2013-2014 Survey of CPA Firm Best Lead Generation Practices Executive Summary Sponsored by:
Table of Contents Acknowledgements... 3 Introduction... 4 Insights From the Field: Key Research Findings About Lead Generation... 5 What Are Firms Finding To Be Effective For Lead Generation?... 6 How Firm Culture Affects Lead Generation... 13 What About Infrastructure and Technology For Lead Generation?... 16 What Will Firms Do With Their Budgets For Lead Generation?... 21 What Are The Top Challenges To Lead Generation Faced By Firms?... 22 Do Managing Partners and Marketers Agree?... 24 Conclusions... 26 Additional Resources... 27 About Vitberg LLC... 28 Executive Summary 2
Acknowledgements Vitberg LLC would like to acknowledge and thank BizActions PDI Global Thomson Reuters and the Association for Accounting Marketing for their assistance and support for this survey. Their generosity in recruiting respondents was invaluable. We d also like to give a special thanks to Brenda Sleeper and Rebecca Fieler from Thomson Reuters for providing their insights and observations on the survey results. Managing Partner Owner Admin Executive (CFO, COO) Partner Type of Respondent 15% 7% 15% 16% Marketing Executive (CMO, Director) 3% Marketing Staff (Mgr, Coord, Asst) 36% 10% Other Overview of respondents In total, over 150 firms of all sizes responded to this initial survey a number that we feel is an indication of how important lead generation is for accounting firms. Respondents reflected a mixture of different job titles and responsibilities. Type of Firm >$75 million $50 - $75 million Responses by Firm Size 7% 3% 7% Other Tax/Bookkeeping 1.4% 3.4% $25 - $49 million $10 - $25 million 52% 16% Law Consulting (any type) 2.1% 3.4% $5-9 million CPA Firm (licensed) 89.0% <$5 million 15% A/E/C 0.7% 0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0% 80.0% 100.0% Executive Summary 3
Introduction We were curious, so we knew that a survey about the lead generation practices of CPA firms was in order. It seemed that everywhere we looked, marketers and consultants (including us) were talking about the shift of marketing strategies and tactics towards online and inbound marketing. At the heart of this shift all of the discussions seemed to be focused on the growing role of content marketing and lead generation. We wanted to find out if this shift is really happening (spoiler alert: it is, but it s still early), and we wanted to go a little deeper and investigate things like: What tactics firms were using to generate leads and which they considered to be most and least effective The types and popularity of different types of offers firms were using How they were reaching eyeballs to promote their offers, and what they found to be most and least effective Then, we took a look at the differences in results between firms that considered themselves to be aggressive and progressive marketers versus those that are, shall we say, more conservative. There s a few wake up calls in the data that more conservative firms need to think about if they re looking for more leads and more return on their investment in marketing. And because we like to stir the pot from time to time, we looked at lead generation from managing partner versus marketing director perspectives. There are a lot of areas of agreement, but we saw a few major disconnects. Really, really big disconnects that deserve attention and discussion. What did we find? 1:1 marketing referrals and networking is still the main way that CPA firms get leads, but online lead generation strategies and tactics are getting more and more attention and budget. The type of infrastructure and marketing technology firms were using in their lead generation activities What firm budget plans are for 2014 in regard to lead generation Moving on to the Executive Summary But our curiosity didn t stop there so we took a few deeper dives. First, we looked at our results through the filter of firm sizes. This Executive Summary reports overall findings, but if you re curious about how results benchmark to your size firms, click here. Executive Summary 4
INSIGHTS FROM THE FIELD: KEY RESEARCH FINDINGS ABOUT LEAD GENERATION Research shows that 35-50% of sales go to the vendor that responds first. (Source: InsideSales.com) More than a quarter of all B2B sales cycles take seven months or more to close. (Source: Harvard University and Gallup) 90% of business buyers say when they re ready to buy, they ll find you. (Source: DemandGen Report) 50% of marketing leads are qualified but not yet ready to buy. (Source: Gleanster Research) 79% of marketing leads never convert into sales. Lack of lead nurturing is the common cause of this poor performance. (Source: MarketingSherpa) 61% of B2B marketers send all leads directly to Sales; however, only 27% of those leads will be qualified. (Source: MarketingSherpa) Just 56% of B2B organizations verify valid business leads before they are