Marketing a small certified public accountant or investment firm is a challenge. Hiring an outside marketing consultant is expensive. Running local ads can be ineffective at recruiting new customers. Instead, use these 3 marketing tips below to generate interest in your business.
Think about financial topics where you can highlight your expertise. Once you have the content, publish this information on your website, on social media websites and in customer emails. Send it to a local or regional online newspaper. Ask a software company like Ethoca if you can author a guest blog on their website.
1. Educate Your Customers About Protecting Their Business
Show your community that you care about important business issues. This builds trust and credibility with your customers. Outline and describe an important financial issue and offer solid solutions.
One important issue for an online or storefront business is credit card chargeback fraud. This problem affects small and large business organizations because credit card payments are so common. A friendly fraud chargeback occurs when a customer does not recognize a legitimate credit card charge. A dissatisfied customer or a dishonest individual or group can also initiate a chargeback.
2. Publish Stories About Your Customers
People enjoy reading human-interest stories, especially in their local community. Explain how you enjoy serving this individual or family. Add details that show the right balance of personal and professional information. If you represent another small business, this is an opportunity to support each other.
Make a list of your target customers and try to find a similar current customer. The post can be a paragraph with a picture or a longer question-and-answer article. Think about the words and topics that customers use when searching for investment services and try to include them in the text.
3. Create Interesting Seasonal Content
Create a content calendar for each month or quarter. It takes extra work upfront. Once you have an outline, a routine and a deadline, it becomes easier to write and publish the content.
Below are a few suggestions for seasonal topics:
- Personal and Business Tax Dates
- Holiday and Community Events
- Back-To-School Season
Write a list of customer pain points and assign them to a time of year. Address common money issues such as checking the amount of tax withheld from your paycheck or spending within a budget over the holidays. Customize the content for your readership. Finally, always confirm that you have permission to publish personal quotes and pictures.