8 marketing mistakes accountants make (and what to do instead)

Marketing might not be your first language, but mastering just a few essentials can dramatically increase your firm’s growth. You were educated to examine financial reports, follow rules, and deliver services with precision. You were never trained to build lead funnels, develop email sequences, or collect five-star reviews.

Great work alone is no longer the minimum requirement. The highest-performing accounting firms excel, not only in technical expertise, but also in building visibility, staying relevant to clients, and using strategic client acquisition methods.

At Hennessey Digital, we have worked with multiple professional services businesses, including independent CPAs and large accounting groups. The ones that consistently grow share one thing in common: they avoid these eight costly marketing mistakes. Let’s explore each one and what you can do differently.

1. Staying general instead of choosing a niche

Accounting firms often try to serve all possible clients at once. It feels safer to cast a wide net and stay open to more opportunities. But your message becomes too general when you try to appeal to everyone, and you end up blending in with other generalist firms.

Being competent isn’t enough for today’s clients. They want an accountant who deeply understands their business operations. When you specialize, your firm immediately becomes more relevant and trustworthy in your audience’s eyes. According to the 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer, industry expertise, not pricing, is the top factor buyers use to choose a professional service provider.

Specialized firms become more relevant in the market. And they grow faster. According to Hinge Marketing's 2023 research, high-growth professional service firms are three times more likely to define their niche than no-growth firms.

A clear focus works across any sector: from SaaS startups to dental practices to nonprofit organizations. It helps you develop marketing messages that truly resonate. You can speak their language, understand their unique challenges, and offer tailored solutions. It all leads to shorter sales cycles and more referrals.

Look at your most profitable clients over the past ten years to start identifying your niche. Analyze industry trends, client business sizes, and the services they used to uncover why they chose your firm. When you really listen to their feedback, your natural market position starts to reveal itself.

Recommended reading: 4 ways to market your accounting firm by focusing on your ideal client

2. Giving up after one follow-up

After selecting your niche market, the next hurdle becomes turning initial interest into actual business. Most firms fail at this point because they stop too early. One unanswered email or phone call leads many professionals to drop the lead from their contact list.

That’s a costly mistake. RAIN Group research shows that 80% of sales require five or more follow-ups, yet 44% of professionals give up after just one attempt. Your close rate drops every time you fail to show up again, leaving the door open for competitors who follow up consistently.

Source: RAIN Group

Instead of relying on perfect timing, build an organized nurture sequence. After your first contact, send a thank-you message along with a relevant resource, like an industry-specific tax planning checklist, within a couple of days. A few days later, share answers to common client questions. When appropriate, invite them to book a brief consultation.

Consistent follow-up that delivers value leads to higher conversion rates and positions your firm as a well-organized, attentive, and proactive service provider.

There’s also a financial upside. According to Forrester Research, firms that use relevant content in their lead nurturing efforts generate 50% more sales-ready leads at 33% lower cost.

Recommended reading: How to save lost deals with this simple email follow-up tactic

3. Ignoring the power of an email list

Firms without an email list are missing out on one of the most cost-effective marketing channels available today.

Email helps build lasting relationships because it functions as a trust-building tool. While social media posts quickly disappear, emails stay in inboxes, get forwarded, and serve as helpful reminders of your expertise and willingness to assist.

Research from Litmus shows that email marketing delivers an average return of $36 for every dollar spent, outperforming most other strategies. Campaign Monitor reports that welcome emails earn four times higher open rates and ten times higher click-through rates compared to regular newsletters.

Source: Litmus

Start by offering something valuable in exchange for email addresses, such as checklists, tax prep guides, or year-end industry tips. After someone subscribes, send a friendly welcome email, followed by monthly insights. Keep emails light, actionable, and client-focused. Think tax tips, deadlines, success stories.

Consistent email communication builds familiarity, which leads to trust and that trust helps turn contacts into clients.

4. Underestimating the importance of reviews

Even if you give the best service, if your online presence does not showcase that, then the potential client may be hesitant to try you.

Accountants are not usually comfortable with the idea of asking for reviews, and many do not bother to ask for them at all, —either because it makes them feel uncomfortable or simply because they forget. This lack of communication often leads to doubt.

In the current market, social proof is not a choice. 98% of consumers check out online reviews before making a purchase, and 49% of them consider reviews as credible as word-of-mouth recommendations. A neglected review profile can render your firm unnoticeable to your ideal client.

Source: BrightLocal

And frequency matters. This is why a company with 30 recent positive reviews will get more trust from its clients than a firm with 5 old reviews. Positive feedback is more effective when it comes in a steady stream than when it comes all at once in a single big batch. It indicates that you are active, consistent, and trustworthy.

The easiest way to enhance this is by incorporating review requests into your workflow. Express your gratitude to the client and request a review when they are pleased with your services. For instance, after filing, tax planning, or project completion. Give your Google Business profile link directly so they can access it easily.

Gianluca Ferruggia, the Managing Director at DesignRush, advises that review requests should be linked to the emotional moments in the client’s journey as opposed to the project delivery:

“For instance, when a client achieves a savings objective or finishes a strategic transformation, that high point is the right time to solicit a testimonial,” he says.

He also proposes the use of micro-surveys in order to detect happy clients before asking them to leave a review. “If they answer positively to a one-question satisfaction survey, then send them a review link. It is easy to use, specific, and has higher rates of success than a generic request.”

You can also request permission to use the good reviews on your website or ask your clients to make a short video testimonial with their smartphone. Authenticity beats polish.

