Many features that make a tax business relatively easy to launch—low startup costs and the ability to work from just about anywhere—also make it a highly competitive field. That’s why it’s critical to know how to build a brand for your tax business. Tax business marketing is a particular challenge in the increasingly crowded media space where so many forms of communication are competing for customers’ attention.
Companies that thrive often do so because they have a strong and recognizable brand identity. That doesn’t mean you have to shoot for the moon and become a household name on the scale of H & R Block or Jackson Hewitt, but it does mean you’ll need to look at ways to become a market standout in the space where you operate. Read on for six tips on how to market a tax business.
1. Develop a niche for your tax business
One of the best ways to build a brand identity is to distinguish your firm in a niche market. Clients prefer specialists to generalists. So, if you can become an expert in a few specific areas, like preparing tax returns for sole proprietors or gig workers, then you can focus your tax business marketing efforts on learning the nuances of the tax code for those specific audiences and establishing yourself as the recognized expert in your locality and even beyond.
2. Research your local competition
One of the best ways to figure out how to build your brand is by researching your competition. Look at what kinds of services other tax pros in your area offer and see if you can identify gaps. Often you can build your own niche just by targeting an overlooked tax audience. Understanding your competition and how they do their own tax business marketing will also help you identify ways to distinguish yourself in the marketplace. What can you offer clients that no one else can? Figure it out, and then build that into your brand messaging.
3. Align your brand identity with your goals
Similarly, you can market your tax business by identifying your goals as a tax pro and aligning your brand identity with those goals. For example, do you want to work with high-net-worth clients? Establish business principles that will appeal to that specific market, like minimizing tax liability and finding tax shelters. Then you can target your marketing efforts where high-net-worth individuals spend their time, perhaps devoting your social media dollars to LinkedIn and focusing your messaging on being the go-to tax pro for tax optimization strategies.
4. Add SEO strategies to your website
Once you’ve identified your goals and decided how you want to identify yourself and market your tax business, make sure your website reflects your new brand. And be sure your website is search engine optimized, so your audience can easily find you:
- Identify relevant keywords your target audience is searching for and incorporate them naturally into your website content, including in titles, headings, meta descriptions, and page copy, but avoid keyword stuffing.
- Provide your audience with informative and engaging content that provides real value, both to gain visitor traffic and to encourage backlinks from other websites, which will help increase your rankings.
- Build a website with a clear and logical structure that will make it easy for search engines and your prospective clients to navigate.
- Link to relevant pages on your website within your content, to make navigation easier for users and search engines.
5. Embrace your community
Despite all the different ways to market a tax business in our highly digital world, word of mouth remains the best way to gain new business. So, it’s important to build your brand identity by getting active in your community. And it’s easier to do than you might think. Do you love football? Sponsor your local high school’s football team in exchange for a prominent banner on the field displaying your company name and logo. Or sponsor a popular community event or festival to get your name out there, and make plans to attend so you can meet prospective clients in person and reinforce your tax business’ image. And don’t forget to have your 30-second elevator pitch ready for any opportunity that might arise.
6. Build your credibility
While any tax preparer can gain the expertise to handle basic tax returns relatively quickly through the IRS Annual Filing Season Program, you can enroll in several low-cost continuing education and certification programs to further increase your expertise and build a brand identity as someone who can handle more complex tax situations. For example, you might choose to become an IRS Enrolled Agent, so that you can represent clients before the IRS.
You can also distinguish yourself through your membership in professional organizations for tax professionals like the National Association of Tax Professionals (NATP) or the National Association of Enrolled Agents (NAEA).
There are a lot of ways you can distinguish yourself from your competition and establish your niche expertise. For more advice on how to build a brand, market a tax business, and grow your company, check out our exclusive resources for tax preparers online.
