Marketing Budgets: What to Save, What to Ax

When revenues are down, businesses usually slash marketing budgets first, right? Marketers fight for those budgets, knowing they need firepower to keep the almighty market share slice intact. Has this been a challenge at your public accounting firm or company?

If you’re an accounting firm marketer, I know I’m preaching to the choir, so to speak. For a bit of marketing ammunition, note what happened with PepsiCo and Coca-Cola a few years ago:

*Advertising spending as a share of revenue was considerably higher at Coca-Cola.
*During 2008-2010, PepsiCo lost market share to Coca-Cola in the U.S.
*During the five year period surrounding this timeframe, PepsiCo’s stock rose 2 percent while Coca-Cola’s stock increased 50 percent.

Accounting firm marketers, the next time your firm’s partners want to cut your budget, include these facts in your case of plenty. It can’t hurt.

However, if cuts are to be made, I urge you to go down fighting to save initiatives and investments related to content marketing. Cut the golf outing sponsorships; scale back on the business journal ads; take an ax to the billboard above Leo’s Car Wash & Lube … and salvage all that surrounds the world of content marketing. Nothing will position your firm as being that squad of trusted advisors, thought leaders and subject matter experts as well as many of the smart choices that you see below – and they cost a heck of a lot less than that billboard that you now need to go chop down.

Here are seven ways that accountants can participate in content marketing and thought-leadership efforts. For more information, read this article.

1. Firm seminars
2. Blogging
3. Webinars
4. Involvement in online media sites
5. Executive roundtables (in-person and online)
6. Social media
7. Create content for infographics