Everyone running a business needs a bookkeeper. If you happen to be a bookkeeper, you’re probably very skilled at what you do. However, most bookkeepers aren’t out there being loud and proclaiming their talents. They are probably too busy working in a quiet room and completing complicated bookkeeping tasks for their existing clients. For this reason, landing clients might not always be a walk in the park as the competition can be stiff when you’re up against other local bookkeepers.
If you want to show your ideal clients that you can meet their needs and successfully grow your bookkeeping business, then you must set some time aside for marketing. In the article below, we share some essential marketing tips when it comes to landing bookkeeping clients.
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Use Social Media Marketing
Social media have proven to be one of the most effective marketing strategies when it comes to creating brand awareness and building your client base. However, to some bookkeepers, it can feel overwhelming and distracting.
To boost your social media marketing efforts, choose and develop your professional presence on one or two platforms.
You can start by using LinkedIn as one of the best social media sites for professionals. Create a profile with a high-resolution headshot and a summary of your educational background, skills, credentials, and career experiences. Reach out to and connect with all of your current clients. Ask for endorsements and referrals as the best-converting leads will always be client referrals.
Keep an eye on your LinkedIn feed and notice when someone celebrates a milestone. Always congratulate them and make sure to use these interactions to strengthen your relationships before asking them about their bookkeeping needs. They might also have acquaintances who need bookkeeping services.
Instagram is another powerful tool for finding new bookkeeping clients. Just like your LinkedIn feed, your Instagram account is an ideal place to post links to your blogs, share engaging posts and content, industry news, or advertise your bookkeeping webinars.
However, when it comes to Instagram, you must work on increasing your follower base and achieving organic growth. Organic growth can be achieved if you regularly create quality content and engage with your followers. There are also growth services that can help you gain followers. But before you decide to buy Instagram followers, make sure the services you hire focus on organic growth.
Share Testimonials
Another excellent way of marketing a bookkeeping business is to ask existing clients to write testimonials on your behalf. You can create a testimonials page on your website to share these comments and even share them on your social media accounts.
One of the best ways to manage online listings and reviews is to claim your business online. Claim your Google My Business profile, create a Facebook business page and claim your profiles on other listing sites your ideal clients are actively using. Fill in all the information you can, including a list of different specialized services you offer.
To encourage clients to write positive reviews about your work, you might want to consider creating incentives for them, such as offering a small discount. Another tip is to respond to reviews when they are posted.
Thank your client for the review if it’s positive but if the review is negative, do your best to stay professional. Acknowledge their concerns, offer your apologies without making excuses, and encourage them to continue the conversation offline by providing your phone number. This type of professionalism can help you attract new clients.
Partner up With the Right Businesses
Having the right network is key to getting new bookkeeping clients. And a very valuable and profitable part of your network is businesses that offer complementary services.
For instance, if you’re handling tax accounting, an excellent idea is to partner with a payroll service company. Also, if you’re an expert in handling taxes for freelancers or startups, it might be interesting to partner with free accounting software providers.
If you want to succeed in finding the right partners for you, you must expand your network. Research other local businesses that are active in the financial sphere and talk to clients to learn what other businesses they are working with to complete related tasks. When you get to know these businesses, you can then establish valuable and mutually beneficial partnerships.
Attend Events
Another unique want of finding new bookkeeping leads is to attend local or virtual events. Look at your ideal customer profile to see which events you should go to. For example, if your ideal clients are small businesses, find out what local events are coming up that are aimed at small businesses.
During these events, don’t sell yourself on the spot but strike up interesting conversations, share your expertise without asking for anything in return, and try to create a smaller number of good relationships rather than trying to build a high number of connections.
Final Thoughts
No matter how long you’ve been in the bookkeeping business, you can always discover new ways to gain clients. It’s an ongoing process and as the markets shift, your clients’ needs also change.
Keep the above-mentioned tips in mind and continue to learn new skills and be the trusted advisor your clients need and you’ll always have a constant flow of new ones.