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This article was first published in the July/August 2016 China edition of Accounting and Business magazine.

Most accountancy firms build their brands around ‘client-centricity’, ‘trust’, ‘value’, ‘quality’ and ‘proactivity’, hoping these messages will be sufficient to attract new clients.

‘But “client-centricity” has little resonance with prospects as they naturally expect it. In the same way, prospects expect “quality” and “trust” as standard, not as an exceptional part of the service,’ says Uri Baruchin, head of strategy at The Partners, a global brand consultancy. ‘If you didn’t stand for trust and quality, you wouldn’t be on their shortlist to begin with. Now that you are, you need to focus on any differentiating aspects of your brand so that you stand out from the other players in the room.’

A study from Nielsen has found that strong financial services brands generate three times more market share than those with lacklustre identity. But many smaller service providers struggle to develop an identity that will set them apart from the competition. They simply hope that their ‘brand’ will speak for itself and new clients will eventually flock in. ‘It’s a big challenge to describe your practice in a compelling way that makes you memorable among the mass of similar firms,’ says Tim Prizeman, director at Kelso Consulting in London, who has been advising accountancy firms on branding for 25 years.

Ease the pain

As a first step towards a better brand identity, most experts suggest developing a ‘unique value proposition’ (UVP). To arrive at your UVP, they recommend you ask yourself: ‘What pain do prospective clients have?’ and ‘How can I ease this pain?’ The problem is, for accountancy clients, the basic pain points are the same – for example, ‘want to pay less tax’ – so most firms’ propositions look the same, too. 

Prizeman blames bland brand messaging on lack of strategic focus. ‘If your strategy is to ‘appeal to all SMEs in a 50-mile radius’, your proposition is likely to be similar to that of all the other firms in the area doing the same thing,’ he says. ‘Find what is truly distinctive about your firm; it could be sector focus, specialist knowledge or your personality. The key is to drill down to the exact people most likely to buy your services, and to appeal to their exact needs and the specific challenges that they face. ‘Many accountants don’t want to specialise, but that doesn’t mean you should position yourself that way to prospective clients,’ Prizeman points out. He adds: ‘You mustn’t confuse what you want – a broad general practice –with what is appealing to prospects – someone who will understand their business and needs.’

Most firms use ‘service’ as a unique selling point. But service is not a USP, although the way you deliver that service could be. ‘Your overall brand positioning should be more about the “why” and “how” you do things, and not about “what” you do,’ says Baruchin.

If you claim you have a great client satisfaction record because of ‘how’ you do things, you need to back that up with published statistics, case studies and client testimonials, so that any potential clients can see you are credible and authentic. ‘The more authenticity you can create, the stronger your brand will be,’ says Kwan Harsono, CEO at brand consultancy Bedrock Asia’s office in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Prospective clients are also likely to look beyond your firm’s capabilities and how your services could benefit them. ‘Clients today want to know what makes your firm tick; they want to know what drives the firm forward and what motivates your employees to get out of bed each morning,’ Harsono says. 

You also need to design your brand for the future. ‘We are living in an unprecedented age of continual disruption and innovation with a barrage of start-ups and other challengers who embrace new ways of thinking and doing business,’ says David Sutherland, executive director at the Sydney office of global brand consultancy Landor. ‘Breaking off the shackles of “how you have always done things” is a challenge for traditional firms, but understanding how you can adapt and respond to increasing technological advancements will challenge your competitors and help you deliver innovative solutions your clients seek.’

To help design a future-proof brand, Sutherland recommends that firms open up the dialogue to all stakeholders. ‘Going wider than your executive team will allow you to understand how your brand is currently perceived both internally and externally, and what you could or should aspire to achieve in the future,’ he says. ‘Engaging clients in this process will bring in a broader insight and reduce the inward-looking perspective that can often limit the vision of the business.’

Getting the message across

Having identified your UVP or your USP, you need to get your branding messages out there. According to Nielsen, creating a distinctive ‘image’ – for example, your business name, the look and feel of your website, your logo and your colour palette – can take you 51% of the way to a differentiated brand. 

‘Once you identify the building blocks of your differentiating brand, let them drive your communications, summarising your story and your attributes,’ Baruchin says. ‘Don’t be shy to show personality. Most corporate communications are so generic that a little personality goes a long way.’ And go beyond putting together a catchy tagline or a few sentences of corporate jargon. ‘Avoid clichés and you’re halfway there,’ he adds.

Traditionally, accountancy firms are named after their founders. These sound solid and professional but are not as memorable as ‘Cheap’, ‘Cheaper’, ‘Low-cost’ or ‘Change’ accountants. Having said that, a catchy name alone is not a guarantee that your brand will stand out. The quality of your ‘visuals’, on the other hand, can make all the difference. ‘Licensing three high-quality photos is more powerful than 300 images of generic people in suits shaking hands, climbing mountains or doing star jumps on a beach,’ Baruchin says.

Today, stand-out logos and colour palettes stay well clear of the maroons, navies and teals that were appealing two decades ago, in favour of more vibrant colours and graphics. ‘But if you’re unsure about using bold colours, don’t immediately paint everything in corporate blue; you can introduce a secondary colour palette that still makes your brand more ownable without going crazy,’ Baruchin says. ‘Little creative touches in normally generic presentations, brochures and corporate websites can go a long way, too.’

Finally, branding has to go beyond creating a distinctive logo, business cards, brochures and website design. ‘The brand’s expression has to extend to the way your staff are expected to treat the clients, and even to what kind of freshly brewed coffee should be served to clients and prospects,’ says Harsono.

Iwona Tokc-Wilde, journalist