 Identify your
target market in detail. A
clear focus produces the best results.
It’s easier and less expensive to
reach a well-thought-out target, such as
workers trying to save for retirement
while paying for their children’s
college education and parents’
nursing home care, than it is to pursue
an overly broad group, such as those
between 50 and 70 years of age with more
than $250,000 in investable assets. Know your
target. Focus less
attention on age, income, gender and
other impersonal characteristics, and
more on personal interests and concerns,
such as funding for a secure retirement,
business succession and estate planning.
Tailor
your message. Provide key
customers information on how you will
address their interests and concerns and
help achieve their financial goals.
Watch
reactions closely. Track
the pieces of your marketing literature
that stimulate the greatest interest
among your target market and hone your
materials to increase response rates.
Use
new technology to speed testing.
It no longer takes months to find out how
well a marketing plan design works.
Technology makes it possible to
simultaneously test up to seven
variables, such as headline wording,
offering terms or type face and quickly
determine the combination to which the
target market will best respond.
Incorporate those elements in your
marketing materials.
Editor’s note: The AICPA
offers a free CPA Marketing Tool Kit to
help members promote their practices and
services. To learn more, visit www.aicpa.org/cpamarketing.
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