When was the last time you had a great experience in a sales process, where you felt listened to and understood, then as soon as you hit the “YES” button, the great experience just… ended?
You stopped hearing back as quickly. There were questions which went unanswered. You suddenly weren’t sure what was happening next. You didn’t know who to ask what questions to.
When this happens, you’re left feeling frustrated, disappointed and annoyed at yourself for seemingly “making the wrong decision”.
It’s the same thing for your clients when they choose you as their accountant, and your marketing efforts just… stop.
You’ve started to build trust and a relationship, and now you owe it to them to follow through on the experience you promised them.
Marketing helps you to deliver on those promises you made in the sales process.
It helps your new client feel:
- Reassured they made the right decision choosing your firm
- Confident they know what’s going to happen next
- Empowered to ask questions about anything they’re unsure about
- Excited to be getting the help their business needs
- Relieved they’ve found someone who’s the right fit for their business
When you create valuable marketing content for your clients, it shows your ongoing commitment to their success. It means you’re clients are most likely to:
- Stay a client for longer
- Be open to signing for more services
- Tell others in their industry about you
- Be less tempted to look elsewhere for another accountant
Here are 6 ways to market to your existing clients:
- Publish blog posts: Equally valuable for creating awareness for your firm as they are keeping your clients informed of industry changes, trends, challenges plus new services they may not even know you offer. (We recently had a client tell me a blog post she linked in her email signature caused 3 clients to get in touch and ask about the service she mentioned in the blog post! Here’s where you can read the post.)
- Run client-only events: These can be as small as 4-5 people with the goal of bringing your clients together in a room to talk and learn about something which matters to all of their businesses. If you’ve done work on your audience, it’s likely your clients have similar interests and challenges. This helps your clients build connection with other business owners and as a bonus, they’ll talk about working with you too! Here’s an example from a client-only event we ran in Edinburgh!
- Tell client stories: Your clients are still curious about what work you’re doing with other businesses, even after they become a client. Don’t stop telling them about work you’re doing with other business owners and the results you’re helping them to achieve. It helps to inspire your clients and remind them they’re not alone in running their business. Here’s a brilliant example of sharing client successes from Craig, owner of Alchemy Accountancy.
- Share a newsletter: Share news about new hires, service expansions, an event you’re attending or a client you’re proud of, in a weekly or monthly newsletter. It helps your clients keep up to date with what’s going on in your firm and is a welcome reminder you’re thinking about them.
- Document your processes: Your clients want details of what will happen when they are onboarding with your firm, within the first 3 months of working with you, then 6 months… and so on. This gives your clients confidence that you’ve done this before and helps them to feel comfortable with what’s going to happen next. You can see here how Red Earth helps prospects and clients to determine where they are in their journey.
- Send out client feedback surveys: When was the last time you asked your clients about their experience of working with you? It’s easy to assume everything is fine if no-one has said anything different. This can be a dangerous and costly assumption. Give your clients a safe space to share how things are really going so you have the opportunity to address any issues they’re experiencing.
Marketing to existing clients is just as important as creating marketing for prospects. It’s your responsibility to give your clients the experience you promised them in the sales process. This not only helps build trust and relationship, it also gives you upselling and referral opportunities. If you need help creating marketing for clients you already love, fill out this discovery form and tell us a little about your firm and those clients you’d love to keep impressing.