One of the things that I love about conferences is that they give you an opportunity to step away from the hectic pace of day-to-day demands and get a perspective on what is happening in CPA marketing. The Winning is Everything conference that was recently held in Las Vegas did not disappoint in that regard.

If you are not familiar with the conference, it is put on by a group of influential accounting industry consultants that have formed The Advisory Board for senior partners. This year, the Association for Accounting Marketing also offered an executive level marketing track as part of the program. I was fortunate to be asked to moderate a panel titled Mind of The Buyer/Voice of the Client.

Reflecting upon the whole conference I was struck by five trends that are likely to impact CPA marketing in the coming year and beyond. Think of it as a little peak over the horizon.

1. Mobile is massive

You know it’s true as you’re reading this on your tablet, or mobile phone, or Google glass. Mobile is definitely becoming a routine fixture on the business landscape. What does this mean for marketing your CPA firm? At the very least, you will need to have a responsive website that adjusts for the screen size it is being viewed upon.

But that is only the start. How might you use mobile technology to add more value for your clients? What new products and services can your firm offer? Time to put on your thinking cap and do some research. This is a prime opportunity to gain a competitive advantage in your marketplace.

2. Specialization is beating geography

For many years, CPA marketing strategy has been going through a war between two competing visions. On one hand, there are many firms that are perusing a geographic and industry diversification strategy. Accumulate more offices, covering more geography and adding more industry verticals. This has been the strategy underlying much of the merger activity over the last few years. Think of it as becoming a miniature version of the Big 4.

The other strategic vision is to focus on specialization. Go deeper into a small number of verticals. Build your talent pool and client roster to gain a compelling competitive advantage that allows you to gain clients independent of geography. It also allows for very specialized service offerings that can command premium fees.

It feels like the jury is in on this one. The organic growth and profitability advantage goes to the industry specialization strategy. With strong industry identification on the part of clients and the melting away of geography as a barrier, firms using this strategy are pulling ahead.

3. Big data is merging with content marketing

Content marketing has definitely earned its place on center stage. Do you know any competitive firm that is not embracing it? Didn’t think so.

So what comes next? Well in the short term, setting up your whole content generation structure is a must. And who can deny the need to continuously upgrade the quality and relevance of that content. Infographics and video anyone?

But the longer term is clearly coming into focus. The advantage will be found in the innovative use of data and analytics. Big data, meet content marketing. Marketers will need to profile their best clients and focus their efforts on “cloning” them. Analytics will drive marketing automation to personalize marketing and anticipate client needs, perhaps even before they are aware of them.

4. The talent wars are heating up

If you have been around CPA firms for any period of time, you are familiar with the shortage of new accountants about 10 years ago. Well now is the time when the first wave is about ready to become partners. But there are few of them to pick from.

There was also a lot of talk around the challenges of recruiting and managing the current crop of “Millenials” now entering the workforce. Add to that the ongoing need to find sophisticated and capable lateral hires and you have the makings of a real talent war.

What are the implications for CPA marketers? There are likely several. First, marketers can be on the forefront of developing strategies and deploying tactics to support recruiting efforts. What is your “employee brand”?

But it doesn’t stop there. With senior talent in short supply, there will be a need to make the business development efforts of existing staff more productive. That’s where number three from above comes into focus. Marketers are also likely going to be involved in training and mentoring efforts to develop promising young talent.

5. Marketing is on the rise

CPA marketing has struggled for a seat at the management table for most of its relatively short history. There was an interesting discussion about how many firms started into marketing by hiring the least expensive talent they could find. Consequently, they had little real impact on the firm.

But that is changing. You see it in the respect and status already given to marketers by some of the most sophisticated firms.

But it goes even deeper than that. The accounting profession is being buffeted by unprecedented competitive pressures and rapid technological change. The barriers to entry have never been lower and the opportunity for innovation has never been higher. It is a time when smart marketing can make a firm and shortsighted marketing can break one.

It’s a good time to be a talented marketer.

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Lee