Inbound Marketing for Accountants: Why It’s Essential?

In this modern day and age, every business has learned to rely on the exposure brought by the internet. Companies have taken steps to ensure that their online presence is felt through the internet. However, there are still a few business firms that are left behind, especially those in the accounting and financial services industry.

The accounting and financial services industry relied solely on the referral network or word of mouth as a source of business. All these regulations pertaining to disclosure, data protection and privacy laws have taken aback this particular industry sector. Even online communication has been checked and controlled, fearing the risk to its reputation.

However, many believed that if an inbound marketing for accountants can be possible, firms will have a tremendous amount of prospective clients through the normal channels of the internet like website, blogs and social channels. Some may even be “lifetime clients.”

Based on a research by Google and CEB (Corporate Executive Board), consumers find it difficult to be in touch with an accounting firm during a sales process. Oftentimes, customers are already 57% to 70% in the process before reaching out to an accounting assistance entity. Because of this, many businesses in the accounting industry lose a large portion of their potential income from a client.

Importance of Inbound Marketing For Accountants And Financial Advisors

  • The financial sector has a 10 percent Web conversion rate, which is the highest in any industry.

  • A big portion of the marketing sector will agree that the digital form of marketing is more efficient and more economical than the traditional way. Meaning, it costs less to advertise on the internet. With this in mind, the financial sector is slowly transitioning to the digital frontier. Another factor that pushes them forward is the fact that it is becoming more difficult to prove ROI using the traditional ways and means.

  • Based on a survey, more and more investment decisions are being based on online news and information. There are about 28% of investment professionals that had checked an issue that they read on Twitter, while investment decisions based on a Twitter post checks in at 12%.

To further prove that inbound marketing is better, here are some additional facts:

  1. Companies that regularly do 1-2 blog post a month can create up to 70% more lead than those who does not. (Source – Hubspot).

  2. It cost 62% less per lead on inbound marketing than the traditional outbound marketing. (Source – Hubspot).

  3. It is estimated that 80% of businesses prefer reading articles to know a certain company than advertisement. (Source – CMO.com).

  4. Every business is aiming to be on the top when it comes to search results from Google, Yahoo and Bing. Research has shown that 93% of consumers start their purchasing process through online search.

If a prospective client cannot see your accounting business in the search result, there is no chance that your firm will be considered. The digital age has created an abundance of prospective clients, it is up to the accountancy firm on how they can tap their target market through the available means.