By Brian Swanson
Flashpoint Marketing
Many CPA and accounting firms have taken the leap into the world of website marketing through search engine optimization (SEO). Though the mechanics of the optimization process have been well documented across several print and online publications, there has been little discussion about the business development process for website-generated leads, which do differ from the more standard lead.
“The biggest differences are in response time and method,” Katie Tolin, marketing director at Rea & Associates in New Philadelphia, Ohio, said. “While it is completely acceptable to return a phone call within 24 hours, that may not be soon enough for a Web inquiry. The expectation of the prospect is that you’ll respond much sooner — perhaps not immediately, but most definitely the same day.”
Sarah Johnson, a marketing and social media consultant in the Chicago area, agreed that most prospects expect that quick 24-hour (or less) response rate. She added that not only do these prospects want time to process the information because they are still in a research phase, they want to be in control of the information and communication flow with the firm.
“While contact is important, stalking them via traditional methods doesn’t always work,” Johnson said. “Giving them options will be important.”
Still, though Website leads continue to bring prospects to the firm, validating its importance still remains challenging for some. For Lori Jamail, marketing director at McConnell Jones Lanier & Murphy in Houston, the partner perception is different for an online lead than one that is more standard.
“Standard leads are ‘important,’” Jamail said. “These are real relationships in the eyes of our partners and they can usually gauge the length of the sales cycle because of the relationship they’ve built, whereas electronic leads are faceless and are perceived to want something for nothing.”
As a result, at Jamail’s firm, which she describes as “old school,” more traditional marketing methods such as direct mail, networking and phone calls are given top priority and are instantly followed up on. It’s a different story with a Website lead.
“When I provide a partner with an electronic lead, generated through an e-blast or even the online ‘contact us’ feature, I have to keep on them to follow up, to the point that I started making the first contact myself so that the partner felt the lead was more substantial,” Jamail said.
With Web leads, it’s about the prospect feeling empowered and in control. While they may be testing the firm on its response time, the person making the inquiry controls the situation, impacting the interaction with that potential client.
“The first thing you need to do is send an e-mail back,” Tolin said. “Even if you have a phone number, fight the urge to pick up the phone. Acknowledge you got the message. Maybe address something they put in the inquiry and suggest a phone call as a next step.”
Traditionally, according to Tolin, a marketing person would conduct thorough research on the prospect. With a Web-generated lead, a little cursory research is done before sending e-mail. The upfront investment is less than with a traditional call.
“This does mean that you will field some inquiries that just don’t match what you have to offer, but the ones that do pay off make the whole process worth it,” Tolin said.
Depending on the firm, the sales cycle process may differ. In Johnson’s experience, the timeline may be the same as a more traditionally generated lead — anywhere from one month to one year. Yet at Tolin’s firm, the lead times are often in the middle, in the two-week range, although she pointed out that making first contact may take longer than anticipated.
“Oftentimes, if you acknowledge and e-mail the same day, set up a call for a few days later, you can close pretty quickly,” Tolin said. “Chances are these people aren’t interviewing five different firms before making their decision, and [being] the first to respond is often an advantage.”
Ultimately, responsiveness and understanding where the prospect or lead is in the buying cycle remain two primary factors in managing Website-generated leads.
“We make an assumption that because someone requests information, they are a prospect,” Johnson said. “Unfortunately, until they are qualified, they continue to just be a lead. Understanding how to communicate with that lead is the key to moving them to a prospect. Also, understanding that not all your leads will move to a prospect is normal.”
Tolin added: “The early bird gets the worm. A first impression means a lot. The prospect went to your site and liked what they saw enough to contact you. Now you must wow them with speed and show that you understand their issues.”
Brian Swanson is a principal with Flashpoint Marketing, a marketing and lead generation company focused on serving the accounting industry. He has over 14 years' experience in traditional marketing, business development and lead generation for various CPA firms across the United States. Brian is also search engine marketing certified and focuses on providing accounting firm SEO.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Your Membership Makes a Difference
As the 2010–2011 membership year draws to a close, I want to thank you for your membership and support this year. Your dedication has enabled us to enhance our products and services to meet your needs and protect CPAs’ interest — from advocating for you at the state and national level to getting you access to online CPE vendors that provide the CPE credits you need at the prices and convenience you want. They say that TEAM stands for “Together Everyone Achieves More.” That couldn’t be truer of the VSCPA.
