Working out a marketing budget for your accountancy firm can be tricky. If you go by the average guidelines that were in use over a decade ago, you should invest not less than 3% of your last gross income for your future budgetary period.
Times have changed a lot over the past fifteen years, and with the rise of social media, what applied back then can not really be relied on today. Law and accountancy firms have to move with the times, so instead of looking at you past figures to set your next budget, you have to change your viewpoint entirely.
Looking backwards is looking in the wrong direction. It can limit your vision and discourage open-minded thinking. Instead, what you should be asking yourself is, looking forward, what percentage of our projected revenue should we dedicate to our marketing efforts.
Looking forward encourages positivity, and will help you to focus on developing your marketing efforts to meet your goals.
Should we spend the same as our competition?
Even if you could find out how much your competitor across town is spending on their marketing, it doesn’t mean that you should spend the same amount of money too. This sort of thinking can lead you down the path of becoming a copycat, and you may well try to copy their marketing strategy too.
This is simply reacting to their marketing efforts instead of leading the way by creating your own objectives. You should strive to be different from your competition, so tailor your efforts to suit your own goals, not someone elses.
What you should be focussing on is how you can better what your competition is up to. Try to find ways to outclass them, or target a completely different demographic from them with less direct competition.
Like most businesses, law and accountancy firms have their financial peaks and troughs. Asking yourself what you can afford, and then overspending after experiencing a few good months can be potentially damaging to your bottom line. All this means is that after a lean financial period, you will be looking at cutting your marketing budget to the bone, which in itself is quite short-sighted, and self-limiting.
Instead at looking at what your competition is spending, look at how the giants of retail run their marketing campaigns. You never see supermarkets going quiet on the marketing front during their busy periods. When your office is busy and finances are low, don’t let your marketing efforts grind to a halt.
We all know that the run up to Christmas is a very busy time for supermarkets and other large retailers. Just because their stores are full and their staff are all busy, it doesn’t mean they stop advertising – and neither should you!
Too short of time to consistently market your firm? We can help your marketing to success year-round. Call us on 0203 773 9137 or email info@creativeharmony.co.uk Contact us today for an informal, no obligation, chat to see how we can help you.
