When it comes to accounting firms, it can often feel like larger firms automatically have a leg up because they have more money to devote to marketing. While every business devotes a portion of their time and funding to marketing, are there specific strategies that are more beneficial or provide a greater return on investment? According to BKR International, a global public accounting association, no matter your budget, successful marketing tactics are less dependent on the amount of money and more about how those dollars are invested.

What are some marketing tactics that larger firms will be spending less on according to projections by BKR International?

1. Non Educational Events
   Because events can often take a large chunk of a firm’s marketing budget, client appreciation events that do not include a speaker or activity that builds your firm’s credibility and provides content that addresses your client’s issues are significantly less valuable and do not deliver the return on investment firms are seeking.
2. Advertising
   It’s said that the average person receives 12-15 pieces of mail, 15-24 texts and 81 emails per day, which means they are less likely to pause and read your firm’s ads since they have already been inundated with extensive content during their day.
3. Sponsorships
   Once again, sponsorships are all about opportunity cost and ROI. If the sponsorship does not put the firm in front of valuable referrals or elevate their goodwill, there may be better avenues to consider.

So what strategies are forecasted to take a larger percentage of funding and provide more firm-boosting opportunities?

1. Networking in Associations
   While many of your best marketing leads may come digitally or through more targeted personal networking, larger association networking can often allow firms to reach more people. Both international and industry-specific association memberships are seeing higher engagement levels from high-growth accounting firms to increase their global reach and target clientele who they know will benefit from their service offerings.
2. Websites and SEO
   Firms that are seeing higher rates of success focus on their digital presence, ensuring their websites are modern, clean and mobile-friendly, since about 94% of buyers perform research before purchasing a business service. Not only are high-growth firms verifying their sites are up to date, they are utilizing search engine optimization (SEO) tactics to make sure clients and prospects are seeing their site and content.High-growth firms are also taking a close look at their site analytics to determine where traffic is coming from and what pages or content are driving the most interactions and conversions. Monitoring these metrics helps firms determine what strategies provide the best lead generation and ROI and which ones may need to be reconsidered.
3. Content
   Although most accounting firms understand the value of content and are trying to engage clients, many high-growth firms are upping the stakes. Not only are these firms diversifying the type of content they are producing, including videos and blogs, they are making it incredibly easy for viewers to share the content on their own social channels. Incorporating links to other content, making social sharing simple and focusing on content that drives the most searches and interactions are keys to content success.

Although lower-growth firms may always have less to work with in terms of funding and staff, focusing on strategies that provide a significant ROI and are more easily sustainable long-term are going to be the smartest investments no matter what your budget is.