In fact, I think Andrew Martin, a VSCPA member from Chesapeake and “Top 5 Under 35” award winner, said it best earlier this year:
“I think it’s important to support the CPA community. You can get more accomplished as a group than any single person can on their own.”
So true.
But, I think there’s something that’s even better than collectively achieving great things for the CPA profession. It’s helping our communities in the process. I’m so proud of the more than 600 CPAs who rolled up their sleeves during our CPA Day of Service on September 24 and of the CPAs who serve their employers and clients everyday by providing sound financial services and advice. These acts of service are what make me so proud to be a part of the VSCPA.
Because of your dedication, the VSCPA membership has never been stronger. This year, we exceeded 10,000 members — an important milestone in the VSCPA’s history and a testament to the commitment, character and quality of our professional community.
As our new membership year begins, I hope you will continue your dedication to the VSCPA and the CPA profession by renewing your membership with us. Membership renewal officially begins on May 1, but our online renewal system is ready for those who would like to renew now. (Site login required.)
Thanks, again, for your membership this year. I’m looking forward to a great year in 2011–2012. I hope you are, too.
In fact, I think Andrew Martin, a VSCPA member from Chesapeake and “Top 5 Under 35” award winner, said it best earlier this year:
“I think it’s important to support the CPA community. You can get more accomplished as a group than any single person can on their own.”
So true.
But, I think there’s something that’s even better than collectively achieving great things for the CPA profession. It’s helping our communities in the process. I’m so proud of the more than 600 CPAs who rolled up their sleeves during our CPA Day of Service on September 24 and of the CPAs who serve their employers and clients everyday by providing sound financial services and advice. These acts of service are what make me so proud to be a part of the VSCPA.
Because of your dedication, the VSCPA membership has never been stronger. This year, we exceeded 10,000 members — an important milestone in the VSCPA’s history and a testament to the commitment, character and quality of our professional community.
As our new membership year begins, I hope you will continue your dedication to the VSCPA and the CPA profession by renewing your membership with us. Membership renewal officially begins on May 1, but our online renewal system is ready for those who would like to renew now. (Site login required.)
Thanks, again, for your membership this year. I’m looking forward to a great year in 2011–2012. I hope you are, too.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Snipes Takes Tax Appeal to Supreme Court
Think you’ve got a lot to deal with during tax season? “Blade” and “Passenger 57” star Wesley Snipes is taking his appeal of his three-year sentence on tax charges to the U.S. Supreme Court.
According to Forbes.com, the actor’s lawyers filed their appeal on the grounds of a provision in the Bill of Rights that says criminal cases must be brought in the judicial district where the crime was committed. Snipes was tried in Ocala, Fla., despite his attorneys’ argument — brought up during the trial and in an appeal — that he had not lived in Florida since childhood.
Snipes was convicted in February 2008 of three misdemeanor charges of failing to file his federal income tax returns from 1999–2001. He was acquitted of felony charges and has launched several unsuccessful appeals and began serving his prison sentence in 2010.
Snipes said he had lived in New York, New Jersey and California during most of the period in question. Prosecutors countered that he maintained a home in Florida and listed that address on various forms, while also citing his many tax protestor practices, including his claim of a homestead exemption as a “citizen of the Republic State of Florida.”
Snipes’ lawyers also claim that the judge in his trial instructed the jury that they had to accept the Florida venue based on the standard of “preponderance of evidence,” rather than the customary “beyond a reasonable doubt” and want the Supreme Court to rule on the level of evidence needed to establish the proper venue.
According to Forbes.com, the actor’s lawyers filed their appeal on the grounds of a provision in the Bill of Rights that says criminal cases must be brought in the judicial district where the crime was committed. Snipes was tried in Ocala, Fla., despite his attorneys’ argument — brought up during the trial and in an appeal — that he had not lived in Florida since childhood.
