Accountants and accounting firms have long utilized accounting accreditations (or certifications) to establish an credibility and expertise for different niche industries or specialities.
Increasingly, brands are offering new accreditations that relate to general skill sets or program mastery, such as Accounts Receivable Management, Time Tracking Certification, or Quickbook’s ProAdvisor program. But do potential clients actually take note of these “extra” certifications?
The answer is: yes!
Get A Competitive Edge – You Need One!
Today’s customers are savvier than ever before, and this primarily translates into spending increased amounts of time researching before making a purchasing decision. Google estimates that the average person performs 12 research intensive searches before making a “purchasing” decision. This means that you’re getting compared against other agencies and options more than ever before, and your potential new clients are using every resource available to search you (that means social networks). As your practice is increasingly being directly compared against competitors, it’s quite crucial to “get a leg up” by having more accolades and areas of expertise. At exactly the same time, having expertise in a variety of specialities will allow you to appeal to the largest potential group of customers.
At the very foundation of the marketing strategy behind “extra” accounting accreditations is the age old truth that much like being a member of a variety of associations, additional accreditations and certifications effectively builds customer trust.
A Strategy Fit For The Times
Aside from looking like the “bigger expert” to potential clients conducting research, two key industry trends for accountants also support attaining such “extra” certifications: the ever expanding role of accountants and the increase in using apps to enhance one’s accounting package.
You’ll want to let potential clients know you can do so much more than their taxes! Certifications send this message for you, with authority, no less. This strategy relates to skill set accounting accreditation like Receivables Management, Time Tracking, Construction Bookkeeping, Government Contract Management, and many others. This tactic can even expand your pre-existing relationships by announcing your new certification in a newsletter, and including the badges of certification on your website (hello upsell!).
Accountants everywhere are increasingly turning to accounting package add-ons and apps to make their lives easier, and therefore make their client’s life easier. There is no shortage of innovation and efficiency amongst app developers these days- just peruse the many apps now available for accountants and small businesses on Apps.com. Greater efficiency means more time to grow your practice, or go on vacation- your choice!
Win: Win : Win : Win
“Extra” certifications increase your appeal to potential clients, allow you to more effectively assist your clients, highlight your extensive expertise, help you expand your business, give you confidence to master variety of helpful programs AND most companies offering these commercial, “extra” certifications will allow you to earn CPE credits while completing the training. Did I mention you also get badges?!
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