passed to Sales. (Source: MarketingSherpa) Nurtured leads produce, on average, a 20% increase in sales opportunities versus non-nurtured leads. (Source: DemandGen Report) Just 16% of B2B marketers are producing mobile-specific content as part of their content marketing efforts. (Source: Smart Insights) 64% of marketers indicate that email is their most important digital marketing tool. (Source: BtoB Magazine) Companies that excel at lead nurturing generate 50% more sales ready leads at 33% lower cost. (Source: Forrester Research) Companies with mature lead generation and management practices have a 9.3% higher sales quota achievement rate. (Source: CSO Insights) More than two thirds (68%) of companies report struggling with lead generation. (Source: Lattice Engines/CSO Insights) Only 27% of B2B leads are sales-ready when first generated. (Source: MarketingSherpa) Only 25% of leads are legitimate and should advance to sales. (Source: Gleanster Research) 57% of B2B organizations identify 'converting qualified leads into paying customers' as a top funnel priority. (Source: MarketingSherpa) Only 19% of CMOs identify improving database hygiene as a top strategic priority for lead generation activity. (Source: MarketingSherpa) 17% of marketers spend 15+ hours a week on lead generation. (Source: Marketing Charts) 57% of B2B marketers say SEO has the biggest impact on their lead generation goals. (Source: Mindjumpers) 49% of B2B marketers confess to not measuring ROI. (Source: The B2B Barometer) 93% of business buyers use search to begin the buying process. (Source: Marketo) Executive Summary 5
What Are Firms Finding To Be Effective For Lead Generation? Types of offers. Tactics. Promotions. It should come as no surprise that 1:1 marketing (referrals and networking) is and will be the cornerstone of lead generation for accounting and other professional services firms. However, 1:1 marketing needs to be complemented by online and other strategies and tactics in order to have a well-rounded, integrated lead generation program. With the way that your clients and prospects are using the web and their mobile devices to get information and find solutions to problems, you don t want to be one-dimensional or depend upon that next round of golf to get your next piece of new business. Some troubling news: your competitors are on the move and on the attack. You ll see results in this section that show that there s a pretty wide variety of lead generation tools and techniques that are at play and working hard to separate you from your clients. Once you get past leads generated through referrals, pared down to its bare essentials, lead generation consists of three elements: why someone should engage with your firm (offer), how to get leads (tactics), and what to do to reach eyeballs and showcase the offer (promotion). Example of Offer Example of Tactic Example of Promotion Executive Summary 6
What kinds of offers do firms consider to be effective? Offers are the lifeblood of online lead generation. In an accounting firm environment, they re generally used to package thought leadership and in order to get a lead, are tucked behind a form requiring contact information prior to redemption. Content based offers seminars, articles, etc. are thought to be the most effective types of offers, especially among larger firms (>$25 million). Resource-intensive offers like ebooks, webinars and video are among the least used types of lead generation offers. The more Aggressive/Progressive firms tend to favor content (seminars and articles) and free consultations as the most effective offers. How effective are the types of offers used in your marketing tactics at generating leads? Very effective Effective Somewhat effective Ineffective Don't use Articles 8% 19% 30% 10% 33% ebook 1% 3% 6% 2% 88% Fee discounts 2% 6% 15% 10% 67% Free consultation/assessment/analysis 4% 23% 33% 10% 30% Newsletter subscription 1% 11% 41% 19% 28% Promotional item 1% 4% 29% 23% 43% Seminars 9% 21% 34% 5% 32% Video 2% 6% 11% 8% 74% Webinars 6% 8% 14% 3% 69% Whitepapers 3% 10% 22% 5% 59% Other 0% 1% 2% 0% 97% Executive Summary 7
What kinds of lead generation tactics do firms consider to be effective? There s a wide variety of tactics firms are using to reach prospects with their offers that have varying degrees of effectiveness. Firms that are concerned about how and where to allocate budget for lead generation might capitalize upon the results found by the survey. It s no surprise that networking and referrals are considered to be the very top tactic for lead generation, but as you can see, it s not the only tool in the kit. Beyond this tactic, firms say that doing meet and greets, and participating in trade associations are the most effective ways to generate leads. This is a pretty strong indicator that allocating budget, time and resources to these ends should be an important key to getting a favorable return on investment