Most accountancy firms grow by getting referrals from existing clients, third party introducers, friends or family. Consequently, many firms feel that they don’t have to do other marketing activities because word of mouth is enough.
But they are wrong.
Today’s successful firms take a proactive stance in asking for and giving referrals. However, they also know they need supplementary marketing activities to help reinforce the decisions made by referred clients.
In short, word of mouth is not enough.
How do you react to a referral?
On a personal level, even when someone has been referred to us by a friend or business associate, we will usually do our own research before making contact. We want to see if the recommended business is as good as we’ve been told, or to confirm whether they meet our needs professionally, ethically and financially. Prospective clients who have been referred to your practice will also do the same.
Converting your referrals to clients
Activities which prospective clients may use to ‘check you out’ before contacting you and ultimately becoming a client include:
- Viewing your website (or social media) – does it give them enough information about you as individuals, what the practice does and how it has helped others? Does the website look dated, or too commercialised and not people friendly or approachable?
- Reading articles in local media, trade press (or website/social media) – do they help to demonstrate your expertise?
- Reading case studies (whether on your website, social media or printed inserts) – do they show how you have helped similar businesses or people?
- Brochures – do you have a printed or electronic document which they could flick through to get a feel for what the practice is like?
You must undertake some, if not all, of these activities to help prospective clients confirm that they’re making the right choice to start using you.
Reaching further than referrals
What’s more, such activities will also be useful in attracting prospective clients who may not have been referred to you. They will also emphasise to existing clients why they should continue to keep using you.
Increasing sales through referrals is another of our blogs that gives tips on how to get referrals.
You should not rely solely on referrals and word of mouth to bring in new work. You should have a marketing activity plan in place so that if your referral sources suddenly dry up, you’re not having to start your marketing from scratch.
If you’d like to have a chat about how your firm could convert more of its referrals, email me at vicki@momentumforprofessionals.co.uk or call 01822 833300 and we can arrange a time to discuss your firm’s strategy.
