Howard’s Inner Circle, No. 40: The Literal Disconnect

I have always been intrigued by marketers and their interactions at accounting firms. Perhaps it is because, in my opinion, the role of marketers hasn’t been fully determined, or better yet, agreed to at many firms. The actual often conflicts with the expected and perceived roles.
Surprisingly, sometimes unwittingly, the marketer actually eliminates their position at the firm by being too successful as management then questions the cost and need of a highly-paid marketing director when its marketing efforts have matured with regard to branding, proposals, pipelines, and collateral materials.
Contrast that to firms where the seasoned marketing director is a vital and integral contributor to new business development and strategic planning. I believe these particular firms are enlightened, in part, because their marketing directors have a keen understanding of management at their firm and how to build a professional relationship deeply imbued with trust and respect.
It is important for relatively new marketers to develop a roadmap for professional success. The Association for Accounting Marketing can help with tools and in finding mentors. One tool, if it is still available from AAM, is a CD of the Managing Partner Panel Discussion from the AAM Executive Leadership Conference (February 2008), which Thalia Zetlin and I co-moderated. It provides an insider’s look at what it takes for a marketer to earn the trust, respect, and a voice in a firm’s strategic direction.
I would also recommend reading I'm Right, You're Wrong, Now What?: Break the Impasse and Get What You Need by Xavier Amador. With the commodization of services and changes in the nature and number of referrals, the importance of relationship building has increased. Although the firm/client relationship is all important, the first relationship that needs to be built properly by a marketer is their relationship with the firm, otherwise an unperceived impasse could doom a marketer’s future there.
© 2011
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Above may be reproduced in full if that fact is stated and Howard Wolosky at http://howardwolosky.blogspot.com is credited as the author. Note: The above also appeared on the Association for Accounting Marketing group LinkedIn site in the discussion and received a number of comments.

Howard’s Inner Circle, No. 5: Holistic vs. Silo Business Development

When I became editor-in-chief at Practical Accountant a decision was made that shaped the editorial coverage of the magazine for the many years that I was there. The decision was to primarily focus on regional accounting firms, not just those in the various large cities, but throughout the country.

The reasoning was they were reacting best to the significantly changing business climate. Yes, the managing partners and partners of these firms provided the leadership, but what was different from years past was that non-CPAs were playing increasingly more important roles at these firms.

That is why readers saw so many marketing directors on the covers of Practical Accountant. Because of the increased competition and the need to attract business beyond traditional tax and accounting engagements, firms relied on marketers to: develop brochures and other marketing materials, create and publicize a firm brand, formalize the proposal process, get client feedback, accumulate and analyze marketplace information, assist on niche development, focus on new client and staff attraction, create sophisticated client relationship management systems, and help design dynamic firm Web sites.

However in the last few years, I have noticed a disturbing trend, many seasoned and highly respected marketing directors are leaving some of these regional firms. These firms appear to view marketing primarily as a cost center and support operation and have decided that a lower-cost maintenance mode is possible since the primary work of those marketing directors is done.

I believe that is short-sighted and CPA-myopic.

Contrast these firms to others that view and groom marketers to become business developers. They often formally make the marketer a firm principal ensuring they play a key, direct role in executive decisions. I expect these firms will also be transforming their marketing operations as revenue centers advising some firm clients directly on marketing or acting as consultants and advisors to assist in the clients’ marketing decisions.

These enlightened firms understand that the CPA-rainmaker approach is no longer enough. They follow a team approach, work at firm buy-in, and follow firm governance procedures that ensure a more holistic, although still CPA-centric, approach to business development.
© 2010
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The above is from the fifth issue of the newsletter, Howard’s Inner Circle, which periodically appears on the blog, “Instigator” at http://howardwolosky.blogspot.com/. It may be reproduced in full if that fact is stated and Howard Wolosky is credited as the author.

Roy Rogers and the Age of Transparency

I have always been fascinated by codes of conduct and marketing, perhaps because I believe the two are compatible and aren’t mutually exclusive even though it might not often be easily implemented in practice
My favorite codes were the ones I discovered back in my childhood. The text of two are reproduced below from http://www.elvaquero.com/The_Cowboy_Code.htm:

Roy Rogers Riders Club Rules
1. Be neat and clean.
2. Be courteous and polite.
3. Always obey your parents.
4. Protect the weak and help them.
5. Be brave, but never take chances.
6. Study hard and learn all you can.
7. Be kind to animals and care for them.
8. Eat all your food and never waste any.
9. Love God and go to Sunday School regularly.
10. Always respect our flag and our country.

Gene Autry's Code of Honor
1. A cowboy never takes unfair advantage - even of an enemy.
2. A cowboy never betrays a trust. He never goes back on his word.
3. A cowboy always tells the truth.
4. A cowboy is kind and gentle to small children, old folks, and animals.
5. A cowboy is free from racial and religious intolerances.
6. A cowboy is always helpful when someone is in trouble.
7. A cowboy is always a good worker.
8. A cowboy respects womanhood, his parents and his nation's laws.
9. A cowboy is clean about his person in thought, word, and deed.
10. A cowboy is a Patriot.

When I was a kid if you joined a fan club you were able to get a copy of these so-called Cowboy Codes and you could carry them around so you could live by these rules of conduct. Marketers have a published code of ethics. The Statement of Ethics of the American Marketing Association may be found at http://www.marketingpower.com/AboutAMA/Pages/Statement%20of%20Ethics.aspx.

I wonder how many marketers and those marketing their products and services carry a copy of, live by, or are even aware of this code of ethics. In this age of the Internet where non-brick and mortar businesses abound, and a professional look can be obtained for a Web site for pennies, not to mention sites like Amazon and eBay where a millions of secondhand businesses have mushroomed overnight. And let’s not forget “reality” television and second life technology environments in which the image that we want to become reality becomes “reality.”

Yes, Roy Rogers and Gene Autry played fictional characters, so it too was a false world. And maybe I live in my own false world. But in my world, there is a professional marketing code of conduct that must be followed similar to those Cowboy Codes of yesteryear.