McIntosh Marketing Blog

Thanks to an email from a good friend, Ana Correa of Red Consultancy, I discovered that YouTube and the Guggenheim are collaborating on a very exciting project to embrace budding video artists. You can read the full article here, which appeared in the Art & Design section of The New York Times.

The project can be seen at YouTube.com/play. I applaud this amazing project for not only its brilliance and contribution to the arts, but also how the people at Guggenheim are keeping their brand fresh by embracing budding video artists and collaborating with social media.

When you dwell on the fast-paced world of marketing, with all its dynamic and aesthetic qualities, accountants and accounting firms are not the first thought that comes to mind. But in actual fact, B2B financial services is one of the most deficient fields in regards to effective marketing, despite the huge need for their invaluable services that the offer the B2B market.

Having lead many business management workshops for accountants, CPAs, EAs and bookkeepers, I have found that the prevailing logic in marketing, within in each of their respective fields, is to build over time with word of mouth. Now while word of mouth is the backbone of success for the majority of businesses worldwide, this can become an all too “Everybody knows that” that obviates necessary and more modern means to reach the B2B contacts that are vitally needed to expand any firm or practice.

But many are still left with this burning question, “What business marketing strategies are best for accounting firms?”

The word Branding has become the latest buzz word within financial circles and academia as a means to make an attempt at a marketing strategy. Using the word can make us sound like we understand marketing, but in all truth branding is not the major problem with most accountant’s marketing strategy. Sure, small business branding is important. But once you are past the logo, the stationary and the signage, now where do you go? And this is where most business marketing strategies start on their long-term plunge into stagnation.

Ultimately, the success of any marketing, including branding as an important and vital part of the marketing paradigm, is judged solely by increased sales and higher profits. How else can we truly measure about the branding experience that we are projecting? This decpetive marketing battle has been the Waterloo for too many businesses trying to buy feelings rather than to generate more sales and profits. Our world today is in an economic maelstrom,so you must focus on expanding measurable, sustainable profits.

Here are a few things that any accounting firm can engage in that are relatively simple, but highly effective. I would to also note, that  in speaking to and working with hundreds of professionals in the accounting and financial fields for over the last two decades, that these tactics have been vetted as highly successful. In other words, I am not sharing theory or attempting a stab in the dark.

1. Join a business networking group. I suggest Business Network International (BNI). Why? Because I know a CPA in San Francisco who has built her firm to almost two million dollars in annual gross sales. She clearly demonstrated to me, on a very meticulous spread sheet, that one-quarter of that annual income was derived from her 11 year involvement in her local BNI chapter. There are other business referral groups similar to BNI, but the point is be a joiner and a committed member.
2. Utilize the services of an outside company to call and set appointments for you. This is a highly effective marketing method that Kep Kepner, a CPA from Dallas, Texas recently turned me onto. He recently secured the services of an outbound calling company that is only paid when you make a personal presentation. Kep is closing about 60% and is paying a company called Callbox Inc. about $1,800 for 15 appointments. Kep shared with me that this has been one of the best sources of new business.
3. Activate your past clients. In other words, be sure to keep an accurate mailing list and mail a letter or newsletter at least once every quarter and remind them what you do, that you render high-quality service and that you appreciate any referrals. People are busy, so remind them that you exist and care.
4. Ninety percent of firms have either no web site or one that is so ineffective, that in actual fact their out-dated website positions their brand and their business as old and outmoded. You need a simple, attractive website with a blog installed within it. Your company blog must be networked with online directories, social media and other distribution methodologies. Blogs can be an effective means of attracting more and more B2B contacts. Moreover, a blog that consistently performs and offers helpful, original quality content will be a super performer for increasing your presence and thus more sales.

I would enjoy your feedback on this blog post to see if this was helpful or if any other information would be if use.

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WordPress 3.0 is now out.