from the marketing spend. It s important to note that the most aggressive and progressive firms rank content marketing among the very top tactics (are you starting to see a pattern here?). On the other end of the scale, participating in civic organizations, sponsorships, and surprisingly, company websites, were considered to be the least effective tactics for lead generation. Also, traditional marketing tactics like paid advertising, telemarketing, direct mail, and trade shows did not fare well on the list of lead generation tactics. How effective are the types of offers used in your marketing tactics at generating leads? Very effective Effective Somewhat effective Ineffective Don't use Blogs 3% 7% 21% 10% 59% Cold calling (in-house) 1% 3% 22% 17% 58% Company website 11% 24% 49% 14% 3% Content marketing 11% 29% 33% 6% 21% Dedicated business developers 12% 19% 11% 1% 56% Direct mail 0% 13% 34% 17% 36% Electronic newsletter 5% 24% 43% 13% 15% Email 6% 23% 51% 8% 13% Meet/Greet 15% 37% 33% 4% 12% Mobile marketing 1% 3% 11% 6% 78% Networking/Referrals 50% 35% 13% 1% 2% Online video 3% 6% 16% 6% 70% Paid advertising (print/radio/tv/etc) 0% 6% 28% 20% 45% Participation in civic organizations 10% 25% 44% 16% 6% Participation in industry orgs 18% 35% 25% 6% 15% Pay per click ads 3% 5% 9% 9% 74% Public relations 6% 21% 29% 13% 32% Search marketing (SEO) 7% 16% 29% 4% 44% Seminars 15% 24% 33% 4% 24% Social media 4% 13% 37% 17% 28% Speaking engagements 17% 26% 35% 4% 19% Sponsorships 4% 13% 34% 27% 22% Telemarketing (outsourced) 1% 5% 9% 11% 75% Tradeshows 4% 8% 24% 11% 53% Webinars 8% 10% 13% 1% 68% Executive Summary 8
Why are the survey findings about websites so surprising? Because in many other types of B2B firms, websites are becoming the hub of company marketing efforts. Instead of just being online brochures, they re being designed for the primary purpose of lead acquisition. The lesson: Get your visitor to ask for an offer so you don t let eyeballs bounce off your website. What do Aggressive/Progressive firms find effective for lead generation? Top 3 tactics: Networking/referrals Participating in trade organizations Content marketing? Top 3 types of offers: Attend this seminar Get this article Free consultation Top 3 ways they promote offers: On the website enewsletter LinkedIn Executive Summary 9
How are firms promoting offers and driving lead acquisition? Unless you get an eyeball on an offer, all the time, energy, intellectual and other capital you re firm invest in lead generation will be for naught. In today s world of inbound marketing, firms will typically use a call to action button to drive an eyeball to a landing page on the website where they get converted to a lead once they submit contact information on a form. When it comes to promoting offers, social media does not fare very well. While the survey did not investigate why social media is considered to be ineffective for lead generation, one suspect may be that the typical prospect for a firm isn t quite as engaged with social media as firm marketers wish they might be. Does this mean that firms should stop their social media efforts? NO! It means that when considering budget and allocation of resources, there may be other, more effective tactics which deserve priority funding. Or, it could mean that budget time and resources need to be shifted from old and creaky tactics that just don t work very well any more. Things like paid advertising, direct mail, and telemarketing that once played a front and center role in firm marketing are now considered by firms to be among the least effective ways to get an eyeball on an offer. How effective are the following tactics your firm uses to promote offers? Very effective Effective Somewhat effective Ineffective Don't use Banner ads 1% 2% 11% 16% 70% Direct mail 1% 8% 34% 15% 41% Email 3% 22% 44% 4% 26% enewsletter 5% 23% 35% 9% 28% Facebook 1% 5% 21% 26% 48% Google Adwords 3% 4% 15% 9% 68% LinkedIn 3% 18% 34% 17% 28% On the website 6% 23% 34% 8% 29% Paid advertising 1% 6% 21% 13% 59% Social media ads 0% 2% 13% 5% 80% Telemarketing 1% 6% 13% 8% 72% Twitter 1% 5% 20% 22% 52% Executive Summary 10
So, what s working? Overall, the most effective ways to promote offers are considered to be enewsletters, email and on the firm website. For those of you who are benchmarking, the most progressive and aggressive firms say that using the firm website as a tactic for lead generation, enewsletters and LinkedIn are the most effective for promoting offers. Example of a call-to-action button Once the offer reaches a target via these tactics, they re exposed to a call-to-action button that links to a landing page with a form. Once the formed is filled out and submitted voila...the magic of lead acquisition happens! Example of a landing page with a form Executive Summary 11