Snipes was convicted in February 2008 of three misdemeanor charges of failing to file his federal income tax returns from 1999–2001. He was acquitted of felony charges and has launched several unsuccessful appeals and began serving his prison sentence in 2010.
Snipes said he had lived in New York, New Jersey and California during most of the period in question. Prosecutors countered that he maintained a home in Florida and listed that address on various forms, while also citing his many tax protestor practices, including his claim of a homestead exemption as a “citizen of the Republic State of Florida.”
Snipes’ lawyers also claim that the judge in his trial instructed the jury that they had to accept the Florida venue based on the standard of “preponderance of evidence,” rather than the customary “beyond a reasonable doubt” and want the Supreme Court to rule on the level of evidence needed to establish the proper venue.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Accounting Majors Lead Class of 2011 in Job Offers
Accounting majors are currently receiving the most job offers among college graduates in the class of 2011, according to a survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).
NACE’s Winter 2011 Salary Survey indicates that private (first) and public (third) accounting positions are near the top of the list of top jobs for 2010-11 bachelor’s degree graduates.
Consulting was second, financial/treasury analysis was fourth and sales fifth.
NACE’s Winter 2011 Salary Survey indicates that private (first) and public (third) accounting positions are near the top of the list of top jobs for 2010-11 bachelor’s degree graduates.
Consulting was second, financial/treasury analysis was fourth and sales fifth.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Virginia Schools Honored as ‘Best Value Colleges’
Highlighted by the University of Virginia’s (UVa) top overall ranking, five Virginia colleges and universities were ranked in the top 50 of their categories in the Princeton Review’s annual ranking of “Best Value Colleges.”
UVa earned the No. 1 spot among public schools on the list, which was determined by ranking undergraduate academics, tuition and financial aid offerings. The College of William & Mary was No. 7 on that list, and James Madison University and Virginia Tech were also listed among the top 50 schools.
The University of Richmond was ranked in the top 50 among private colleges. Princeton Review does not rank schools outside the top 10 on either list.
All five colleges offer bachelor’s degrees in accounting, and all but Richmond offer master’s degrees in accounting.
“This national recognition of these outstanding universities and their efforts to make higher education more accessible and affordable is a great building block toward making Virginia one of the most highly educated states in the nation,” Gov. Bob McDonnell said in a statement. “Having five colleges and universities named to this prestigious list reinforces that the commonwealth is a national leader for higher education.”
Click here to learn more about accounting degrees at Virginia colleges and universities.
UVa earned the No. 1 spot among public schools on the list, which was determined by ranking undergraduate academics, tuition and financial aid offerings. The College of William & Mary was No. 7 on that list, and James Madison University and Virginia Tech were also listed among the top 50 schools.
The University of Richmond was ranked in the top 50 among private colleges. Princeton Review does not rank schools outside the top 10 on either list.
All five colleges offer bachelor’s degrees in accounting, and all but Richmond offer master’s degrees in accounting.
“This national recognition of these outstanding universities and their efforts to make higher education more accessible and affordable is a great building block toward making Virginia one of the most highly educated states in the nation,” Gov. Bob McDonnell said in a statement. “Having five colleges and universities named to this prestigious list reinforces that the commonwealth is a national leader for higher education.”
Click here to learn more about accounting degrees at Virginia colleges and universities.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Leaders’ Institute Seeks Nominees for 2011 Program
The Leaders’ Institute, sponsored by Baker Tilly and the VSCPA Educational Foundation, is seeking nominations for its 2011 program. Students can nominate themselves and educators can nominate students. Nominations are due Friday, March 18.
The program allows students to enjoy access to potential employers and mentoring and networking opportunities. This year’s program is scheduled for June 24–26 at the Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center.
“The Leaders’ Institute provides a valuable experience for accounting students,” Dr. Ed Coffman, professor and chair of the accounting department at Virginia Commonwealth University, said. “On campus, students that have attended comment on how they benefited from such activities as networking, resume writing, team building and getting to know the representatives from the various firms. The activities of the Institute are most helpful in assisting students in making the transition from the academic to the professional practice of accounting. For this, we in the academic community are most appreciative.”
