Future
Trends in Accounting Marketing
The marketing of public accounting
services is changing. The results of a recent survey by
the Association for Accounting Marketing (AAM), Creating
the Future Agenda for the Profession, revealed four
key trends that are dramatically affecting how marketing
operates at local, regional, national, and international
accounting firms. The four key trends identified in the
survey were the movement from tactical to strategic
marketing, the increasing importance of sales, the
growing impact of technology, and the different
applications of skill sets.
Methodology
of survey
The AAM surveyed both accounting firm
marketing directors and managing partners nationwide to
identify the key roles and responsibilities of sales and
marketing professionals, the competencies and skills
required, and the significant issues affecting the
industry and the accounting marketing profession. The
survey asked respondents to consider all issues, looking
at their firms today and three years in the future, and
to rate them on a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being of the
highest importance.
Each trend identified in the survey has
significant implications for partners as well as
marketing and sales professionals. The trends also speak
very clearly to the continued development and
success—and possibly even survival—of
accounting and consulting firms.
Movement
from tactical to strategic marketing
“As in many professional service
organizations, accounting marketers typically begin by
performing tactical marketing activities,” explains
Lisa Daniels, AAM executive director. “As the people
and the function gain credibility and become better
understood by the firm, the roles and responsibilities
tend to become more strategic in nature.”
Strategic responsibilities.
As an example, of the top five roles and responsibilities
identified by marketing directors in their current
positions, only one, change agent, is a strategic
responsibility. In contrast, of the top five roles
marketing directors anticipated being of importance three
years from now, three are strategic: change agent,
strategic planner, and practice development coach.
Strategic activities.
The differences between marketing directors’
responses about today and three years from now also
indicate a movement to more strategic activities. The two
areas of greatest change in the survey were serving as a
strategic planner, or “providing vision and
assisting with firm strategic plan formulation and
implementation,” and client account manager, which
includes “ensuring that relationships with the
firm’s top clients run smoothly and proposing
expanded services to those clients.”
The managing partners who completed the
survey identified tactical activities as most important
in the current environment; they listed project manager,
change agent, and author/editor as among the top three
most important roles today. Of these three, only change
agent is a strategic activity. But, two of the three are
strategic activities when managing partners predicted
that three years from now change agent, project manager,
and Web strategist would be three of the most important
roles for marketing professionals.
“I think the divergence between
marketing directors and managing partners over this issue
may point to a critical difference in the expectations
between the two groups,” explains Sally Glick,
director of marketing services for Polaris International,
an association of CPA firms. “Marketers typically
view strategic planning as one of their most important
contributions to their firms. Managing partners, however,
have indicated that on average they prefer to have their
sales and marketing professionals focus on activities,
such as sales training and lead generation, which can
immediately affect firm results.”
Increasing
importance of sales function
A second major trend indicated by the
survey is the growing role and increasing importance of
the sales function within accounting firms. On this
point, managing partners and marketing directors agree.
Sales responsibilities.
With regard to roles and responsibilities, managing
partners and marketing directors alike identified
“sales executive” as one of the top three that
have undergone change. The sales executive was described
in the survey as responsible for “setting up,
conducting, and closing sales calls.” Historically,
the role of the sales executive was to set up the sales
call and then bring in the partners to close the call.
The survey demonstrated the growing
importance of revenue results that marketers and sales
professionals are being asked to deliver in their firms.
For example, managing partners identified the increased
focus on revenue results for a marketing director as one
of the top three significant issues undergoing the
greatest change in importance between today and three
years from now. Related to this issue, managing partners
identified the following as the top three competencies
and skills of marketing directors undergoing the greatest
change—assessing client needs and expectations, lead
generation, and sales strategy.
Sales activities.
The traditional marketing roles are evolving to more
revenue-driven activities such as direct sales, serving
as account manager for key clients, and serving as sales
and marketing coach for individuals and teams within
their firms. There are two key issues for accounting
firms to address in managing this transition or
transformation:
- The decision to hire sales
professionals—at specified levels, with
specific experience, for targeted purposes, and
with designated support and infrastructure,
including compensation packages to attract and
retain top-notch sales professionals.
- Integrating marketing and sales
activities into a cohesive, complementary team.
Growing
impact of technology
The third key trend identified in the
AAM survey is the growing impact of technology on
accounting firms and on the accounting marketing
profession. Both marketing directors and managing
partners identified the impact of information technology
as the top issue the profession will face in the future.
In fact, three of the five most
significant issues and influences predicted by both
groups to be of the most importance three years from now
were the impact of information technology, the impact of
the Internet on existing products and services, and the
impact of the Internet on new products and services.
Progressive accounting and consulting
firms are beginning to look at ways to package and sell
products and services to both individuals and businesses
over the Internet. Firms need to examine and understand
the ways technology impacts how they sell to and serve
clients—from providing cyber process certification
to delivering accounting, tax, and consulting solutions
online. In addition, they need to understand that from
service delivery and client communication standpoints
technology involves significant investments, as well as
continuous learning.
Different
applications of skill sets
A fourth and final trend apparent in
the survey is the similarities—and
differences—between the responses from marketing
directors and managing partners. Both groups see a
movement from tactical to strategic marketing, the
growing importance of sales, and the impact of
technology. Yet while both groups see the same picture,
each group emphasizes different implications and
applications based on their roles and perspectives.
Marketing directors asked to anticipate
the competencies and skills that will undergo the
greatest change in the future selected sales and
marketing coaching, market research, results tracking and
performance measurement, and lead generation. Managing
partners, however, selected assessing client needs and
expectations, sales strategy, customer relationship
management, and consulting capabilities.
“The themes seem to tie together,
with managing partners and marketing directors seeing the
same competencies and skill sets required for the future,
but often with a different point of view on how those
skills can and should be best utilized,” says Jean
Marie Caragher, president of Capstone Marketing, Inc., a
consulting firm specializing in accounting and law firms.
“Marketers tend to want to be involved in strategic
marketing decisions and activities, including image and
brand management, strategic planning, and serving as a
Web strategist and change agent for the firm. Most
managing partners in the survey indicated that while
strategic planning was somewhat important, their interest
was on sales growth and revenue results. However, many
managing partners still put strong emphasis on the more
tactical activities in the future, such as project
management, information manager, and marketing
planner.”
This points out the increasing need for
marketing directors and managing partners to reach a
common understanding regarding roles. Definitions of
marketing and sales are often blurry, and the objectives
of the marketing function—and how they tie in with
the overall firm goals and strategies—are poorly or
loosely defined. These issues can provide a discussion
framework for the key people involved in the marketing
and sales functions within accounting firms, to help them
decide the best course of action for their firms.
—By Russ Molinar,
Assurance & Advisory Business Services, Ernst
& Young, LLP, Cleveland, Ohio. Molinar is the
immediate past president of the Association for
Accounting Marketing (AAM). E-mail: russ.molinar@ey.
com. For more
information on the AAM survey, Creating the Future
Agenda for the Profession, call the Association for
Accounting Marketing at (816) 444–3500.
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