SURVEY RESULTS THAT MADE US GO HMMM 63% of firms say that their website is one of the least effective tactics for lead generation. No wonder: 60% don t have the tools or technology to convert a website visitor into a lead. Managing Partners don t believe that whitepapers and webinars are effective offers for generating leads marketers disagree. hmmm Medium and smaller firms don t consider content marketing to be an effective lead generation tactic but larger and more progressive firms cite this as one of the most effective tactics. About 60% of firms say that email is either somewhat effective or ineffective as a lead generation tactic. Executive Summary 12
How Firm Culture Affects Lead Generation When we took a deeper look at firms that self-identified as Progressive/Aggressive, we found some very interesting insights. Progressive/Aggressive firms say that: Their top three lead generation tactics are networking/referrals (92%), participating in industry organizations (77%), and content marketing (72%). The most effective types of offers are seminars (51%), articles (44%) and free consultations (36%). The most effective ways to promote offers are on the website (54%), using enewsletters (46%) and LinkedIn (46%) CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO OPEN THE FULL INFOGRAPHIC Executive Summary 13
Progressive/Aggressive firms are more likely to: Use landing pages on their websites for lead acquisition (76% vs. 15%) Use marketing automation software (32% vs. 1%) Have a CRM for lead management (69% vs 9%) Increase their budget for lead generation in 2014 by more than 25% (52% vs 18%) Allocate more of their total budget to lead generation (54% vs. 25%) CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO OPEN THE FULL INFOGRAPHIC Measure the success of their lead generation activities (68% vs. 13%) Executive Summary 14
Progressive/Aggressive firms say that when it comes to lead generation challenges: Generating a high volume of leads (66%), generating quality leads (71%) and having enough time/resources for lead generation activities (61%) are their three biggest challenges are their three biggest challenges Partner resistance is one of the least of the firm s lead generation challenges (16%) Other areas where they are not challenged include promoting offers (32%); capturing leads (32%); and lack of sales follow up (32%) CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO OPEN THE FULL INFOGRAPHIC Executive Summary 15
What About Infrastructure and Technology For Lead Generation? The days of being casual about lead acquisition and nurturing, or measuring the results of lead generation activities for their ROI appear to coming to an end. But there s still a long way to go before CPA firms have a complete compliment of lead generation campaigns tools and technologies, and dedicated strategies and tactics for lead generation campaigns. Over 90% of the largest firms and 3 out of 4 Aggressive/Progressive firms say that they use landing pages and forms on their website. Marketing tools and technologies Powerful new types of marketing technologies and products are available, but survey data suggests that overall, most firms just aren t making the investment yet somewhat of a surprise considering that the survey indicates that partner resistance and budget do not appear to be stumbling blocks on the path to an effective lead generation program. With the exception of the largest firms, it may very well be that what s missing from the equation both for marketers and Managing Partners in even the most Progressive/Aggressive firms is education. It s important to know where technology can be used in lead generation activities, what products and services different vendors offer, how to weave the technology into overall firm marketing and growth objectives, and the benefits and costs of the technology. This last point is particularly important as the survey indicates that time and resources are among the biggest challenges to lead generation, and learning how to install and use these new technologies requires both. In abundant amounts. For example, one of the most fundamental pieces of infrastructure for lead generation is having landing pages with forms on the website for purposes of lead acquisition. Yet, about 60% of all respondents say that they aren t using landing pages. However, that picture changes when it comes to the largest of firms and those self-identifying as Aggressive/Progressive. Optimized & Content-Rich Websites Do you use landing pages and forms on your website for lead acquisition? 3% 28% 43% 26% Yes No Maybe in the future Never Executive Summary 16
