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I was sitting on a plane as passengers were boarding. I was evaluating the client meetings that happened that day and looking forward to getting home. This is a spot I’ve been in many times before.

Then, a little girl about four years old boarded the plane with her mother. The little girl took the window seat. She looked out the window and said,

“Mommy, I can see the whole world.”

I smiled at her comment, and appreciated her innocence and fascination.

It made me think how easy it can be to look at things from a different perspective. Here are four ways to view your accounting firm marketing program differently.

1. Take a step back.

Sometimes we need to take a step back to see how things really are. Some refer to this as the difference between working “in” your business vs. working “on” your business. Block out time on your calendar to evaluate the status of your accounting firm’s marketing plan; review metrics, including growth goals, new business, lost business, proposals won and lost, enewsletter statistics, and social media presence; assess the success of marketing programs, both current and past, to determine what is working and should be repeated.

Seek input from your team members, one-on-one. What do they think the firm should keep doing, start doing, or stop doing regarding your marketing program? What marketing campaigns are your competitors implementing?

By taking a step back you give yourself the time and space to decide the changes necessary to enhance your firm’s marketing program.

2. Dream big.

What is your BHAG – your Big Hairy Audacious Goal – an idea from the book, “Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies” by James Collins and Jerry Porras? A BHAG is defined as a long-term goal that changes the very nature of a business’ existence.

What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail? What would happen if you allowed yourself to stop doubting and changed your perspective to view the unbelievable as something you and your team could achieve?

It’s easy to focus on the difficulty of executing your accounting firm’s marketing program. But when you dream big you aren’t setting limits to what you and you team can accomplish.

3. Listen to other people’s perspectives.

Ask your team members what they think about your firm’s marketing program – and really listen to their feedback. Do the same with the trusted advisors in your network. Take advantage of their experiences and points of view. They can offer suggestions on how to do things differently you haven’t thought of.

Meet new people. Join a new organization. Read a new book or blog that will help generate ideas for your marketing program.

Keep an open mind. Your best ideas may come from being open to change and hearing other people’s perspectives.

4. Avoid singing the “We always do it this way” tune.

The trick to changing the way you see things is to not fall victim to “We always do it this way” thinking. When creating your accounting firm marketing plan and campaigns ask yourself, “How can we execute this program differently?” “How can it be improved?” “Do we need to change team members and/or responsibilities?” “Should this initiative be terminated?” 

If you’re interested in looking at your accounting firm’s marketing program in a different way, contact me. I can give you a fresh perspective.

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