How to Make Your Firm Stand Out

If you were asked to describe your firm to a prospect, what would you say? You would, of course, have glowing and wonderful things to say about your firm and its talented staff. But if you stop and think about it, are you saying anything other CPAs wouldn’t also say about their own firms?

How do you differentiate your firm from others? Lee Frederiksen, managing partner at Hinge Marketing, has some suggestions. Frederiksen names three criteria that must be met for any statement you want to make about your firm:

1. True: Is what you’re claiming a fact and not just wishful thinking?
2. Relevant: Is it valuable or interesting to your target audience?
3. Provable: Can you support your claim with evidence?

If your claim doesn’t pass this test, it’s back to the drawing board. Hinge’s marketing research revealed some trends among low-growth vs. high-growth firms. According to this research, low- or no-growth firms relied heavily on the following claims:

• “Our commitment to results” (fails Provable)
• “Awards we’ve received” (fails Relevant)
• “Our general reputation” (potentially fails all three)

On the contrary, high-growth firms are using these statements:

• “Our marketing/business development approach”
• “Our business model”
• “Our use of technology”

These statements generally pass all three criteria: they are all (hopefully!) true, relevant to your client, and provable. To read more of Hinge’s marketing insights, see Frederiksen’s full article from AccountingWeb.