In today’s dynamic accounting market, brands are so much a part of our day to day lives that we forget how much we depend on them. Look at successful businesses like McDonalds, Qantas, Virgin, Apple, Microsoft and Coca Cola for example. Their brand is well recognised and the market knows what goods and services they offer.

Wikipedia defines a brand using the American Marketing Association definition as “a name, term, symbol or any other feature that identifies a seller’s goods or services as distinct from those of other sellers.”

A dynamic brand is paramount in the service arena. It creates awareness, drives perception, and improves desirability. Brands with top-of-mind awareness have higher perceived value, which assists with value based billing and higher fee generation.

Whenever I work with an accounting practice my first question is: what is your business advisory service brand name? What is the unique name that you will call you service offering and clients and prospects will readily know what this offering is? Often the answer is “I did not think of that” or “what would you call it?” or “what do other firms use?”

So much time is spent working on the brand for the compliance side of a practice. When it comes to business advisory it is often too difficult or linked into another totally different service line.
Your business advisory brand sets you apart from your competition. It helps develop your unique selling proposition (USP) and is the link between compliance and reliance.

When a current client witnesses the benefit of your business advisory service and tries to communicate that benefit to their contacts what will they call it? That thing you do with a computer and projector? This is not good enough? I do not think so!

Successful accounting practices brand well and for good reason. Strong brands help:

• Your clients to remember your service offering
• Define your practice USP and build client loyalty
• Make it easier for current clients to refer you to their friends, family and associates
• Communicate what your clients can expect from your practice

Many practices assume that a brand is an image, or more simply a well-designed and attractive logo. This is only one part of the branding process. The most important thing to remember is that a brand is an assurance. With a brand, you set client expectations so when someone buys your business advisory service they count on those expectations being fulfilled.

Remember your practice brand is your assurance not just an image. When you make and keep your commitment to your clients, they will keep coming back and refer you to others.

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