Email marketing works. In fact, it still drives conversions more than any other marketing activity. Yet still the majority of accounting practices either do it badly or not at all.
So what are accounting practices doing wrong with their email marketing?
Many firms don’t personalise their email content. They are signed up to an email delivery platform that aggregates the same content for every firm and sends it out via their clunky website signups.
Another mistake that are doing their own email marketing is that they are not approaching it strategically.
Email marketing is a complex thing. Not one hat fits all. A simple newsletter to your whole database once a month with latest budget updates (for example) will not cut through the noise in your prospects and clients inbox.
Apparently the average email account gets 88 emails a day. Your bland newsletter just will not stand out.
Which is why we need to have a customer centric approach to email marketing.
This customer centric approach means that we need have an email strategy that takes into consideration your customers journey.
Every email must gently guide and nurture your prospect or client to take the steps that are right for them. Whether this be to download a free guide you have written, attend an event you are holding, sign up for a call with you, or buy your services. Your email marketing needs to have a strategy behind it.
I wonder if you have come across the Customer Buying Pyramid before? At any given time less than 3% of people who are visiting your website are looking to buy your services right now. Which leaves a whopping 97% of people on your website who are not even currently in buying mode. They are in browsing mode.
This is why you need a lead magnet. A way to capture your website visitors email address so you can nurture them in their buying journey to become a client and evangelist of your services.
The problem is most accountants only ever manage to capture the 3% who are buying now, and leave 97% of potential prospects on the table.
Let’s talk through the Customer Buying Pyramid further:
On average 7% of the people you are marketing to will buy in the next 3 months. These people are ripe for you to nurture through education based email marketing.
On average 40% of the people you are marketing to will buy from you in the next 4 months – 2 years. These people will need more education based marketing, and they may need to consume more information from you than those who know what they are looking for and are looking for it now. They will also need to be inspired by you. A deeper trust relationship may need to be built, and you will need to invest time in nurturing these prospects.
Patience is needed with the prospects in the 40% group. Your ability to craft education based and inspiring information will ensure that you get the sale over another accountant. But you are playing a long game.
Keep in mind that if they have been following you for up to 2 years, and receiving, like clockwork, emails from you every week/month, then when they buy from you they will buy with confidence. The sale will be smooth and dare I say easy.
An informed buyer is a happy buyer. They are less likely to quibble on price, and they will be pleased to be working with you.
And finally 50% of those who were on your email list are unlikely to buy from you at all. They may already have an accountant in the family who does their books. They may no longer have a business. They may be a competitor of yours. But do not neglect this portion of your list. If you inspire them with your content they will refer people to you.
How Marketing Has Changed
Once upon a time marketing was around to create awareness of a product or service. Now there is such a huge cross-over between marketing and sales that it needs to be approached differently.
Online marketing (social media for example) is there to market to the 3% in buying mode. It will also drive people to your website where they may be interested enough to download your free ebook “just incase”. And this is where email marketing steps up.
Email marketing focuses on the customer journey to capture the 97% of clients that your competitors are missing out on because they just don’t get “it”. Email marketing that is strategically planned around the buyers journey will help you close more sales, build better relationships with prospects, and have clients referring you to their friends and on social media.
If you are doing email marketing wrong, or even worse not at all, then you need to rethink your strategy. At all times your goal is to nurture people along the customer journey.
- You want to Attract leads
- Convert them to prospects
- Close them to become clients
- Delight them to become promoters
Email marketing is your key to a smooth customer journey.
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To download our ebook and get a list of 100 marketing ideas for your accounting practice click here for the 100 Ways To Market Your Accounting Firm
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What do we do at TwentyTwo?
At TwentyTwo Agency we specialise in helping you create a strategy, attract ideal prospects, convert them into clients and get remembered and referred. Our specialities include content marketing, blog writing, email newsletter management and social media management. We are a content marketing and digital experience agency for accounting firms. We ensure you get remembered, recommended and referred.
To find out if we can help you, reach out to our team by emailing [email protected]
