Tax season is the Super Bowl of the accounting industry. It's the time of year when frazzled customers seek professional help to determine the size of their tax refunds or bills. Here are a few accounting tips for marketing yourself to ensure you have plenty of customers when tax time comes around.
Pitch your services – Depending on the type of work you do, your clients may not be aware that you offer tax services, so start cross selling your expertise as a tax accountant. Place signs around your office to let clients know about the other services you offer. If you meet with clients about unrelated issues, don't be afraid to work your expertise in accounting tips into the conversation. This is a good way to land clients that need to get their financial houses in order and position yourself as a capable expert who can help.
Encourage referrals – If you don't already participate in referral marketing, now is a good time to start. Encourage existing customers to recommend your accounting services to friends, family members, and acquaintances who need assistance with tax preparation. While some customers will happily refer you to people in their social network, some may need incentives to do so. Offer to do clients' taxes for free if they refer a certain number of people, or offer a discount off accounting services for each person they recommend.
Nudge your list – If you have an email list, start sending tax accounting tips to the people who have signed up for it. This will remind customers of the approaching tax season and may inspire them to begin preparing. When you share tips and expertise in your emails, you increase customer confidence and create an association between your name and tax assistance. When they're ready to get their taxes done, customers will call you.
Get social – Social media websites offer an excellent way to connect with current and future clients. They are also great for disseminating messages to a large crowd. Start drumming up awareness of tax season by sharing accounting tips and tax-related news in your social feeds. Encourage clients to send in questions and answer them on the company blog. This technique increases reader engagement with the blog and can boost your visibility in the search engines, which means more traffic to your website.
If you want the second quarter of the year to be a great one, start sowing the seeds of awareness immediately using these accounting tips. Market yourself well enough, and you'll enjoy a bountiful harvest in the spring.
(Photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net)
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