Here are a few of my favorite features:

• WordPress and WordPress MU have merged, allowing the management of multiple sites (called Multisite) from one WordPress installation.
• You can now create custom menu’s so that is REALLY easy to change your menu’s on your site. You can add categories, tags and even posts to your site.
• Changing your header and background is now built into the Admin area.
• When you install WordPress, you can now use your own username and password (thank you, thank you)
• Improved Custom post types and custom taxonomies. This allows me to create a “video” post type with custom fields to post to a video site.

You can download WordPress 3.0 at WordPress.org.

Now available at TestTube (Youtube’s place to test new features), you can now edit your Youtube videos on their website!

You don’t have to install anything – just go to their site and you can:

• Combine multiple videos into one longer video
• You can trim the beginning or end of it.
• Add soundtracks
• Create new videos and publish them to YouTube without having to upload anything

For example, I have a client right now that created a video where you can hear someone off camera counting down, “3,2,1” at the beginning. With this new utility, that can easily be trimmed off without installing any software. Wow.

This wacky video explains it pretty well:

With the changing face of B2B marketing in today’s economy, coupled with new options in social networking web sites, accountants will need to adapt and utilize new internet marketing tools in marketing accountant services that they offer.

The accounting industry has been slow to embrace social networking, but Andrew Leck, who is the head of ACCA UK, views accountants taking a proactive approach in these trouble economic times. In an online article of 17 May 2010, Mr. Leck stated:

“Accounting was not the root cause of the financial crisis, but it has an important role in supporting and advising businesses on how to find a way out of it. The financial crisis – and its aftermath – is not fundamentally a story about one country, or one sector. Instead, it has highlighted the interconnected nature of the world in which we live and do business. Moving forward is about creating the right environment for long-term business success, with appropriate strategies and plans based on sound analysis of opportunities for success, with the clear evaluation and mitigation of risk. And it is also about the contribution made by accountants and finance professionals to business.”

It is our view that this global situation creates a greater need for professional assistance from accountants.  This is a perfect opportunity to redefine the benefits and tools that only an accountant can offer to existing businesses, emerging businesses and opportunistic entrepreneurs. It is these very business professionals that today’s accountant with need to reach, marketing accounting services on the fastest communication line today: social networking web sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, Google Buzz and even Foursquare.

Every accountant needs to develop a simple marketing strategy that starts with a simple blog. We strongly suggest that this be done on a WordPress format. From there, setting up your blog to automatically feed your posts into the most common social networking web sites is a huge step to getting your voice heard and exepertise seen in front of the very people who are looking for bookkeeping, tax and accounting solutions.

As a fan of social media, I’ve always tested out the new social networks, new web 2.0 apps, any equipment or software that would put me in better and faster communication with the world.

I used the Flock browser for a while a few years ago, and liked the way I could blog directly from the browser and drag my flickr photos straight into my blog posts. Plus I had a friend who worked at Flock, so that always made it cool to use their browser, wear my Flockstar tshirt, etc.

At some point, the excitement died for me, I got busy with my art career, and did less blogging, and I went back to Firefox. But today, after reading the ZDNet review today, I was inspired once again. The fire was re-ignited and I downloaded the new version 2.6 Flock browser.

So far, it seems way more awesome than it used to be…and it was awesome then too. Here’s why:

1. By clicking on the “People Sidebar” you can log in to all your social media accounts, and have the updates appear on the left side of the browser. Let’s say you choose Flickr. From that sidebar you can check your flickr mail, click on a friend, see his/her photos, view their profile, send them a message, etc.

3. There’s also a clipboard feature that allows you to drag and drop text, photos or links to save for later use in blogging or uploading to one of your social networks, etc.

4. Flock still has the awesome blog editor tool as well, which was always my favorite feature. And with all the other features, new and old, it’s even easier to find the images and links you need, save them, drag everything into your blog post right from the browser without having to even open new tabs or windows or anything.

5. Things about Flock that I’m just discovering:
photo uploader tool
Twitter search widget
instant messaging with facebook chat
webmail
7 social network apps
3 media sharing apps
7 different blogging apps

I’m just playing around with this right now while I’m typing, so there’s a lot I haven’t figured out yet. But I can already tell you that if you are serious about your social networking, and also about saving time by not having to log into every single social account or blog you have, you should give Flock a try. You can see your Twitter friends, feed, trends all from your browser with no additional Twitter app needed. Same with Facebook, Myspace (if you still use THAT one), Youtube, Digg and Bebo.