When reviews are made a habit rather than a last-minute thought, the online reputation of your firm becomes a growth tool.

Recommended reading: 8 strategies to build trust with your accounting firm’s clients

5. Treating client experience as an afterthought

Many firms focus so much on getting the client into the firm and then forget about the client once they are in. But the real brand-building begins after the contract is signed. In fact, client experience is one of the most effective and least utilized marketing strategies that you can implement.

86% of buyers are ready to pay more for a better experience, and one-third of them will desert a brand they love after a single failed experience. The same holds true in accounting. The moment the client feels that they are being neglected, especially during the peak seasons, or they are not sure of the progress of their work, they lose trust.

On the flip side, clear communication, proactive updates, and thoughtful touches create stickiness. Clients are more likely to stick around, recommend your service to others, and seek more of your services when they feel valued and appreciated.

Enhancing the experience is not an overhaul of your existing systems. Map the journey: what is the process from inquiry to onboarding to delivery to review? Identify pain points: perhaps it is inconsistent follow-up, unclear timelines, or no single point of contact.

Then improve each stage slightly. Send a branded welcome email with next steps. Create a deliverables calendar. Assign a dedicated contact. Schedule a check-in 90 days in. Slow and steady changes add up over time, and develop clients who speak highly of you without being asked.

Recommended reading: Creating a unique client experience in a traditional industry

6. Being passive about referrals

New business for most accounting firms comes from referrals, yet they become a mistake when used passively. The majority of pleased clients will not volunteer to refer business to you, despite being extremely satisfied with your services.

Texas Tech research indicates that satisfied customers are willing to refer others at a rate of 83%, yet only 29% actually do. Because they are rarely asked to refer clients.

Your business needs referral systems as a solution. Ask for referrals when a client finishes a successful project or expresses satisfaction with your services.

Here is a simple way to ask:

We are expanding our practice while taking on additional specialized clientele for our business. We would greatly appreciate it if you could share our name with anyone who might be looking for services like ours.

Victor Karpenko, Founder of SeoProfy, learned the value of referrals through experience:

“Years ago, we had a client who was really struggling with tax planning for their online business. We connected them with a small accounting firm we trusted. Nothing formal, just a helpful intro. A few months later, that firm started sending some of their clients our way for SEO help. That’s when it clicked: cross-referrals don’t have to be transactional. They work best when they’re rooted in genuinely helping each other’s clients.”

He recommends that accountants build a short list of trusted professionals in adjacent fields—web developers, marketing consultants, business coaches—and look for natural moments to connect clients. “When your client mentions a challenge you can’t solve, it’s an opportunity to recommend someone who can. That trust reflects back on you, and it often comes full circle.”

To simplify referrals for clients, you should create shareable content such as brief PDFs or customized ‘how we help’ links. You should express your gratitude immediately whenever someone refers your business. Show appreciation through a handwritten note, a gift card, or by making a donation on behalf of your clients, because recognition sustains the loop.

The key is consistency. References should be included in your company newsletters. Include a small reminder about referrals in the email footers you send out. Your clients should understand that you welcome expansion while expressing gratitude for their support.

7. Failing to show your impact

Your claims of achievement need evidence to back them up.

Since trust functions as the backbone of your industry, clients demand assurance that your firm can perform. Nothing demonstrates organizational capability better than showing the specific ways you transformed an organization similar to theirs into tangible results.

Social proof extends beyond reviews because it incorporates stories from clients along with their metrics and company logos. Consumer trust in peer recommendations surpasses advertising, according to Nielsen data, which shows that 92% of people prefer recommendations from others. Case studies serve as strong indicators for the discussions that clients want to have.

You don’t need a library. One or two strong examples go a long way. Choose a client win you’re proud of, and keep it simple:

• Who was the client?

• What challenge did they face?

• What did you do?

• What result did they get?

Present one successful client outcome that you are proud of, without unnecessary elaboration.

Explain your success metrics through numbers whenever possible, such as how you reduced a manufacturing firm’s tax expenses by 22% or discovered $50K worth of unclaimed deductions during a cleanup.

Make these success stories available across your website, in your email signature, and in your sales materials. Reference them on calls. Show your results to prospects while providing them with an easy way to envision how they could benefit in the same way.

8. Running your pipeline without a system

The use of spreadsheets, together with memory-based lead tracking, functions properly for small businesses, but fails to scale with growing operations. The absence of structure in your expanding client base leads to disorganized follow-ups, lost notes, and inconsistent client interactions.

A CRM, or customer relationship management platform, represents a strategic advantage for businesses at this point.

The implementation of CRM systems, according to Salesforce, results in a 29% sales productivity boost, while simultaneously delivering customer retention rates up to 27%. The real value lies beyond deal closures: because CRM systems help build reliable client experiences through every stage of your business relationship.

Most CRM software is generic and built to cover the needs of businesses across multiple industries. But it’s important to remember that there are purpose-built options for accounting firms. The best CRMs for accountants provide the right integrations, functions, and support for the specifics of the industry.

Start small

A modern accounting firm requires minimal marketing expertise to achieve growth, and firms that ignore marketing and fail to take proactive steps will no longer be viable.

Begin by making one modification to your current system. Pick a niche. Establish your review process. Build that email list. Put procedures in place for follow-ups. Over time, each improvement becomes more powerful, until your firm becomes attractive to your target clients.

Great work by itself will not suffice in today’s market environment. Your practice needs to establish visibility while building trust and staying top of mind with clients.