I’ve seen a lot of accountant marketing over the years. I’ve also seen thousands of LinkedIn and blog posts that were clearly written in the vague hope of attracting new clients.
When I work one-to-one with accountants who want more clients, I often ask which of three types of prospect they MOST want to attract.
It’s a question very few seem to have considered properly. Yet the answer affects everything that follows, including their messaging, their website content, their posts on Linkedin and the tone of their marketing.
It also often explains why their previous efforts haven’t been successful – as they’ve been confused.
Think about it for a moment.
Is it realistic to expect someone who has just started a business and never used an accountant before to relate to the same messages as a business owner who already has an accountant?
Of course not. Their concerns, motivations and expectations are entirely different.
Most accountants tell me they would prefer to attract established business owners rather than start-ups. That is not a criticism of firms that enjoy working with start-ups. Nothing wrong with that at all.
Simply put though, if your target audience comprises experienced business owners then you need to write and market your services differently than when you are aiming at nervous first-time entrepreneurs.
One related point, that I hadn’t previously considered, was shared by a member of my Sole Practice Club during last week’s meeting.
Some start-ups are founded by experienced business executives who DO understand the value a good accountant can provide. They shouldn’t be treated like first-time entrepreneurs simply because the business itself is new.
What often surprises me though is that the same accountants who say they want more clients with established businesses still fill their websites with messages aimed at new start ups. By trying to appeal to everybody, they may unintentionally weaken their appeal to the very people they most want to attract.
The overlooked third category
There is also a third category of prospect worth recognising. These are business owners who have managed without an accountant for some time and who have realised how time-consuming and stressful it is trying to do everything to satisfy their compliance obligations.
They may already have suffered Companies House fines and/or HMRC penalties for missing deadlines. For them, outsourcing the work starts to feel less like a cost and more like relief. The appeal is not necessarily better technical advice. It is reduced stress, fewer problems and more time to focus on running the business.
Again, that is an entirely different buying motivation that warrants different marketing messages.
Why marketing to existing accountant clients is different
But let’s focus on the category many accountants say they really want: business owners who already have an accountant.
The question then becomes whether those prospects are actively looking to switch, or whether they can be encouraged to reconsider the relationship they currently have.
Much of the marketing I see seems built around the hope that if accountants explain what they do, highlight their expertise and appear more proactive than the incumbent adviser, sensible business owners will naturally decide to move firms.
In practice, that is rarely how people behave.
The business owners looking to switch
How many of your clients have been with you for years?
Perhaps you still have loads of legacy clients who originally came to you because you quoted low fees to get your practice off the ground. Leaving them to one side, most oif your clients, I hope, will stay with you until and unless you attempt to increase your fees ‘unfairly’, until you screw up or until they feel taken for granted and that you don’t care enough.
It’s the same for those clients you want to attract who are with other accountants. As and when a business owner decides to switch accountants they are typically looking for someone better rather than simply cheaper.
It’s very uniquely that anything you do will prompt your ideal client to start looking around. More likely this will only happen when something goes wrong or their key contact leaves or retires from the firm,
Of course there are some people who simply want everything done for the cheapest price but they are unlikely to be your ideal clients. So there’s no point in your marketing trying to attract them.
Beyond that, if you can clearly demonstrate greater value and show that your service is better aligned with what the client actually wants, there is no reason your fees need to be lower than those of the incumbent.
Business owners who are not looking to switch
Here’s the key point.
Most business owners are not actively searching for a new accountant. Even those who are mildly dissatisfied are often reluctant to switch. Familiarity matters. Their current accountant already knows the business, understands its history and has systems in place. There is perceived risk in changing accountants, even when service levels are merely average.
That reality matters because it changes what effective marketing should try to achieve.
The problem with “look how up to date we are” marketing
Too much accountant marketing is built around unrealistic expectations. You send newsletters, brochures or promotional emails and quietly hope the recipient is already considering a move, or will decide that you are obviously a better fit.
Yet how often does that genuinely happen? Occasionally perhaps, but nowhere near often enough to justify the optimism behind the strategy or the time and effort devoted to it.
Another common approach involves demonstrating how up to date you are. You highlight tax changes, legislative developments or upcoming deadlines in the belief this positions you as a proactive adviser.
Unfortunately, the prospect’s reaction is often far less commercially useful than you might hope.
Firstly, if they are happy with their current accountant they may not even notice your message. After all, it relates to something they already expect their accountant to deal with, just as you probably ignore advertisements for products or services you have no intention of buying.