Are firms automating marketing processes? Before we take a peek into the survey results, let s first talk about what marketing automation is all about and where it can be used. One of the most common ways that marketing technology is used is software for drip marketing campaigns, where after the first touch by a prospect, they are automatically sent a series of additional emails at periodic intervals, leading to a request for a sales meeting. These additional touches are set up even prior to the first touch, and the software application is configured to automatically send the next scheduled email, making the process almost hands free. This is not as easy as it may appear to be! But there are other marketing processes that can be automated with the right tools and technologies. For example, some marketing automation products will automatically push notifications of new blog posts to social media, along with links back to the blog. Others have the capability to do automated workflows where emails are sent to prospects based upon segmentation logic that allows for narrowly targeting the right message to the right prospect at the right time. And just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water, the introduction of smart websites is now on the radar screen, where based upon a prospect s previous visits to your website, technology delivers new content with each new visit. That s Marketing 501 level coursework. So, are firms automating marketing processes today? In a nutshell, no only 13% report that they use marketing automation. With only about 1 out of 10 firms reporting that they re using marketing automation, there appears to be an opportunity at hand for firms to seize a competitive advantage in the way that they interact with prospects, in a manner that assures that leads are not dropped after just one touch. That s good news because about 80% of all leads are dropped after the first touch. Firms cite costs, partner resistance and lack of understanding of what marketing automation is as barriers to adoption. Bringing this point home even more strongly is the fact that less than a third of Aggressive/Progressive firms are using marketing automation, and only about half of the largest firms are automating marketing processes. Does your firm use marketing automation software for lead capture and nurturing? 2% Why aren t firms using marketing automation? Top 3 Reasons: 26% Costs Partner resistance Lack of understanding 13% 59% Yes No Maybe in the future Never Executive Summary 17
Are firms using CRM software to manage leads? CRM software has been a topic of discussion at CPA firms for years. The survey shows that overall; less a third of all firms have a CRM system in place to manage leads. Does your firm use CRM software for lead management? 3% 9 out of ten firms over $75 million use a CRM system, but this number drops by more than half for firms between $10 and $75 million. When it comes to even smaller firms, that number drops by over half again. However, about 20% of firms report that they are considering a CRM system for implementation in the future. 19% 46% 32% Firms that identify as being Aggressive/Progressive employ CRM systems at a rate four times greater than the least aggressive or progressive firms. Firms cite three key reasons for implementing a CRM system: the ability to track relationships and interaction over time, the ability to manage the entire sales pipeline, and the ability to track marketing campaigns. Yes No Maybe in the future Never What are firms buying? Top 3 Marketing Automation Software Products: HubSpot Eloqua Act-on? Top 3 CRM Products: SalesForce Microsoft Dynamics Goldmine Executive Summary 18
Are firms tracking and measuring results of the lead generation activities? In many other industries, marketing analytics is one of the hottest topics and the deployment of technology to gather marketing data for analyzing ROI is a standard practice. Metrics like website performance, sources of leads, various types of conversion rates, costs of new client acquisition, and more are now available with many marketing technology products. That s a good thing because it forces firms to start thinking about specific and relevant goals for the marketing program that can be measured with pinpoint accuracy. Do you keep track of where leads come from? 1% 5% 12% 82% Survey results indicate that over 80% of firms are tracking where leads are coming from. Regardless of whether this is being done on a spreadsheet or via more sophisticated technology, that s a good thing because it provides insight as to what s working and consequently, where firms should be spending their marketing budget. On the other hand, less than 40% of firms are measuring the success of their lead generation campaigns. However, more than 90% of the largest firms are measuring success, and Progressive/Aggressive firms are three times more likely to measure success than the least aggressive or progressive firms. For an industry built around numbers, it seems odd that measuring marketing results isn t a more widely used practice. Yes No Maybe in the future Never Do you measure the success of your lead generation activities? 30% 3% 3% 26% 38% Yes No Maybe in the future Never N/A Executive Summary 19
