3 Great Marketing Ideas for Tax Season

You may not think tax season is the best time for marketing, but it is! Tax season is the perfect time to identify cross-selling opportunities, strengthen client relationships, and ensure client satisfaction. 

Identify cross-selling opportunities. Hold client service meetings for key clients with your partners and staff. Identify the additional services that will be valuable for these clients and plan how you will pitch these services. Write a description of the benefits the clients will receive and practice your presentation. 

Be alert during the conversations you have with your clients and listen for “I wish,” “I need,” “I am concerned about,” “If I had time,” or “I am worried about.” What follows these phrases are opportunities for you to offer solutions and additional services. Your goal for tax season should be to arrange appointments with your clients for after tax season, when you will close the sale and provide the services.

During your client conversations consider asking your clients the following questions:

  • What are your priorities for this year?
  • What challenges do you predict for your business over the next 3-5 years?
  • What are your growth plans?
  • Do you expect any significant changes in your income in the next five years?
  • Do you have any financial or tax needs that are not being met by the services we are currently providing?
  • At what age do you plan to retire?  Have you identified your successor?
  • Do you have any financial concerns?
  • Are you satisfied with the amount you have available for savings or investments?
  • How satisfied are you with our service?  In what areas can we improve?
  • What is the most important contribution that we can make to you and your company?
  • How can we help build your business?
  • How can we serve you more effectively?
  • What’s changed in your business over the last 12 months? (You should know most of this answer already if you’ve done your homework.)
  • We always appreciate referrals. What kinds of referrals are you looking for?

Collect email addresses for all clients. Email marketing and electronic communications is a staple in the marketing mix of CPA firms. It is  important to provide clients and prospects with timely, valuable information. Your methodology can range from vendors who provide the platform and content; purchasing content and launching it from a separate platform; and, writing your own content and implementing inbound marketing campaigns using a dynamic system like HubSpot. Don’t let your clients and contacts get timely, valuable information from your competitors. Make electronic communications a part of your CPA firm’s marketing program.

Collect client testimonials. Client testimonials are a powerful sales tool.  When you receive compliments from your clients ask them if they are willing to put it in writing. Or, ask them to answer one of these questions:

  • What do you like best about working with us?
  • What have you been able to achieve since working with us?
  • What would you tell someone who is considering working with us?

Oftentimes, your client will ask you to draft the testimonial for them! Collect your testimonials and make them part of your firm’s electronic lobby presentation. Use quotes from the testimonials in your new business proposals and on your website.

Don’t miss out on these tax season marketing opportunities. They will contribute to your marketing efforts for the rest of the year.


Jean Caragher is president of Capstone Marketing, providing marketing consulting services to accounting firms including Brand Surgery(SM), marketing and strategic planning, Advanced Pricing Methods®, outsourced CMO, merger integration, client satisfaction programs, inbound marketing, and retreat facilitation. For more information contact her at +1 727.210.7306 or jcaragher@capstonemarketing.com.