Yeah, I’m going to be checking out these features for a while. There are a LOT of them to go through. I suggest you do the same.

Get Flock here. And if you want to see the ZDNet article that renewed my enthusiasm for Flock, here it is.

PS: To Will…I’m sorry I strayed. It’s nice to be back. <3

Recessions and tough times are good for marketing opportunities. But unfortunately most business professionals, entrepreneurs and even marketing experts have a counter-intuitive reaction to this statement. You know the old saying, “Buy low, sell high.” There is a corollary to this adage in marketing: “Economy soft, market hard.”

Now while I can send you a White Paper that substantiates this proposition so clearly and so emphatically, unfortunately it would not really matter how many reports, statistics or evidence I produced for many. What many of these businesses professionals are running into is not lack of evidence, but an abundance of preconceived and fixed ideas that disallow the ability to view new and more effective methodologies.

Case in point #1: Yesterday I was calling on a prospective client. I informed her what I did in that I helped small businesses like hers to effectively market themselves with internet marketing tools, such as social media and local search. She rapidly replied, “We don’t do marketing because we are a small company.” I had to suppress the laugh. Maybe it’s the other way around.

Case in point #2: Having worked for years with CPA’s, Accountants and Enrolled Agents, I have noted an epidemic amongst their industry members when it comes to a fixed idea that is literally stopping them from adapting to the new world of online marketing and social media. “We are a referral business only.” One CPA went onto tell me, “Although CPA’s are traditionally seen as having very little personality, our business is built on relationships.” I didn’t have the heart to tell him that this is the case with all successful businesses.

In these two case point above, it was not that there was lack of evidence or a lack of statistics to utterly prove that social media is referral ginseng: organic fuel for their most trusted source of marketing themselves and developing new business.

And this brings me to an important element that has been missing in the education system, our universities and within the various agencies and organizations established to help businesses. That good marketing is not an expense, but an investment; an actual part of conducting business. To succeed, any business person must not only know how to market, but must also know how to stay up-to-date on the latest developments in marketing, as there will always be better and more effective ways to market. As the world evolves, the ways of reaching, motivating and selling also evolve.

In its day, the Pony Express was pretty slick. It was the social networking of 1860. But then came the telegraph. Ponies and the adventurous men who rode them were now suddenly outdated. What was innovative one year was completely disregarded the next.

Get off the pony and learn to telegraph. Today, learn internet marketing tools and how to use them.

McIntosh Marketing’s Chief Brand Officer, Edwin Dearborn, has authored a new white paper titled, Using Social Media to Effectively Market Your Brand, Developing A Common Sense Plan. It is being broadly issued for its first time. Here is the link: SEO White Paper

This white paper details how to develop a common sense plan for any business on how to use social media to effectively develop a powerful presence on the web. This white paper also provides key web marketing tips that any business can utilize and implement to become more comprehensive, effective and thus more profitable through internet marketing tools.

McIntosh Marketing alos offers a free web marketing analysis for any business.

According to Comscore, there was 15.9 billion searches in May in the US  with Google getting 10.2 billion searches (2% increase) while  Yahoo got 2.9 billion searches (6% increase) and Bing got 1.9 billion (up 6% increase). While Google is still in the lead, you might notice that Yahoo and Bing are on the rise, benefiting from their recent search alliance.

What does it mean for you? Well that you should stop just focusing on Google and make sure your site is optimized for these 2 players as well. Usually if you rank well with Google, you should rank well with Yahoo and Bing, one of the biggest differences being that they give more weight to your domain name than Google. In addition, the Yahoo and Bing traffic is, in some cases, of a better quality than Google’s which, depending on your industry, might result in higher conversion rates.  So whether it’s in terms of SEO or pay per click, it is recommended to develop your efforts toward Yahoo and Bing, especially as they are supposed to keep increasing their share of the search market.