Australia’s leading accounting firms are not ready to effectively leverage digital marking, including social media to tap new client resources, drive brand awareness and present their services in the face of fierce competition and automation.
According to the 2015 Digital Strategy Benchmark Report released by branding inbound marketing agency Talking Brand, there are key gaps in content marketing, lead generation, digital client retention tactics, lead nurturing as well as brand clarity.
“When it comes to brand identity, 66 percent don’t have a clear brand value proposition, and of those that have one at all, 50 percent claim a leading/expert/specialist/professional position and 25 percent claim they offer individually tailored/personalised service,” reads the report, which measures performances of the Top 100 Accounting Firms in Australia against 8 fundamentals of digital marketing.
Out of the top 100 firms sitting on a "content marketing goldmine", 84 percent don’t use marketing automation technology and more than half don’t blog, while only two-third have social media presence and about a third boast responsive websites.
The report identifies traditional partnership structure of the firms as one of the reasons slowing their digital transformation.
Talking Brand principal Amanda Falconer says traditional partnership structure of the firms is one of the reasons slowing and complicating their digital transformation.
“I believe that as older partners retire, lack of loyalty to what firms stand for will expose brand weakness. At the same time, other firms will be forging ahead and attracting new clients, with modern marketing tactics and techniques,” she adds.
