Many accounting firms these days are implementing client advisory services. This is why niching down your CAS firm makes a lot of sense. A niche client focus can direct your time and resources toward a target market that is specific. It allows your firm to tailor the services and deliverables to one type of client.
One of the greatest advantages of niching is that it helps a CAS firm be unique in a crowded market. It's a lot easier to position your services when you know exactly the type of client you work with. Many firms take a generalized approach and work with everyone. How do you stand out when you offer the same services to anyone who will give you their credit card?
When you're competing in a generalized space, it's limited to how you can compete. One of the big ways is on price. If you're competing on price, it's always a race to the bottom. The margins dwindle and it's hard to scale or even pay yourself a proper income. Everyone and their dog are trying undercut you.
That is not to say that you can't thrive as a generalist firm. Many firms are and have been for a long time. Today it's getting harder to stand out as more and more new CAS firms open. Many existing firms are also starting to add CAS. This makes for a more competitive market. Because of this, the need to differentiate becomes even more imperative.
By niching into a particular industry, you start to understand that world. You know what accounting challenges these businesses have. This makes it easy to create a very specific set of accounting deliverables for them. You can package those deliverables into a service that you sell to that market.
Think of it as creating an "accounting product" instead of a package of services. You could even go one step further and give the product a name which will help set you apart even more.
From a marketing perspective, it's important to understand your market/clients. This is the foundation of great marketing. It's hard to market to ideal clients if you don't understand the nuances of their world. These nuances then become a part of your messaging and valuable proposition. It also plays into your entire marketing strategy.
When you have this dialed in, it's easy to craft a solid value proposition. There are three things you want to include into your value proposition:
- The specific clients you work with;
- The market/industry challenge(s) that you solve; and,
- The solution (product or service) you use to solve that challenge
It's so much easier to position your firm when your value proposition is crystal clear. There is no ambiguity in your messaging. When people see it, they know right away how you can solve their challenges.
To illustrate this, let's say your CAS firm serves the HVAC industry. If you were to put this into a short and concise value proposition, it may look like this:
"We help HVAC companies uncover money they didn't know they had using our all-in-one accounting advisory solution so they can redirect it towards buying more trucks to take on more jobs."
This, of course, is an example. I haven't the slightest clue what the accounting challenges of HVAC companies are. One thing to note: The message is clear. It tells you exactly who you work with, the challenge you solve, and how you do that. If an HVAC company is having this issue, more than likely they're calling you.
When you have your value proposition in place, you can start basing your marketing around it. You'll now be laser-focused on where to spend your marketing budget. Instead of trying to appeal to everyone, you can now use your energy to get in front of your niche.
Serving a specific market and getting your firm out in front of it also positions you as the expert. People and businesses want to work with the best. Being perceived as an expert will also help you attract better and higher-paying clients — the clients who have no issues spending what they need to get their problem solved.
Aside from the marketing, having a niche firm has many other benefits. I won't go in-depth about them here, but one thing is operations: They become more streamlined. You will be able to create very specific processes and systems and have one set of deliverables. Fewer moving parts, easier to train staff on how to fulfill, and it's predictable.
Conclusion
There are many benefits to having a niche CAS firm — or a full-service firm for that matter. By articulating exactly who you work with, the problem you solve, and how you do that, will set your firm apart.
Many businesses want to work with firms that understand their business and industry. Get out in front of those businesses and share your value proposition. When someone asks what your firm does, there should be no hesitation. Tell them you work with a specific industry, and you have a service or product that can help them. People will take notice.
The accounting profession is competitive. Not having a solid value proposition will blend your firm into the background. When that happens, in the eyes of clients you're just another accounting firm. If someone asks how you're different and you're blended into the background, it will be hard to answer. Make answering that question easy by getting your value proposition dialed in.
