Growing Your Accounting Firm: Tips on Augmenting Your Marketing Team

When it comes to accounting firm marketing, many partners feel overwhelmed. Knowing where to start and what steps to take to grow your business can be difficult. One of the best ways to overcome this challenge is through an outsourcing model known as staff augmentation. In this blog post, we will discuss tips on how to use this strategy to fill the gaps in your marketing team! 

Types of Staff Augmentation 

Staff augmentation has been a marketing solution inside accounting firms for some time but has not reached full adoption. According to our 2022 Growth Outlook Survey, only 38% of firms report using staff augmentation for marketing and sales. However, 60% of all respondents plan to outsource more work to augment their marketing and sales capacity in 2023. When it comes to augmenting your marketing teams, there are three possible approaches. 

• Technology  
• Contractors/Freelancers 
• Outsourcing  

Let’s explore each of these in detail. 

Technology 

Technology plays a role in creating bandwidth for an existing team or person. Marketing is based heavily on technology, and while it should never replace the human element, it can help marketing professionals streamline their efforts. Examples of must-have marketing technology include Grammarly for proofing written content, Jasper.AI for editing written content, social media scheduling software, and marketing automation tools.  

Pros: Technology solutions can help reduce errors, streamline the time it takes to produce marketing products, and provide analytics, tracking, and data insights. 

Cons: Marketing tech stacks can get costly, and they aren’t “set it and forget it.” There is always a learning curve with new technology, and the software requires a human brain to get the most out of it.  

Contractors 

The Gig Economy puts a spotlight on contractors and freelancers. So many talented individuals want to work part-time schedules or prefer to be their own boss. Contracting talent is an excellent option for firms and marketing teams that don’t need full-time employees. At Inovautus, we have used contractors for years. They have become a core part of our team and how we serve clients. More importantly, they have given us access to specialized skills. Contractors or freelancers in accounting firms most often include graphic designers, content developers, event marketing administrators, and data managers. 

Pros: You can quickly fill a need, it’s more cost-effective than outsourcing, and no long-term contracts. 

Cons: To hire effectively, firms need to plan how to communicate what they need and how their contractors should access it. Gig workers still require management and feedback, and there can be challenges with reliability. 

Outsourcing roles  

Outsourcing is becoming an increasingly attractive option for accounting firms of all sizes. It provides a straightforward way to increase capacity, allowing firms to tackle projects of any size confidently. In addition, outsourced teams can provide specialized skills and industry knowledge that may be difficult or even impossible to find in the local market. There are many reasons why companies prefer this approach, and one driving factor is the cost savings over a full-time marketing staff. Furthermore, for firms that don’t have people with experience in marketing, outsourcing allows them to overcome that hurdle easily. 

Pros: You can quickly fill a need; you don’t need to worry about hiring an employee and the additional overhead that comes with it. You will get specialized skills quickly and access to a depth of expertise. You don’t need to worry about staff turnover or training. 

Cons: It is often more costly than hiring a contractor. You don’t always have full-time access like you would with an internal employee, and you must manage project priorities and expectations on response time. 

Tips for determining which staff augmentation method is best for your accounting firm. 

Do you have a specialized task or project you need help with but wonder if staff augmentation is the right option for your accounting firm? It can be challenging to decide which route to take. Here are some tips for determining which staff augmentation method is best for your accounting firm.  

First, evaluate whether the cost fits into the equation of staffing decisions and analyze if additional full-time hires are really needed. Determine if using part-time resources or investments in technology would be more cost-efficient.  

Second, determine what type of skillset your organization may need to be successful. Staff augmentation allows businesses to fill required niches quickly with customized solutions through knowledgeable outside contractors or outsourced marketing firms.  

Finally, review timelines and expectations. Many marketing initiatives fail inside accounting firms because there is a lack of agreement and clarity on the expectations for the outsourced people or company.  

Inovautus Consulting is a Marketing Consulting and Training company. We help accounting firms augment and outsource their marketing teams. Have questions? Contact Sarah Dobek at sdobek@inovautus.com.