Ensuring your accountancy practice stands out among the competition is certainly getting more challenging. Continually assessing the impact of your marketing program is crucial to align your efforts with your business goals and maximize return on investment. Here’s how you can audit your strategy effectively to see gaps where you may need to be planning to do better. The interesting part for digital marketers is that continual improvement is always a possibility; with so many platforms, and so many ‘to do’ lists, make sure you are addressing the most important aspects to generate the best leads for your firm.
1. Review Your Digital Presence
- Question to Ask: Is your website showcasing your practice in the best possible way?
- Website Design and Usability:
- Is your site mobile-friendly, professional, and user-friendly?
- Does your homepage clearly communicate your services and unique selling proposition?
- Is the navigation intuitive and guiding visitors to relevant content?
- SEO Health Check:
- Are you ranking for industry-specific keywords (e.g., “tax advisory services for solicitors in Ireland”)?
- Do you have optimized meta descriptions, ALT tags, and header tags (H1, H2)?
- Is your blog content frequently updated and targeting relevant keywords?
- High organic traffic from relevant search terms
- Low bounce rates and high session durations
- Easy-to-use, visually appealing interface across devices
2. Content Effectiveness
- Question to Ask: Does your content resonate with your audience and position your firm as a thought leader? Is it clear who is your ideal client?
- Quality and Relevance:
- Is your content addressing the specific challenges of your target audience (e.g., tax planning for small businesses)?
- Are you providing actionable insights and solutions to common issues faced by your clients?
- Does your content include data-driven insights, expert opinions, and case studies?
- Engagement Metrics:
- Which content pieces are driving the most engagement (shares, comments, and likes)?
- How much time do visitors spend on your high-performing blog posts?
- Is there a clear conversion pathway from content to services?
- High-quality blog posts and guides with strong engagement metrics
- Consistent publishing schedule (e.g., one new article per week)
- Diverse content formats (videos, infographics, whitepapers)
3. Social Media Performance
- Question to Ask: Are your social media channels actively engaging your audience?
- Channel Effectiveness:
- Are you leveraging the right platforms (e.g., LinkedIn, Twitter) to reach your target audience?
- Which channels yield the most engagement (likes, comments, shares)?
- Is your audience growing steadily?
- Consistency and Brand Voice:
- Are you posting regularly with a consistent brand voice?
- Are your posts showcasing expertise and thought leadership (e.g., sharing articles, insights, and industry news)?
- Active engagement on key platforms (comments, likes, shares)
- Consistent and authoritative brand voice
- Steady follower growth and high engagement rates
4. Email Marketing Analysis
- Question to Ask: Is your email marketing delivering value and converting leads?
- Open and Click-Through Rates:
- Are your open rates above the industry average (~18-20%)?
- Are your click-through rates consistently strong (2-3% or higher)?
- Segmentation and Personalization:
- Are you segmenting your audience based on client types (solicitors, small businesses, etc.)?
- Are your emails personalized with relevant content and offers?
- Consistently strong open and click-through rates
- Well-segmented email lists and tailored messaging
- Automated email campaigns that nurture leads effectively
5. Client Conversion Pathway
- Question to Ask: Is there a clear path for clients to convert from leads to customers?
- Conversion Rates:
- What percentage of your leads convert into clients at each funnel stage?
- Are you identifying and addressing drop-off points?
- Call-to-Action (CTA) Placement and Messaging:
- Are CTAs clear, compelling, and strategically placed across your website?
- Is your messaging aligned with the needs of different audience segments?
- High conversion rates from landing pages and CTAs
- Clear and compelling CTAs that guide clients to take action
- Smooth and logical client journey from initial contact to onboarding
6. Competitive Benchmarking
- Question to Ask: How does your marketing compare to your competitors?
- Competitor Strategies:
- What are your competitors doing differently in their marketing strategies?
- Are they offering services or content that you don’t?
- Unique Selling Proposition (USP):
- Is your USP clear and differentiating your practice from competitors? This can be very difficult for accountancy practices because most offer the same services to a wide audience; can you be more specific in who you serve best?
- Are you communicating your USPs effectively across all marketing channels?
- Clearly defined and unique positioning in the market
- Marketing materials that consistently highlight your USPs
- Differentiated and innovative services compared to competitors – this can even be how you are delivering the service; in a sea of sameness, your differentiator may be how you communicate with the client
7. Feedback and Client Interactions
- Question to Ask: Are you actively listening to client feedback and improving?
- Client Feedback:
- Are you regularly collecting feedback through surveys or client interactions?
- How are you using this feedback to improve your services and marketing?
- Online Reviews and Testimonials:
- Are you monitoring and analyzing online reviews to gauge client sentiment?
- Are you leveraging positive reviews and testimonials in your marketing?
- High client satisfaction and loyalty scores
- Positive online reviews and strong testimonials
- Continuous improvement in services based on client feedback