SURVEY RESULTS THAT MADE US GO HMMM Over 80% of firms are keeping track of where leads are coming from, but less than half of that number are measuring the success of their lead generation activities. Overall, less a third of all firms use CRM software for lead management, however, 9 out of 10 larger firms say they have CRM software. 60% of firms are not capturing leads on their website, except for the largest firms. 9 out of 10 larger firms do use landing pages on their site for lead acquisition. Less than 40% of firms say that they are measuring the success of their lead generation campaigns. Only 1 out every 10 firms or so uses marketing automation software for lead capture and nurturing. hmmm Executive Summary 20
What Will Firms Do With Their Budgets For Lead Generation? You can t make more leads without more budget, but it appears that firms just aren t getting this message yet. Nearly two thirds of firms say that getting budget for lead generation is not particularly challenging. But yet, only 34% say that they re increasing their budget for lead generation, 40% say their budget is going to remain the same, and the remainder either don t know or will actually be decreasing budget. The biggest increase in budget (64%) will come from firms with billings between $25 and $50 million. As might be expected, firms that identify themselves as Aggressive/Progressive say they will be increasing their budget for lead generation by a factor of about 2 to 1 over the least progressive or aggressive firms (55% vs. 25%). In 2014, will your budget for lead generation: 23% 40% 34% Increase Decrease Remain the same Don't know What percent of your total marketing budget is used specifically for lead generation? 3% When it comes to percentage of the total marketing budget devoted to lead generation, nearly 3 out of 10 firms report that they have no budget for lead generation, mostly in the smaller firm size category (less than $10 million in billings). 29% 17% 13% For those firms with budget, the average percent of the marketing budget that will be devoted to lead generation is 18%. However, 60% of firms with billings between $50 and $75 million report that that at a minimum, they ll be devoting 25% or more of their budget to lead generation. 22% 19% A little over half of Aggressive/Progressive firms say they will be devoting at least 25% or more of their budget to lead generation. >50% 25-49% 10-24% <10% No budget for lead generation Executive Summary 21
What Are The Top Challenges To Lead Generation Faced By Firms? If it was easy, everyone would be doing it, right? There are certainly a lot of challenges to doing lead generation, and doing it effectively. With time and resources cited by firms as being one of the top 3 challenges, it s no wonder why generating high quality leads and generating a high volume of leads is the number 1 and 2 most challenging aspects to lead generation you can t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs, so to speak. From the perspective of what s least challenging, it appears that getting buy in from firm management and partner resistance isn t much of a problem. That s good news for marketers as lower resistance and higher buy in are stepping stones to getting the resources and budget necessary for a truly effective lead generation program. Very challenging Challenging Somewhat challenging Not challenging Generating leads in general 19% 39% 32% 10% Generating a high volume of leads 35% 36% 19% 10% Generating high quality leads 43% 35% 17% 4% Coming up with ideas for offers 18% 34% 30% 17% Converting leads to clients 21% 34% 30% 15% Inability to measure results 20% 27% 34% 19% Capturing leads 12% 34% 32% 21% Lead nurturing 13% 34% 39% 14% Staff knowledge and training 16% 32% 33% 19% Sales follow up 16% 34% 34% 16% Buy-in from management 15% 19% 23% 42% Promoting offers 12% 25% 34% 28% Budget 11% 27% 37% 26% Partner resistance 14% 16% 29% 41% Time or resources 25% 42% 28% 6% Executive Summary 22
SURVEY RESULTS THAT MADE US GO HMMM While firms believe that partner resistance and buy in from management is among the least challenging aspects of lead generation, 67% say that getting enough time or resources is among the biggest challenges. hmmm Over half the firms report that measuring results is not particularly challenging, but yet only 40% say that they re actually measuring results. Executive Summary 23
Do Managing Partners and Marketers Agree? Are Managing Partners and Marketers on the same page when it comes to lead generation? We took a look at the areas where they agree on what s most effective but have the greatest disagreements on how effective a strategy or tactic might be. Managing Partners and Marketers agree on: The most effective lead generation tactics: Networking and referrals The most effective type of offers: Free consultations Articles Seminars The most effective way to promote offers: enewsletters On the website Email The greatest lead generation challenges: Getting high quality leads Time and resources Executive Summary 24
