For several years, accounting firms have been going full-tilt to get the work done, new clients have been referred-in without much effort, and the youngest generation of accountants have not been trained in networking or business development. This means that many in-house marketers have focused on marketing activities such as supporting HR and recruiting activities and internal events, keeping the firm's blog and website updated, sharing firm news on social media, and sending proposals. Marketers with less tenure may find that this is the only experience they know. As a result, marketers can now often be viewed as heading up tactical work, rather than as strategic partners or growth leaders. In turn, this has led some of the most experienced marketers to covet a COO title, with marketing falling under the operational activities of the firm.
Yikes! This is a huge red flag to me. Sure, right now many firms are not focused on business development or strategic growth, but already the tides are changing. As this business cycle transitions to the next, firms get adequate support through outsourcing and technology, private equity further disrupts the market, and more partners and firm founders retire, strategic growth will become a business imperative. Minimizing the role of marketing leaders today undermines the foundation and development of a role that will be critical for the future of the firm. If today's marketing leaders are transitioning to the COO title in order to seek legitimacy, there has been a true misunderstanding of the value and purpose of meaningful marketing within the organization. Marketing is not an accessory, or a division of firm operations. It's time for marketing leaders in CPA firms to reaffirm their importance by demonstrating the indispensable role of marketing in achieving business objectives and driving profitable and intentional firm growth.
The Necessity of Marketing in Accounting Firms
I love to say it: Marketing is one word that means a lot of things. And I'm not just talking about the myriad content pieces a marketing department can produce. This is about all of the areas of a firm marketing can touch and support. Remember, marketing doesn't set your goals; it helps you achieve them. Good marketing doesn't happen in a vacuum. It is inextricably linked to the vision and priorities of the firm. Marketing is the underpinning of strategic growth, vital in niche development, service offerings, lifetime value of a client, merger planning, and critical in brand distinctions in a highly competitive market. (And it should be more involved with pricing!) While many people think of marketing as what they see on social media or having a brochure in hand, there should be a thoughtful strategy and intention that led to the production of those pieces. It's easy to get distracted by how many likes a post gets on social media, or how many times an email is opened, but ultimately these do not measure whether or not you are closer to reaching your goals.
Marketing Needs a Seat at the Table
When an accounting firm wants to dive into marketing for the first time, it's common for them to hire someone early in their career (sometimes even in their first job), and give them a marketing title with a very broad list of responsibilities. Oftentimes there is no marketing leader, and all marketing responsibilities are left to this person. There is no one at the firm to provide direction, evaluate their work, or mentor their development. This is a tough position to be in. (I know because that was me 20 years ago! The managing partner of the firm I worked for asked the marketing directors at other firms if they thought I was doing a good job, as he could not determine this for himself!) While I was in the lucky minority, new career marketers are rarely given a seat at the strategic table so they can’t tie marketing to the firm’s growth goals… if the firm has any. It's no wonder that firm leaders can overlook the value of marketing and how to measure its success.
The COO title continues to command respect in a way that marketing’s reputation has eroded in recent years as accounting firms have been too busy being busy to be strategic, relegating marketing to a reduced, maintenance level role in many firms. However, the way we do business is changing rapidly, and companies that are going to thrive in the future will need to be ready to adapt, respond and try new things more quickly than in the past. Strategically minded marketers are poised to help drive these initiatives with their abilities to think creatively while developing plans and measuring the success of their efforts. Whatever your career goals might be, demonstrating the ability to lead the firm toward achieving its goals, adopting new practices in an evolving business ecology, and willingness to thoughtfully take risks will surely make you stand out from the crowd. All of that can happen with a Marketing Director or CMO title.
Marketing Leaders Empowerment
So, how should marketing leaders in accounting firms navigate these circumstances? By taking a multifaceted approach to becoming essential. First, start with firm goals, not marketing goals. It's easy to get bogged down in the day-to-day running of your department. Once the marketing team is focused on firm goals, you can let go of any activities that are not inherently tied to reaching those goals (and say “no” to new ideas that don’t align). Next, form relationships with service line and niche leaders by getting to know what matters to them and thinking about how marketing can help. Think about how their goals and challenges align with the overall firm's direction and come up with strategies to help everyone to win. This could be through creative pricing and packaging, developing cross-selling plans, developing personal brands for key firm members and more. Drive these projects and report on their progress and how marketing is supporting the firm's initiatives in a meaningful way. If you feel like you're waiting around for someone to ask for something, you'll never be in the driver's seat.
In Conclusion
Marketing within accounting firms should be driving growth and change. If your firm is aiming for lasting success, marketing can't be relegated to an afterthought. That means both firm leaders can evolve in their thinking about marketing, and marketing leaders need to be ready to take on the job. Marketing leaders should not just be department managers, but firm leaders, integral to critical business decisions. Ready to take your marketing to the next level? Let's talk about it.