How CPAs Can Attract Ideal Clients and Stand Out
As a CPA, bookkeeper, or financial advisor, you probably spend a lot of time thinking about what you offer. But are you equally clear about exactly who you want to attract?
In this episode of the Financially Fit Business Podcast, I talk with Kay Miller about a marketing concept she and Steve Miller call your “moose.” Your moose is the type of prospect you specifically want to find, attract, and serve.
We also talk about something most financial professionals probably don’t spend much time thinking about: being memorable. Sometimes something as simple as a color, phrase, or other recognizable characteristic can help prospects remember you when the time comes to make a decision.
Start by Defining Your Moose
Imagine you’re hunting for a moose. You wouldn’t walk into the forest trying to catch every rabbit, squirrel, and other animal you see. You’d concentrate on finding the moose.
The same principle applies to marketing.
If you’re trying to market your accounting or advisory services to everyone, your message can become so broad that it doesn’t speak particularly well to anyone. Kay’s advice is to start by defining the prospect you really want.
For a CPA or bookkeeping firm, that might include characteristics such as:
- Geographic location
- Industry
- Business size
- Revenue potential
- The services they need
- The problems they’re trying to solve
- Whether they recognize that they actually need help
One of the easiest places to start is your current client base. Look at the clients you enjoy working with and the ones where you’re providing the most value. What do they have in common?
That’s very similar to what I’ve discussed when identifying the right clients for financial advisory services. Your best opportunities often provide clues about where you should look for more of them.
Your Moose Needs an Acknowledged Need
Demographics and company size aren’t enough.
Kay makes an important point in our conversation: your ideal prospect also needs an acknowledged need. You can identify a company that looks perfect on paper, but if the owner doesn’t recognize a problem or have any interest in solving it, selling your services becomes much more difficult.
For CPAs, the pain can sometimes become obvious very quickly.
A business owner who’s suddenly surprised by a $20,000 or $50,000 tax bill, for example, probably understands the value of having better financial visibility and more proactive conversations throughout the year.
That’s where your marketing message becomes much more specific.
You Can Have More Than One Moose
Your firm doesn’t necessarily need one ideal client profile.
You may have one type of client who needs bookkeeping and another who wants monthly financial advisory services. Those can be two different moose.
The important thing is that you understand each group well enough to communicate differently with them.
A business owner looking for bookkeeping help has different concerns from an owner who wants someone to review financial trends every month and help make better business decisions.
That leads to the next part of the framework.
Create the Right Message for Each Moose
Kay describes this as creating “moose bait.”
Once you know who you want to attract, your marketing should speak specifically to their problems, needs, and priorities.
Instead of simply saying that you provide accounting or advisory services, talk about the situation the prospect recognizes.
For example:
- Were you surprised by your tax bill?
- Are you receiving financial statements but not really understanding what they’re telling you?
- Are you growing but unsure whether that growth is actually profitable?
- Are cash flow problems appearing even though revenue is increasing?
Those messages give the right prospect a reason to pay attention.
Case studies and client examples can make that message even stronger because they show how you’ve helped someone facing a similar problem.
Choose the Right Media or Method
The next question is simple: where does your moose spend time?
Kay and I discuss several possibilities, including:
- Professional and industry associations
- Local organizations
- Networking
- Referrals
- Trade shows
- Prospecting and data tools
You don’t need to use every marketing channel available. You need to use the channels that give you the best opportunity to reach the clients you’ve decided you want.
This is also where knowing your niche becomes useful. In my episode on finding and selling financial advisory services to new prospects, I talked about starting with industries you already know. The same principle applies here.
AI Can Help You Define Your Ideal Client
Kay suggests using AI to look for patterns and help develop a more detailed ideal-client profile.
I would be careful about what client information you put into any AI platform. You don’t need to provide client names or identifying information to make the exercise useful.
Instead, describe the characteristics.
You might tell an AI tool that you have a profitable client in a particular industry, with a certain approximate revenue range, geographic footprint, number of employees, financial challenges, and service needs. Then ask it to identify common characteristics and help you build a profile of similar prospects.
You can use that information to sharpen both your targeting and your message.
Be Memorable When the Moment Arrives
The final part of the framework is the moment.
A prospect may meet you today without being ready to hire you today. Six months later, something changes and suddenly they need help.
Will they remember you?
That’s where differentiation matters.
For Kay and Steve, orange became part of their identity. Someone could see orange somewhere completely unrelated to business and still think about them.
Your differentiator doesn’t have to be a color. It might be a phrase, a particular way you explain complicated financial information, a visual style, or another consistent characteristic people associate with you.
The objective isn’t simply to be different. It’s to become recognizable enough that when your ideal prospect reaches the moment when they’re ready to act, you’re the person they remember.
Know Who You Want Before You Start Marketing
Good marketing doesn’t start by trying to persuade everyone.
Start by deciding who you really want to serve. Understand what matters to them. Develop a message around the problems they recognize. Find the places where they’re most likely to see you. Then give them something memorable enough that you’re still in their mind when they’re ready to make a decision.
Define your moose first. The rest of your marketing becomes much easier.
Want to Bring More Value to the Right Clients?
If you’re building or expanding your financial advisory services, see how Financially Fit Business helps accountants, bookkeepers, and financial advisors turn client financial statements into clear visual insights you can use in monthly advisory conversations.
More About Finding and Attracting Your Moose
What does “moose” mean in marketing?
Your “moose” is the specific type of prospect you most want to attract. Defining that prospect helps you focus your messaging, marketing channels, and sales efforts instead of trying to appeal to everyone.
Can an accounting firm have more than one ideal client?
Yes. An accounting firm may have different ideal-client profiles for bookkeeping, tax, financial advisory, or other services. Each group may need its own message and marketing approach.
How can CPAs use AI to identify ideal clients?
CPAs can describe the characteristics of their best clients without providing identifying information and ask AI to find patterns, suggest common characteristics, and help develop a detailed ideal-client profile.
What are the four parts of the Uncopyable marketing framework?
The framework discussed in the episode consists of Moose, Message, Media or Method, and Moment. You identify your ideal prospect, create the right message, choose how to reach them, and remain memorable when they’re ready to buy.
How can a CPA make their firm more memorable?
Consistency helps. A recognizable color, phrase, communication style, visual identity, or other distinctive characteristic can help prospects remember your firm when they eventually need your services.