Secondly, even if a prospect notices your message and the issue sounds important, they rarely call you. Instead, they simply ask their current accountant about it.
If they receive a reassuring answer, that’s usually the end of the matter. Any opportunity you may have created disappears instantly. In many cases the existing adviser will claim they were “just about to mention that anyway”. Wouldn’t you?
The prospect feels reassured, the accountant-client relationship remains intact, and your carefully prepared marketing merely strengthens somebody else’s client retention.
That is not a criticism of informative marketing. There is still value in demonstrating expertise and remaining visible. The problem lies in expecting information alone to trigger action.
Why “building awareness” is usually too weak
Some accountants then retreat to a softer objective. Their LinkedIn posts, blog posts, newsletters and social media activity are intended simply to “build awareness”.
The thinking here is that even if prospects do not switch now, they may remember the firm later when frustration with their current accountant eventually reaches breaking point.
Again, this sounds reasonable until you examine it more realistically.
If there is no realistic behavioural outcome attached to the communication, the exercise quickly becomes little more than hopeful activity disguised as strategy.
The importance of consistency
The chances of a solitary email, online post or advert remaining memorable months or years later are extremely slim. Most marketing is forgotten almost immediately unless it creates emotional engagement or leaves an unresolved concern behind.
This is why the question behind your marketing matters far more than many accountants realise.
What exactly are you hoping the prospect will do?
Marketing to businesses that already have an accountant is rarely about generating an immediate switch. It’s about being consistently visible.
Show up regularly where your ideal clients spend their time, whether that’s LinkedIn, networking groups or elsewhere. When circumstances change, perhaps their accountant retires, the firm is acquired or service levels begin to slip, you’re far more likely to be the accountant the client thinks of first.
Those moments of change often prompt business owners to reassess whether their existing relationship is still serving them well. Consistent marketing ensures you’re already familiar when that happens.
A stronger marketing objective
At the very least, your marketing should include a sensible call to action. Sometimes that may be immediate. More often it is future-oriented. You might encourage prospects to retain the information for future reference, invite them to request further guidance or suggest an informal conversation if a particular issue becomes relevant.
But even then, I think there is a stronger approach available.
Rather than trying to persuade prospects to switch accountants immediately, focus instead on creating a desire to reconsider the quality of advice they currently receive.
That is a very different objective.
The power of the right question
One particularly effective technique is asking carefully chosen questions that encourage prospects to reflect on the quality and proactivity of the advice they currently receive.
The best questions don’t accuse anyone of providing poor service. They simply prompt business owners to wonder whether important conversations are already happening with their current accountant.
That creates curiosity rather than confrontation. It encourages prospects to check whether they’re receiving the level of forward-thinking advice they should reasonably expect.
Importantly, this strategy requires restraint.
Many accountants make the mistake of immediately sharing the very questions, technical guidance or solutions that would trigger a conversation with the incumbent accountant.
While generous in spirit, this often defeats the commercial purpose. The prospect simply takes the information to their existing accountant, receives the advice there instead, and the opportunity disappears.
Surely your aim is not to become a free technical resource for somebody else’s client base.
I would encourage you to instead focus on encouraging prospective clients to reconsider whether they are receiving the advice, anticipation and commercial thinking they really want from their accountant.
Over the years I’ve developed numerous examples of the sort of questions that can achieve this without appearing confrontational or critical of another accountant. They are not one-size-fits-all because the most effective questions depend on the type of clients you want to attract and the services you provide.
It’s one of the topics I often explore during mentoring sessions with accountants who want to attract better clients rather than simply more enquiries from fee conscious start ups and switchers.
What prospects are really judging
Good marketing to prospective clients who already have accountants is rarely about demonstrating superior technical knowledge. Most prospects assume competent accountants possess broadly similar expertise anyway.
What they notice instead is responsiveness, anticipation and commercial awareness.
In other words, they notice whether their accountant appears to be thinking ahead on their behalf.
And that is often where the real opportunity lies.
Final thought
So before you write your next newsletter, LinkedIn post, blog or promotional email, ask yourself one simple question.
What do I realistically expect the recipient to do after reading this?
If the answer is little more than “notice how knowledgeable I am”, it may be time to rethink both your objectives and the type of response you’re trying to generate. The best marketing doesn’t simply demonstrate expertise; it encourages prospective clients to think differently about the advice they’re already receiving.