Nomination forms are available at the Leaders’ Institute website.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Guest Blogger: SEO and Conversion Strategies
By Brian Swanson
Flashpoint Marketing
You know it is important for your firm to show up in a search engine. That’s why you’ve invested in optimizing your site, carefully embedding keywords, descriptions and titles into each page to help get your firm noticed first. But now that you’ve gotten a prospect to your website what should you do?
Think about this – you’ve only got their attention for 15 seconds. What is your website offering to incentivize a prospect want to reach out and engage with you? Once on the site, the primary objective should be to entice them to contact you. The key is to prominently display a compelling call to action on your home page.
This compelling pull, otherwise known as a conversion strategy, is the process through which you entice a website visitor to contact your firm or take another action.
A conversion strategy is a way to get a visitor to your website to interact with you in a planned way. This could include access to industry studies, tax guides, subscriptions to newsletters, free webinars or an attractive service offering. What is important to remember is that this interaction won’t necessarily be sales related, because the ultimate goal is that connection, may not immediate lead to a sales opportunity.
The CPA and accounting firms that are successful with inbound marketing have done an excellent job of developing and implementing conversion strategies. They are successful at engaging the prospect beyond the traditional website print. This is an essential component to inbound marketing that is often overlooked.
Effective Accounting Firm Websites
For example on the website of Buffalo-based CPA firm Freed Maxick & Battaglia there are a host of conversion strategies at play found vertically on the right side of the home page. The Tax Credit Locator allows visitors to find out if their business is located in an enterprise tax zone, ultimately bringing them specialized tax credits. Visitors are prompted to enter in their address, which the firm then captures, in exchange for a valuable piece of information.
Another good example of a firm with a strong conversion strategy is New Philadelphia-based Rea & Associates. On their home page, they offer a link to The Rea Report, which is their firm newsletter. With two clicks, the visitor is in the system and the firm has a new prospect.
Though most prospects generated through a website are often still in a research phase, they want their information in a timely manner (a 24-hour response or less is critical) and then they want time to process it on their own terms. The key is to allow them to have control of communicating the next steps and information flow. If done correctly, firms have the ability to gain a more qualified lead when the prospect is ready to meet and talk.
Web leads afford CPA firms to expand their marketing footprint and gain new revenue streams. Web-generated opportunities are typically “warmer” than traditional leads because of the inbound nature of the process. Prospects are seeking the firm out, not the other way around.
Develop Your Conversion Strategy
So how do you create a conversion strategy? Consider the following:
• A Clear Call to Action. This is an essential component to a strong conversion strategy. Be clear about what the offer is in your call to action. If you are offering access to an industry study, then write “Download our Industry Study on X”. Often times website visitors don’t take the next step because it is not clear what you are offering them in exchange for their click.
• Properly Position Your Call to Action. Calls to action are best received when they are positioned at the top of your web page. If a visitor has to scroll down to see the call to action you will lose a large number of potential conversions. Raising the profile will result in additional website leads.
• Make the Call to Action Stand Out. To make the call to action stand out use colors that contrast with the overall color scheme of your website. This is important. The more you make it stand out the more website visitors will see it and take action.
• Ensure Proper Linking. Make sure the call to action links to the corresponding landing page. I have seen several examples of CPA and accounting firms that have strong calls to action, but they don’t link to a landing page. How does the visitor know where to go to take the next step? Make it easy and simple!
• Use Image Promotion. A key mistake many make is to promote their call to action through text. Again, you want to make your offer stand out. Use images rather than plain text to highlight your offer so that a visitor’s eyes are immediately drawn to the offer.
In Perspective
In creating a conversion strategy, remember it’s important to choose tactics that work for your firm – usually one or two engagement methods on your home page will make all the difference in creating a connection. Search engine marketing is not only about getting people to your website. It’s about the offerings on your site that will inspire your visitors to reach out and connect with your firm. As a result, it is important to develop a way to catch visitors’ attention and entice them into taking action.
