It doesn’t take a genius to understand that word of mouth advertising costs less than paid advertising but we often overlook the fact that, by its very nature, word of mouth advertising is more personal than newspaper or radio advertisements. This point makes word of mouth advertising the most consistently effective marketing technique for a bookkeeping and accounting service.
You can’t beat a personal recommendation from a friend, colleague or business contact and everyone enjoys recommending something or someone as they can be perceived as the expert on that particular subject – consider all the restaurant critics, for instance. Your objective is to make these people aware of your bookkeeping and accounting business.
How Do I Get Word-of-Mouth Referrals?
Listed below are just three suggestions which should result in referrals to your freelancing business at no, or little cost to you. Take a few extra minutes and you’ll probably be able to come up with many more.
Ask for them!
E-mail or write to all your friends, acquaintances and contacts to advise them that you are in the financial services business and that you’re anxious to increase your client base. Use personal letterhead, and add a handwritten note to make it more personal. Whatever you send them must be professional looking and well-written. Later, if feasible, you may want to follow up with a personal contact just to make sure they got the letter. Often times your personal contacts will go out of their way to spread the message about your new business.
Obtain testimonials
A testimonial from a satisfied bookkeeping client will go a long way to convincing a potential client that you are trustworthy and professional and they are easy to obtain if you’re doing quality work. When you receive testimonials from clients, make sure that you file them in a portfolio and include them in your presentations to potential clients and in your newsletter.
Keep In Touch
Send greeting cards to your clients and prospective clients Have you ever met anyone who doesn’t appreciate recognition for their achievements or special events like birthdays and anniversaries? You can be the bearer of good tidings with a card. The first step is to purchase inexpensive blank cards or print some basic “thank you” and “congratulations” cards on your own computer. And, whenever you send a card, include a business card to remind them of your business. When can you use greeting cards? Whenever. But, here are a few ideas to get started.
- To thank anyone who refers business to you
- To thank a prospective client for the opportunity to present a proposal
- To congratulate a client on any achievement
- To recognize a special event in a client’s personal life.
Additional Marketing Skills
Word-of-mouth networking is an essential marketing tool, but there are so many other low-cost ways to find clients. You just need to know how to find the potential clients all around you. Module 4 of the Professional Bookkeeper™ program teaches you the secrets to quickly find great-paying clients.
Learn How the Marketing Method Taught the Professional Bookkeeper™ Program Gets You Clients Fast!
