So the million dollar question – Are you a brand or a business? You are both. The problem is that you might not think of yourself as a “Brand”. You think brands are Apple, Facebook, Starbucks, McDonalds, etc. Wikipedia says a brand is a… “Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers.” I underline the word “distinct” because I believe that’s the key to a good brand. So what’s distinct about you? Are you the BEST bookkeeper on the north side of Atlanta? The small business EXPERT in the western suburbs of Chicago? The LEADING firm for Accounting and Cloud Computing in Las Vegas? If you haven’t thought about this, or haven’t thought about this recently, you should. In this Social Media age, you need to establish yourself as something. Give your clients and prospects a way to distinguish you from all others that may offer a similar (but lesser) service. Your website, newsletter, Social Media and Blog have a lot to do with your brand. These outlets can establish you as a thought leader. They give you the opportunity to make your case. Your well [...]
Business Musings of a Burbank CPA: Being a Thought Leader Helps Your Accounting Firm Recruit and Retain Staff
Here is an interesting idea: using thought leadership as another tool to recruit accounting staff. Many promising new recruits see a cutting edge firm that they want to work for. See this post in AccountingToday by Mary Ellen Biery that gives more details on this idea: http://www.accountingtoday.com/news/staffing-recruiting/thought-leader-helps-accounting-firm-recruit-retain-staff-71747-1.html The interesting thing about this is once you have used it successfully you can probably use it as a consulting feature for clients, since this will work with a lot of different industries. For financial, accounting and tax musings, You can count on us to count for you! Email: bstonercpa@sbcglobal.net Phone: 818-317-6035 Website: www.briantstonercpa.com Android and the IPhone: Has been Featured On https://twitter.com/bstonercpa
Burbank CPA Musings: The True Price of Customer Service
When you have a business to run, it is a constant balancing act. There are only so many hours in the day, but you want to give great customer service. The article below from The New York Times by Jay Goltz talks about the problems of a framing shop, but it could apply to any business: http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/08/21/the-true-price-of-customer-service/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0 I know I have had this same problem of service vs time (especially this last year as my CPA firm business has grown.) The old addage of the three things your business can do applies too well: You can get work done timely, you can get work done professionally, you can get work done cheaply, and you can do two out the three well. Always remember that when your business has these problems. For financial, accounting and tax musings, You can count on us to count for you! Email: bstonercpa@sbcglobal.net Phone: 818-317-6035 Website: www.briantstonercpa.com Android and the IPhone: Has been Featured On https://twitter.com/bstonercpa