Like any other business, your accounting firm or freelance accounting endeavor is are always on the lookout for new clients. With the end of the year on the very near horizon and the holiday season now in full swing, what you might be surprised to learn is that this is the best time of year to amp up your marketing efforts. One reason is that people spend more money over the holidays, and most have a generous and open spirit.
To help you land new clients and get your brand out there this holiday season, we'd like to refer you to two sources. The first source is a blog post the Rules of Thumb blog from MoneyThumb wrote this time two years ago, and the advice still applies today. The blog post is titled Marketing Your Accounting Services During the Christmas Holidays. Even though we aren't near Christmas yet, Thanksgiving is in two days, and most businesses begin their holiday marketing around Thanksgiving. Here is a link to the post. which we are proud to say comes up first under the paid ads on the first page of Google when you search using the terms, holiday marketing for accountants.
Below are the first 3 suggestions for holiday marketing from the list of 7 in that Rules of Thumb blog post:
- Offer your accounting services as a gift idea–By thinking outside the box, you can suggest to your clients that they give the gift of your services to someone they know needs bookkeeping and/or accounting help. What a welcome gift this would be for a struggling small business owner!
- Create a Christmas-only discount on your services–Consumers love getting discounts, especially during the holidays. Create an accounting services package and promote it for Christmas only, with all the glitter, bells and whistles that Christmas affords.
- Make your social media accounts festive–Speaking of Christmas bells and whistles, have fun and make more money by creating a festive theme on your social media pages and open the conversation to Christmas-themed games and stories.
We believe you will get a lot of benefit in your marketing efforts by following the above three pieces of advice and all 7 listed in the Rules of Thumb blog post mentioned above.
Our second source for advice on holiday marketing is an article from Business.com. Although it is geared toward businesses in general, most of the tips listed in the article are useful for accountants. The article is titled 10 Marketing Strategies That Will Boost Your Holiday Sales. Below are a few marketing suggestions that we feel can be especially helpful to accountants from that Business.com article. Here is a link to the article for your reading convenience.
Say thank you ahead of time.
Stand out from the crowd by sending thank-you cards to your loyal customers at Thanksgiving instead of waiting until the traditional Christmas and Hanukkah card-giving season. It makes your customers feel that they are truly appreciated, and they will keep you in mind as they are shopping for family and friends.
Tap into nostalgia.
The holidays are surrounded by a glow of memories of childhood and magic, times when the snow was thicker and Santa Claus was real. Why not design your holiday marketing campaign to tap into holiday nostalgia?
Consider using black-and-white pictures, old-style fonts and nostalgic photos from times gone by. Whether you're planning an in-store display or an online landing page, nostalgia can guide your campaigns this year.
Focus on customer loyalty.
Although you're eager to attract new customers, don't neglect your loyal shoppers. Repeat customers are responsible for at least 40 percent of your sales, so it's worth it to keep them connected.
Take the opportunity to offer a special gift to your best customers, as a valuable discount. You could also send handwritten holiday cards to your loyal customers through the mail, the old-fashioned way. This strategy will garner your customers' attention and show that you care.
Make the most of mobile.
Mobile marketing has become increasingly important for e-commerce in the last couple of years. Over $17 billion of sales were made by mobile in the 2016 holiday season and over $35 billion in the 2017 season. In 2018, mobile sales are predicted to surpass desktop sales for the first time. It's vital, therefore, that your marketing campaigns are mobile friendly and that your online store is optimized for mobile devices.
Looks like today might be the perfect day to at least send out holiday greeting cards and/or thank you notes to current clients you have, don't you think? We hope the marketing advice contained in our blog post can get you started on making sure your current clients know how much they are appreciated this holiday season and obtaining new clients for your accounting firm or personal accounting freelance endeavors.
The team at MoneyThumb would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our Rules of Thumb blog readers and current and future MoneyThumb users a very Happy and Safe Thanksgiving!
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