Accounting Marketing and Growth Insights

by Joe Kovacs, APR

Joe also publishes a weekly newsletter entitled "Marketing Strategies 4 Growth". Click here to visit and subscribe.  

• How Do I Discover My Accounting Firm Brand Voice? 
• How Do I Create Unique Brand Messages for My CPA Firm?
• How Do I Differentiate My Accounting Firm Brand in a Crowded Market?
• How Does Marketing Help Deliver My CPA Firm’s Unique Brand Voice?
• How Does My Accounting Brand Voice Create Trust with Clients?
• Why Accounting Firm Business Success Depends on a Unique Brand Voice?

Developing a unique brand voice for your accounting firm can, on the one hand, seem like a daunting task with so many competitors vying for visibility in the same market segment as you. On the other hand, not every competitor appreciates the importance of thoughtfully creating that voice.

(Kovacs Communications takes this seriously. Developing your unique brand voice is part of the foundation of our client service methodology regardless of how you work with us.) 

In the age of AI, as more businesses lean toward the attractions of efficiency and use generative AI tools to create copy, most of those same businesses can end up sounding the same. Even the outputs of AI tools that let you use your uploaded marketing assets (e.g. website copy, flyers and other content) should be carefully reviewed. 

Because the method by which AI tools create outputs can be similar for varying businesses, the creative thinking that is unique to human beings should also contribute to any message about your firm’s uniqueness.  

This provides an opportunity for firms willing to look past AI-generated content efficiencies and who are willing to invest in discovering their unique brand voice and the unique value proposition they bring to client markets.  

Schedule a complimentary call to discuss how I can help develop a distinct brand voice for your content marketing. 

When beginning the process of developing a brand voice that can attract customers to a CPA firm, a good place to start is by reviewing the following:  

• your mission statement
• your core values
• your customer service promise

Building your brand message around this foundation can help you develop a uniquely distinct voice though it's not the only crucial component. Read on to the next section for more. But once your voice is developed, it should extend to all client-facing communications including your elevator pitch, website, emails, blog and video content, advertising and social channels. That’s why (again, read on) your firm’s marketing will have a direct impact on the extent to which others ultimately are exposed to and have the opportunity to trust your CPA firm’s voice.  

Once you establish that your accounting firm’s unique voice is grounded in your mission and core values, your next task is to consider other aspects of your unique messaging including tone of voice, the importance of storytelling and the process by which your brand delivers solutions to clients.

These three elements, when implemented correctly, will create attraction by delivering a proposition that communicates value to potential clients unlike others.

Schedule a complimentary call to discuss how I can help develop a distinct brand voice for your content marketing. 

As an example, whenever I visit an ATM machine for my bank (yes, I still occasionally operate with cash!), I am greeted by a message on the screen such as: Hi ya, how are you? That’s not what you expect from a large institution. But the grounded, down-to-earth quality of the message can seem especially appealing to consumers. 

Human voices create attraction. In an age where technology continues to infringe on our personal experiences, we are left with a deep philosophical and existential question: What does it mean to be human?

A distinct brand voice that sounds human rather than like some tinny LLM-produced message will create attraction. Capturing the kind of authenticity that separates us from a competitive market has, to a degree, become more challenging than ever before because generative AI has pre-empted so many existing messages from the accounting industry. 

Phoning in a brand voice—with generic words, phrases and value propositions—increases the likelihood that market perceptions of our accounting firm will get pulled into the swamp of sameness that AI entices us with through the misleading benefit of efficiency.

Efficiency isn’t always better.    

Your accounting firm’s marketing is the critical delivery system for your brand. This requires more than just repackaging your brand message into website, email, social and advertising pieces of content. Your marketing team must have a profound understanding of your ideal client and harness trigger words and phrases such as explicit commitments to business transformation and educational vehicles to inspire consumers to act on opportunities that will improve their welfare. This is why writing and public relations talents as well as emotional intelligence have a direct role in the success of a CPA firm’s marketing.  

As your ongoing marketing campaigns continue to drive awareness and attraction, your customers, prospective clients, and other website, email and social audiences who experience your brand voice will inevitably begin to understand not only your unique value but find it familiar and, more importantly, begin to trust it. 

This is the moment when potential customers proactively start to engage your brand—by participating in your webinars, downloading content from your site and querying you about your firm’s services.

It is important to note (and this is the topic for another post!) that your customer service delivery system must uphold the promise of the brand message you put into the market or things will go awry very quickly. 

But for purposes of this post, which is the importance of creating a distinct brand voice for your CPA firm, building that awareness and trust are crucial. 

Accounting clients want and expect their service providers to help solve their problems. But each individual or business approaches the buying decisions (i.e. which firm to retain) with a mix of anticipation and trepidation. They are attracted to the idea of receiving solutions to their problems but they are equally afraid—due to past disappointing experiences—that they will be let down. 

Developing a unique brand voice that showcases client value while distinctly communicating humanness, familiarity and trust will go a long way.

Your CPA firm’s brand voice can be a crucial differentiator on the road to lasting business success. Take the time to identify and communicate your unique value. It’s a worthwhile investment you won’t regret. 

Schedule a complimentary call to discuss how I can help develop a distinct brand voice for your content marketing.  

 Joe Kovacs, APR is owner of Kovacs Communications, a professional services marketing consultancy serving the accounting industry. 

Services include strategic communications, marketing plans and lead generation, content marketing and strategy, website marketing (including some SEO), email marketing, social media marketing and public relations.

Joe publishes a weekly newsletter entitled "Marketing Strategies 4 Growth". Click here to visit and subscribe.

Contact Joe at joe@kovacscommunications.com.