Stay tuned for more from Brian Swanson on this topic in the March/April issue of Disclosures magazine.
Flashpoint Marketing
You know it is important for your firm to show up in a search engine. That’s why you’ve invested in optimizing your site, carefully embedding keywords, descriptions and titles into each page to help get your firm noticed first. But now that you’ve gotten a prospect to your website what should you do?
Think about this – you’ve only got their attention for 15 seconds. What is your website offering to incentivize a prospect want to reach out and engage with you? Once on the site, the primary objective should be to entice them to contact you. The key is to prominently display a compelling call to action on your home page.
This compelling pull, otherwise known as a conversion strategy, is the process through which you entice a website visitor to contact your firm or take another action.
A conversion strategy is a way to get a visitor to your website to interact with you in a planned way. This could include access to industry studies, tax guides, subscriptions to newsletters, free webinars or an attractive service offering. What is important to remember is that this interaction won’t necessarily be sales related, because the ultimate goal is that connection, may not immediate lead to a sales opportunity.
The CPA and accounting firms that are successful with inbound marketing have done an excellent job of developing and implementing conversion strategies. They are successful at engaging the prospect beyond the traditional website print. This is an essential component to inbound marketing that is often overlooked.
Effective Accounting Firm Websites
For example on the website of Buffalo-based CPA firm Freed Maxick & Battaglia there are a host of conversion strategies at play found vertically on the right side of the home page. The Tax Credit Locator allows visitors to find out if their business is located in an enterprise tax zone, ultimately bringing them specialized tax credits. Visitors are prompted to enter in their address, which the firm then captures, in exchange for a valuable piece of information.
Another good example of a firm with a strong conversion strategy is New Philadelphia-based Rea & Associates. On their home page, they offer a link to The Rea Report, which is their firm newsletter. With two clicks, the visitor is in the system and the firm has a new prospect.
Though most prospects generated through a website are often still in a research phase, they want their information in a timely manner (a 24-hour response or less is critical) and then they want time to process it on their own terms. The key is to allow them to have control of communicating the next steps and information flow. If done correctly, firms have the ability to gain a more qualified lead when the prospect is ready to meet and talk.
Web leads afford CPA firms to expand their marketing footprint and gain new revenue streams. Web-generated opportunities are typically “warmer” than traditional leads because of the inbound nature of the process. Prospects are seeking the firm out, not the other way around.
Develop Your Conversion Strategy
So how do you create a conversion strategy? Consider the following:
• A Clear Call to Action. This is an essential component to a strong conversion strategy. Be clear about what the offer is in your call to action. If you are offering access to an industry study, then write “Download our Industry Study on X”. Often times website visitors don’t take the next step because it is not clear what you are offering them in exchange for their click.
• Properly Position Your Call to Action. Calls to action are best received when they are positioned at the top of your web page. If a visitor has to scroll down to see the call to action you will lose a large number of potential conversions. Raising the profile will result in additional website leads.
• Make the Call to Action Stand Out. To make the call to action stand out use colors that contrast with the overall color scheme of your website. This is important. The more you make it stand out the more website visitors will see it and take action.
• Ensure Proper Linking. Make sure the call to action links to the corresponding landing page. I have seen several examples of CPA and accounting firms that have strong calls to action, but they don’t link to a landing page. How does the visitor know where to go to take the next step? Make it easy and simple!
• Use Image Promotion. A key mistake many make is to promote their call to action through text. Again, you want to make your offer stand out. Use images rather than plain text to highlight your offer so that a visitor’s eyes are immediately drawn to the offer.
In Perspective
In creating a conversion strategy, remember it’s important to choose tactics that work for your firm – usually one or two engagement methods on your home page will make all the difference in creating a connection. Search engine marketing is not only about getting people to your website. It’s about the offerings on your site that will inspire your visitors to reach out and connect with your firm. As a result, it is important to develop a way to catch visitors’ attention and entice them into taking action.
Stay tuned for more from Brian Swanson on this topic in the March/April issue of Disclosures magazine.
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