3 Strategic Projects for Marketing Professionals During Tax Season
Benjamin Franklin said, “in this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” The same could be said about tax season. While this time of year usually signals the busiest season for tax professionals, the opposite is true for marketers. Tax season is usually the time of year when requests, and the flow of partners stopping by your office to discuss great marketing ideas, slow down. This time of year might drag for CPAs, but it flies for marketing professionals. With only a short window to strategically align your efforts, the next few months will be pure gold. Here are 3 strategic projects for marketing professionals during tax season.
Digital Maintenance and Research
If your firm has clients, your firm has lists. Wherever they live, be it in practice management or CRM software, now is the time to run the reports and update the information in your email software to ensure better deliverability and increase engagement.
Managing email disengagement is critical to maintaining a positive digital reputation. Monitoring hard and soft bounced email addresses and unsubscribes is an important monthly step. Take the time to thoroughly review your analytics and compare it to your main source of client information. Make necessary updates and additions as new clients come to the firm and correct errors.
Also, use this time to research and test digital marketing ideas. This is a great resource for data-driven suggestions for improving deliverability and increasing engagement. Spend time researching the trends and test various newsletter formats and marketing campaigns to determine the best results.
Don’t Let Your Pipeline Run Dry
We’ve all heard some form of it, “I’m too busy to worry about prospects right now, I can barely take care of the clients I have,” then you see the same person standing around the water cooler chatting for 20 minutes about their weekend. There’s nothing wrong with water cooler chat, but business development can’t be put on hold for a third of the year if the firm expects to meet the growth goals they’ve set.
Marketing needs to be the consistent voice of growth for the firm. Scheduled pipeline meetings need to remain a priority and training related to maintaining business development efforts during tax season should be incorporated. Make recommendations for how to best utilize their efforts during this time. Stress the importance of a community presence, including their continued involvement in board positions and scheduling breakfast and lunch appointments with referral sources. A social media presence is also important. Share relevant articles internally and encourage staff to do the same.
Assisting with prospect and referral source research is crucial to tracking essential pipeline data and keeping the entries top of mind. As many marketers know, tax season is a huge opportunity for new work in all service lines; don’t allow a hibernation period for business development.
Content is Key
If you’re already sending content (newsletters, blogs, updates) it’s important to not let the flow of information stop during tax season. Clients notice. They like hearing from their accountant, even if they’ve already seen three articles on the same topic, they hold the one from their accountant in the highest regard.
Content development can take place in the summer and fall months to ensure articles are stockpiled for scheduling throughout busy season. Another great use of time during tax season is gathering ideas for articles. Attend meetings of all service and industry groups and compile content ideas. There may also be an opportunity to develop content from lines of business that aren’t as busy during this time or sharing of third-party articles that are reliable and credible.
The list of projects we encourage and guide marketing professionals to focus on during this time of year is extensive. Please contact us if you’re interested in learning more about how we help develop and mentor marketing professionals throughout the profession.