Accountants offer more services than they used to, and now they have to sell themBIZ SPOTLIGHT – Accounting
Accounting firms are putting more time and money into self-promotion these days, a move they say became necessary as they broadened their menu of services beyond tax work, audits and compiling financial statements.
ÂThe perception of the accounting firm as a place to only get your tax return or financial statement prepared is rapidly changing, says Sherise D. Ritter, managing director of Princeton-based accounting firm the Mercadien Group. ÂAccounting firms now provide services that require proactive decisions dealing with financial and investment planning and implementation, leasing-versus-buying issues, personnel issues and a host of additional matters.Â
In contrast to the long-held image of accountants as partnership-based service groups, experts say public accounting firms today are now run more like businesses. ÂThe fact of the matter is that many accounting firms are now essentially professional services firms, and not really accounting firms anymore, says Donald E. Wygal Sr., professor of accounting at Lawrenceville-based Rider University. ÂTheyÂre professional-services firms best at the job of accounting, but theyÂre now also a more-encompassing kind of business.Â
In order to make that clear to potential customers, many large and mid-sized firms have opened their wallets for both general brand-image campaigns and focused trade advertising. As part of the process of rethinking self-promotion, most of the larger accounting firms have created full-service marketing departments, says Marla Bace, chief marketing officer for Roseland-based accounting firm J.H. Cohn.
Accounting firms, like other service industries, have realized that with so many accounting firms other there, you must work very hard to differentiate yourself, says Michael Beckerman, president of Bedminster-based Beckerman Public Relations. ÂThereÂs so many forms of communication out there, so itÂs harder and harder to break through the clutter, says Beckerman. ÂI donÂt think accounting firms can any longer sit back and wait for customers either to find them or to expect their client relationships will be renewed over and over without some form of marketing.Â
Edward Guttenplan, chairman and founder of Wilkin & Guttenplan, a mid-sized accounting firm in East Brunswick, says 15 years ago most accounting firms simply didnÂt think about marketing or engage in it. ÂNow everybodyÂs doing it, he says. ÂEverybody wants to grow and wants to raise the profile of their clients, so they continually upgrade their practice. One way is by marketing.Â
In fact, 25 years ago, accounting firms and other white-collar service professions, including lawyers, werenÂt permitted to advertise. That changed in 1982 when an Arizona bar complaint against two lawyers who had placed print ads made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which overturned the barÂs ban.
Since then, many middle-market or larger accounting firms have hired full-time marketing officers. Their duties typically include attracting and retaining clients, developing the company Web site, print materials and seminars, setting up speaking engagements and working to garner press coverageÂall to build credibility and visibility.
Typical marketing activities for small- to mid-sized accounting firms include holding and taking part in seminars, participating in industry organizations, publishing firm newsletters and writing articles for trade publications.
ÂWe want to be the accounting firm that you quote and talk about as an expert about something, says Sally Glick, director of marketing for Sobel & Co., a firm based in Livingston. ÂWill all of that create new business immediately? No. But what it does is it creates name recognition, helps build our brand, helps build our reputation. So when someone  recommends us to someone that they know, they can say ÂIÂve seen that name. I think I read an article about them recently.ÂÂ
ÂWhat an accounting firm wants to do in advertising is demonstrate that they have far superior levels of expertise in whatever sectors theyÂre going afterÂnonprofit, public, private, real estate and constructionÂthat they have a level of expertise in that industry to give that client a competitive edge, says Beckerman.
How much money is spent on marketing is dictated by firm size and how much cash it has available. ÂThe upper end of the medium-sized firms and the larger accounting firms are going to be more dedicated toward a stronger marketing initiative, whereas a more modest firm might not have the resources to go too far down the road, says Bace.
While many accounting firms say they now make liberal use of advertising to promote their services and polish their brands, most say they are very selective about which outlets they use.
ÂTheyÂre a little bit more thought-out with professionals involved in assisting the businesses, says Steve Kass, co-managing partner for Rothstein Kass, a Roseland-based public accounting firm. ÂInstead of a scatter-gun approach, accounting firm ads are more focused and aimed at their client.Â
Still, local mid- to large-sized accounting firms are playing the usual angles: print-media, broadcast media and event sponsorships.
While declining to give a specific dollar amount, Bace say J.H. Cohn has made a Âsignificant increase to its advertising budget in the past two years. Cohn last year launched a brand-building campaign, teaming with N.Y. Yankees Manager Joe Torre as its official spokesman in a series of print and radio ads. Bace says the campaign is working, resulting in Âmore awareness of our brand on sales calls and on prospect interviews.Â
Ilene Monesson, marketing director for Cowan, Gunteski & Co., based in Toms River, says smaller firms typically use their modest marketing budgets to reinforce their personal-service message among existing clients. Still, she says, ÂWe do some advertisingÂif just a minimal amount. You have to.Â
Not all the big accounting firms have jumped on the advertising bandwagon. Parsippany-based Deloitte & Touche USA, for one, has pulled back considerably on ads. ÂWe donÂt have a particular brand-advertising program in place; weÂve been basically staying away from that, says Ron Rickles, managing partner for the firmÂs New Jersey office. ÂWe look to build marketplace eminence through authoring thought pieces and getting our name in print as opposed to pure advertising.Â
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