The most cost-effective marketing is an idea that can be spread by word-of-mouth. The benefit of this type of campaign, often called guerrilla marketing, is that, done right, it can engage Facebook friends, Twitter followers, local press, and national media.
The best ideas for a guerrilla marketing campaign are not expensive. YouTube videos made with smartphone cameras and cheap props can generate as much buzz as a $1 million TV ad campaign. Staging the campaign at the right time, in the right place, can also up your visibility.
We hope the following tips will be helpful to you and your tax business.
1. Promote your Tax Business With Postcards
- Postcards convey a sense of urgency to the customer. They may not read your letter but they will turn your postcard over. (You have 3 seconds to get your message across. The average time people look at an ad.)
- With a postcard, your message is out in the open. Other potential customers will see it too, not just the person it’s addressed to.
2. Use A Two-Step Approach
- Offer complimentary tax business related information to potential customers.
- Step 1: Offer a free “fact sheet” to customers that shows your expertise.
- Step 2: Add these customers to your mailing list and mail to them often.
3. Add Personality To Your Tax Business
- Use photos of you and/or your preparers in your promotional materials.
- A quote from the person pictured conveys friendliness and builds confidence in your company.
4. Throw A Party
- Invite clients and friends to your office or store, serve refreshments and plan an interesting demonstration of your product or service.
- Be friendly and outgoing. If this is not your personality ask a friend to be a greeter.
5. Never Assume
- Never assume any of the following:
- The customer can’t afford it.
- The customer won’t buy it.
- The customer doesn’t understand the product.
- The customer won’t buy more than one.
- The customer won’t price your competitors.
- The customer won’t like you.
- On the other hand, don’t assume the opposite is true either.
- Have confidence in your tax services and the needs it fills.
6. Why Do Customers Go To Websites?
- Netsmart found the primary reason consumers go to commercial Web sites is to be informed (97%), not to be entertained. They are on a mission. They go to your site to find out more about your services. So if you don’t already have a website, get one!
7. Use The Telephone
- Test a new idea by phone before you commit to costly promotions.
- Response from 100 phone calls will be similar to 1,000 pieces of mail.
- You’ll receive faster results, it costs less, and you’ll generate greater input and feedback.
8. Be Consistent And Committed
- Research shows a message must be repeated to be remembered.
- Send multiple mailers to the same people.
- If you advertise, do it where you can afford to do it often.
9. Use Deadlines
- Make sure you put a time limit on promotional materials.
- Watch your expiration dates. (What day does your offer end? Are you losing an extra weekend of business?)
10. Examine Promotional Materials
- Make sure business cards, letterheads, brochures and packaging materials are first class. This is not the area to spare expenses.
- What types of materials is your competition using?
- If you can’t afford 4 color brochures use 2 or 3 color. Use of color increases response by 26%.
- If you can’t afford 2 color… use screens. (See Below)
Note: Screen is another word for shade (darker) or tint (lighter). For example: A florist wants red flowers around the borders of his brochure and black ink for the text. That’s two colors. Pink is a 50% tint of red, it is not another color. You can have some pink flowers and some red flowers with little or no additional cost depending on how your printer handles screens. This process will give the appearance of three colors; red, pink, and black. Use gray (a tint of black) and presto, a 4 color brochure (red, pink, gray and black) for a 2 Color price. It looks expensive but isn’t.
