UKTW – Marketing Tips Free Download.

 
 

To assist our member firms in making the most of our newsletter products we have written a short booklet that offers a number of “easy to operate” marketing strategies.

Making the most of

NEWSEXTRA/TAXNEWS SERVICES .


TaxNews/NewsXtra

Your objectives:

1. To distribute the emailed newsletter to as many individuals and prospects as is possible. Don't forget that every recipient is a potential referral source for new business.

2. To provide regular, easy to read, topical tax commentary to clients, prospects and referral sources, that will:

  • Generate more fee income from existing clients and keep them informed, and
  • Convert more prospects and distinguish you from their existing advisors.


3. To demonstrate to your contacts that you are interested in keeping in touch, and that you are willing to provide useful tax tips free of charge!

4. NewsXtra subscribers only - to make use of the facility to include your own article(s) in the newsletter. For example:

  • Showcasing clients' businesses.
  • Advising contacts of new services that you can offer.


And so on.

Action Points:

Note : When we send out your newsletter we always provide an option for recipients to remove their name from your list. You must also ensure that you have the permission of the names on your list to receive your newsletter.

Growing Your Distribution List

1. Staff
Encourage your staff to provide email addresses. Offer a bonus based on their participation or offer a monthly prize to the staff member who adds the most names per month to your list.

2. Clients

  • Make sure all your clients are on the list. Most clients now have a business email address, if not; a home address works just as well.
  • If appropriate offer the email update to the key staff of clients.


3. Referral Sources

Although your IFA, bank contacts, and all other referral sources will be inundated with email and printed tax updates from accountants, in our experience they prefer the style and readability of our content. So make sure they are included on your list.

  • When you are networking with referral sources always ask for a business card (inc. email address) and confirm that they are happy to receive your emailed newsletter.
  • When you have sent a referral source at least 3 issues ring them up and ask if they would like to forward the email (which is already branded as from your practice) to their own business contacts. Whilst this will not directly increase your distribution list it will increase your exposure to potential new clients in the local business area.
  • If you use our NewsXtra Service, offer your referral source the opportunity to showcase their business in your newsletter. As a quid pro quo ask if you can add an article to their newsletter offering a FREE subscription to your tax tips news service.

Prospects

Ignore this sector of your business contacts at your peril! The 'steady-state' theory does not apply to accountancy
practices!

Here are a few ways to improve your sign-up process using our news services.

  • Networking - take EVERY opportunity to introduce yourself to new prospects - always ask for a business card and make sure you ask permission to send them a copy of your newsletter.
  • Telesales - If you have a person on staff who is 'good on the phone' set them the task of working through the local yellow pages. A suitable script might be -'Good morning, this is A. Name of XYZ Accountants. We offer a FREE subscription to our tax tips newsletter. Would you like to be added to our distribution list?' If you get a yes, ask for an email address. Job done.
  • Follow up Campaign - make sure that every 6 months you call the prospect and ask:
    • for confirmation that they are receiving the newsletter
    • that they want to stay on your list
    • would they like a 'no obligation' visit from a partner to discuss their tax affairs in more detail? You could package
    • this as a FREE review of their tax affairs.


The ideas quoted above are by no means exhaustive, but provide a basic strategy for growing your distribution lists.

Remember, the more contacts you have on your list, the more business you will develop.