaking engagements or blogs. It’s driven by goals and inspired by the firm’s history, successes, challenges, business environment and the reputation of its individual accountants.  If it’s strategic, it can be the ticket back into the driver’s seat of the accounting practice. 
• A compelling creative direction is the root reason why people respond to logos, websites and social media, not just logically but viscerally.  A marketing consultant can assist with the development of a unique and valued point of difference and a strategy to communicate such messages through graphics and language, across the program.  
• A marketing consultant can help to keep the plan on track, stay strategic, tie individual components together, oversee implementation, put key performance indicators in place, overcome hurdles, pursue new opportunities as they arise and manage the need for change.  A great plan that sits on the shelf doesn’t help anybody, other than the competition.  

Positioning marketing consultants for success. 

Working with a marketing consultant is a partnership.  

• Get started on the right foot with agreement about what success looks like, with tangibles that can be measured, observed and fine-tuned along the way.  
• Give the consultant access to information and get involved in the process, so the resulting program reflects the firm’s authentic character. The experience prospective clients have, from the way their inquiries are handled to their initial consultation, should be consistent with expectations established with the firm’s literature.  
• Invite the team into the process to contribute ideas and expand on the firm’s marketing plan with personal marketing plans, based on individual ability and interest in writing, speaking or networking. Involve the consultant in training and overseeing such efforts. 
• Address issues and opportunities as they arise together, in order to maintain continuity in the plan and ensure that the consultant’s knowledge about the firm continues to add value. 

Working with a consultant is engaging every step of the way. Not only is involvement from principals and the team critical to the plan’s success, but it often yields an additional benefit that tends to take accounting firms by surprise - through their engagement, every participant is enriched. They become more sophisticated about how they see and pursue practice development opportunities, as well as how they present to others.  

Over the course of time, it's not just the consultant but everyone who participates in the process that adds incremental value to the practice. 

- Sandra Bekhor, Toronto

President, Bekhor Management

Small to mid-sized firms are invited to learn more about our Toronto-based, CPA, accounting, investing and actuarial firm marketing and business development services.