Brand Communication for the Building of “Men” Identity of ...
Building Your Brand Identity
17
BUILDING YOUR BRAND IDENTITY Or “How to Not Look like Every Other O.W.G. CPA Firm In 10 Easy Steps”
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Transcript of Building Your Brand Identity
BUILDING YOUR BRAND IDENTITYOr “How to Not Look like Every Other O.W.G. CPA Firm
In 10 Easy Steps”
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• Partner with Butler and Company CPAs, PC (affectionately, I’m “And Company“)• AICPA PCPS Executive Committee – 2012 – 2015• AICPA Governing Council – starting Sept 2015• 2010 AICPA Leadership Academy Graduate• Been in practice since 2003• One wife, one son and one on the way• Was a Seattle Seahawks fan WAY before they won (and lost) the Super Bowl• Started doing acrylic painting• Used to host a radio show• Went to Malawi, Africa back in May for a church mission trip
Jason Deshayes
Quick, who is this guy?
What’s our mission?
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Establish how you fit into the CPA market
Establish opportunities to showcase YOU
Get in front of the right people
Stand out as different
GAME PLAN
ITEM ONE ITEM TWO ITEM THREE ITEM FOUR
5Some context, perhaps…
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“Approach each customer with the idea of helping him or her solve a problem or achieve a goal, not of selling a product or service.”
“Stop selling. Start helping.”
Brian Tracy Zig Ziglar
Some sage words…
Clients need help as they get older and their businesses transition
What happens to a client whose needs outlast their senior CPA’s career?
Technology is still a big sticking point with more classical firms
More reliance on timely service
Less demand for compliance services
Increased demand for insights
There is still a demand for traditional services
Certain markets can sustain more “exotic” services
Scan your current client base for untapped opportunities
What is the market saying?
CPAs aren’t getting any
younger
Clients are demanding
more
Services
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Thought Leadership
You are smart…start sharing your knowledge
Develop a Service ProcessMost firms do not have an unique approach to service that they can communicate
Know Your Market
Be able to articulate the difference between you and your competitors
Target Your Audience
Find the people you want to work with and get an audience
Be Available
Be the person that other advisors can call with questions
Calendar Your Appearances
Make them regular, especially during busy times
Branding Opportunities
Are you aligned with their business philosophy and
approach to service?
Alignment
THINKABOUT…
The Right People
Business contacts who play in the same sandbox as you
Your Niche
Are these people you have (or could have) regular engagement
with?
Regularity
Do they work alongside of you or do you just happen to have the
same client?
Collaborative
Get introduced to small firm division of the NM Bar
Association – do a 30 minute “top ten list” presentation to
20 attorneys
May 2012
You never know where it can start….
Attorney brings in new client to our firm - client is a relatively new thriving business in need of a
proactive and engaged CPA2015 Fees - $12,000
May 2015
One of the attorneys at that seminar becomes a pretty straight forward 1120S client – roughly $600 of annual fees
January 2013
Client is on a growth plan that will involve multiple locations, allowing us to become the outsourced accounting department and their go-to-person
2016 and on…NOT EVERYONE NEEDSALL OF OUR SKILLS, BUTTHEY NEED ALL OF OUR
SERVICE MINDSET
Be boldly self-assured about what you believe
in and who you are
People trust and do business with other people; not firms
Visual branding and name recognition only go so far
Figure out what you are passionate about
Be able to articulate it concisely to others
It is ok to not look like everyone else!
Stand out!
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Pricing models
Ability to service beyond the local geographic
market
Establishing clear services and delivery
timelines
Be physically present in your client’s business
Purposefully building in client time – not always
about producing something though
Distinguishers
Increase in revenues from 2013 to 2014
Projected dollars spent on marketing in 2015
New collections in 2015
18% $10k $149k $148k
New recurring billings in 2015
Seriously, this all works!
Let’s try it out What makes you unique?
How are you different from your competition?
Why are people working with you?
www.butlercpa.com
505-821-0893 (w)505-250-3864 (c)
4811A Hardware Dr. NE, Ste 1Albuquerque, NM 87109
THANKS!