Managing Partners and Marketers differ on: Managing Partner The most effective lead generation tactics: Marketing Director 33% Participating in industry organizations 75% 23% Content marketing 58% 14% Dedicated business developer 48% 9% Search marketing 41% Managing Partner The most effective type of offers: Marketing Director 14% Seminars 45% 14% Articles 41% 0% Whitepapers 27% Managing Partner The most effective way to promote offers: Marketing Director 23% On the website 43% 18% Email 35% 23% enewsletters 33% Managing Partner The greatest lead generation challenges: Marketing Director 50% Budget 35% Chart indicates % of respondents answering Very Effective or Effective Executive Summary 25
Conclusions It should come as no surprise that 1:1 marketing (referrals and networking) is and will be the cornerstone of lead generation for accounting and other professional services firms. However, 1:1 marketing needs to be complemented by online and other strategies and tactics in order to have a well-rounded, integrated lead generation program. Firms are moving toward a more integrated lead generation strategy. They have ideas on what s working and what isn t. They re considering and using a wide variety of offers, from content to free consultations. They re getting leads using tactics ranging from enewsletters to dedicated business developers. And they re promoting offers using means ranging from their website to email. It should also come as no surprise that the larger and more Aggressive/Progressive firms are leading the charge to move lead generation beyond 1:1 marketing. They re using thought leadership to construct offers, they re restructuring their websites for lead acquisition, and they re spending more budget and a bigger part of their budget on lead generation. But regardless of firm size or marketing culture, there s still a long way to go before CPA firms have a complete compliment of lead generation campaigns, tools, and technologies, and dedicated lead generation strategies and tactics. Too many firms aren t using their website to capture leads, and the state of the art of using marketing technology to automate the lead nurturing process is in its infancy. This puts the industry behind the curve when it comes to trends in digital marketing. Disagreements between Managing Partners and Marketers on key elements of lead generation program effectiveness are troubling. Perhaps that s an indication that more education on lead generation and more discussion at the management levels of the firm is warranted. For example, when constructing the annual firm strategic plan, pinpointing how, where and when lead generation is going to be used to reach overall and niche market growth goals should be an important part of the discussion. These differences are also an indication of the criticality of having technology to measure and assess the effectiveness of the lead generation strategies and tactics used by the firm, starting with identifying key marketing performance indices. For an industry built around numbers, it seems odd that measuring marketing results isn t a more widely used practice. Although online lead generation in accounting firms has a way to go, we still recommend a crawl walk run strategy, starting with becoming more educated on inbound marketing, content marketing, and marketing technologies. You might also take a regular peek at your competitor s website and see if they are using call to action buttons and landing pages to promote seminars, whitepapers, webinars, and so forth. If they are, it s probably time to stop crawling and start walking and running. Executive Summary 26
Additional Resources Find more insights, observations and guidance in these resources from Vitberg LLC : Vitberg LLC Whitepapers: Subscribe to the Professional Services Marketing Digest: (click on each image to request a copy) Executive Summary 27
About Vitberg LLC Vitberg LLC was founded upon the belief that professional services firms don t get enough ROI from their investment in marketing and business development. We re focused on business development and top line growth for our clients. Our services are a combination of strategy and creative executions: Develop marketing plans, strategies and tactics Websites built on strategy, designed for lead generation, created for impact SEO strategies and tactics for helping firms get found first Tune marketing budgets for more ROI Convert website visitors to leads Content marketing white papers, articles, case studies and more Make social media a new business tool Bring firms into the new world of marketing analytics Design lead nurturing strategies Fill sales pipelines with dynamic and measureable lead generation campaigns Put blogs and blogging strategies into place Visit our website or call us at (585) 425-2552 to discuss your inbound marketing, internet marketing or content marketing needs. Executive Summary 28