7 Mistakes You May Be Making with Your Messages That Turn Prospects Off

Do you know what your marketing messages are saying about you? They could very well be giving people the wrong impression of your firm. Here’s what you should know to avoid these mistakes.

Most accountants have gone light with their marketing lately. The pandemic has likely affected your accounting firm as much as any entity that doesn’t supply food or other “essential” services.

You might think that people have more things to worry about these days than paying attention to your marketing messages.

But that’s emphatically not the case. The opposite could very well be true. Businesses are looking for ways to weather this storm, and accomplished accountants and accounting firms are just the people to help them.

In order to reach those businesses, you’re going to have to fine-tune your marketing messages so as to reach those who so desperately need your help. In other words, the way that you Design Your Brand is going to make a big difference.

Your goal should be to position your accounting business as a VITAL firm – a firm that’s absolutely necessary to your client’s well-being.

Now, many accounting firms already know this, at least in theory. It’s just that they can’t help but make mistakes while crafting their marketing messages. To prevent this from happening to you, you can start by looking at the following mistakes to avoid. You’ll come away with a much better idea of what to do and what not to do.

1. Failing to Establish Your Hunting Niche®

Before you figure out your marketing message, you need to be clear about who it’s for. To put it another way, you’ve got to find your Hunting Niche®.

Now, many accountants frown upon the idea of finding a niche. They believe that this is only going to pigeonhole their business and limit its growth. That’s why they prefer to send their marketing messages to as broad an audience as possible. It doesn’t matter that most of the recipients will never respond.

To avoid that mistake, you must first understand the purpose of establishing a niche. You don’t have to niche your practice in order to niche your marketing.

In reality, you only have to define your ideal client persona. Think about the type of client who has the most interest in your message and business as a whole. It’s clients like this that you enjoy working with. You don’t have to compromise your profitability to secure these clients. And that’s because they are uniquely suited to benefit from the work you do, and happy to pay for the privilege.

Once you know your ideal client, you’ll be able to design your message specifically for them. That’s going to make your marketing more effective as a result.

2. Not Humanising Your Message

According to Nielsen’s Global Trust in Advertising report, people resonate most with messages that are:

1. Humorous
2. Based on real-life situations
3. Family-oriented
4. Health-themed
5. Value-oriented

Can you find the common thread in all of the above?

They’re all things that humans care deeply about. Sadly, some accountants fail to make use of this principle in their messages. They advertise their services in generic terms and a predictable fashion. That’s simply not enough to connect with people.

This is also why your marketing messages should create strong connections with your audience.

Don’t forget that those who receive your messages are people – they have fears, hopes and aspirations. Your marketing message should reflect this on a human level. That’s how you can appeal to your audience and attract them to your firm.

3. Not Personalising Your Message

In tandem with the above, there are also accountants who neglect to tailor their message to their client personas. That’s likely to make the recipients think that these firms are speaking to everyone in general, not to anyone particular.

You can’t blame these prospects if they don’t respond to those kinds of marketing messages.

On the contrary, your marketing needs to show the prospects that you understand what they need.

They need to know that you have the ability to solve their problems.

This ties back to the importance of establishing your hunting niche. To be a VITAL firm is to know who can most benefit from its services. Figure this out, so you can craft marketing messages that speak to these prospect’s critical needs.

4. Using Common Language to Describe What Makes You Different

It doesn’t take a genius to claim that they’re customer-oriented, hardworking, and so on.

These are clichés for a reason. They may have been meaningful in the past, but they’re long past the best-by dates now.

Rather than saying that you’re unique, your marketing messages demonstrate this uniqueness.

For example, Oomf Global uses the VITAL terminology to include everything that we can do for our clients. More than just saying that we help accountants grow their practice, we communicate our message memorably and delightfully.

We’re certain that you can do the same. Unique language communicates your message in a way that imprints your brand in the prospects’ minds.

5. Failing to Speak to What Your Clients Value

Some accountants can only guess at what their clients value the most. This means that their marketing messages will never find the proper targets. They end up sending messages that don’t reflect the prospects’ values.

Those who commit this sin usually end up investing a lot of time and resources into messages that don’t work out as planned.

To avoid this mistake, take some time to understand what is important to your clients. There are several ways to do this. It can be as simple as conducting a survey of your existing clients.

Zoom in on the most common answers and you’ll have a much better idea of what your target prospects want. Then you can build your messages around that.

6. Bombarding People with Messages When They’re Not Ready

A normal B2B sales cycle lasts longer than a B2C one. Just because someone visited your website, it doesn’t mean that they’re ready to buy. In fact, they’re far from ready in most cases. If you flood their inboxes or screens right away, you risk alienating them for all time.

Think about it. Would you be eagerly awaiting ads after visiting a landing page or website out of curiosity?

That’s why you have to find the right time to target your prospects. Even the best marketing messages aren’t going to work if you push them too early.

Before you ask someone to buy from you, you’ve got to nurture the relationship first. You can do this through content or marketing campaigns specialised for this purpose. Take your time building up interest and only target your prospects when they’re ready to go.

7. Not Being Aware of Your Competition

You’re unlikely to offer services that are unique to your firm. The purpose of legal accounting standards is to make sure that all accountants work on the same framework.

If you claim to do something that nobody else offers, that can backfire in a number of ways. The important question is: How does being different make you better?

Because of this, you’ve got to research your competitors to find out what, if anything, you’re doing differently. It’s a good way to identify your unique selling point for use in your future marketing messages.

Not knowing who you’re up against puts you at a disadvantage. You’ll have to do your own research and find a way to stand out.

You Can Craft Compelling Messages

Many accountants make potentially costly marketing mistakes.

But that doesn’t have to happen. The important thing is that you know what to avoid and what to do to make your messages more impactful.

Just remember that your clients should always be at the centre of your marketing. You’ll then be able to adjust everything that you do to their values and needs.

Your marketing messages will be more likely to resonate with your ideal client persona as a result.

This translates to a better ability to attract your ideal clients.