Bizink

Websites and digital marketing for accountants and bookkeepers. Trusted by over 500 firms worldwide.

Founder & CEO

CCH Collaborative Solutions

Marketing and sales of software products for accountants.

Business Development Manager

Acclipse

- Product manager for Acclipse Web Manager, a website content management system used by over 1200 clients worldwide
- Product manager for Acclipse Secure Client Manager, a secure client portal
- Manager of the web design and product team

Web Division Manager

Online Business Consultant

Freelance consultant providing online marketing and web development services to a range of businesses. Clients included:
- Crystal Clear Skincare, leading skincare brand (www.crystalclear.co.uk)
- Chester Races, world's oldest racecourse (www.chester-races.co.uk)
- Liverpool 08, managed websites and online marketing for Liverpool City Council during the year it was European Capital of Culture

Bigbluetube Ltd

Managing Director

I'm the founder and CEO at Bizink. We help busy accountants or bookkeepers grow by improving their marketing.

We do that with high-performance websites, engaging content and modern marketing tools. Everything we do is built for accountants and bookkeepers and streamlined so they can run their practices in the knowledge their online marketing is in safe hands.

I'm based in the South Island of New Zealand but the Bizink team is global. We power the marketing of accountants and bookkeepers in Australia, Canada, New Zealand the USA and the UK plus a few places in-between!

I love working with accountants and bookkeepers because of their vital role in business and the economy. Sitting at the intersection of business and technology is an amazing place to be right now.

Lesson from 14 years of helping hundreds of accounting firms' with marketing distilled into 153 words... 
 
Start up? 
 
- Pick a niche 
- Learn everything about the accounting and financial challenges in the niche 
- Create products and services that solve the challenges 
- Make your website and messaging 100% about the niche 
- Go to where the people in the niche hang out (online and offline) 
- Start conversations with genuine curiosity and be as helpful as you can 
- Win work, get testimonials, repeat 
- Constantly be building and nurturing a partner network 
 
Established firm? 
 
- Do all your clients know all the ways you can help them? Thought not... 
- Send emails to clients letting them know you can do more to help them 
- Aim to have lots of conversations with clients, always trying to help more (aka cross-sell or upsell) 
- Ask for referrals 
- Constantly improve your website - it seals the deal with referrals 
- Send a good monthly newsletter 
- Ideally also write in-depth content on topics clients care about. Repurpose on social 
- Want to add more clients faster? Buy a firm or refer to Start Up list above 
 
Everything else is optional. 
 
Too basic?

Matt Wilkinson

What is the impact of effective client communication on accounting firms?

How can accounting firms benefit from niche selection?

What is the importance of cross-selling for accounting firms?

90% of accounting firms leads are referrals. Only 20% of firms ask for referrals.
Here are 6 templates for asking for referrals and recommendations. Or check the link in the comments for our new and free Gmail plugin to add them to emails with two clicks.

I ran a webinar on this topic last year. I was surprised how much good feedback I got - some of it from people who I consider among the best marketers in the profession.

Some examples:

"I got 2 referrals the same day I sent the email"

"I know I should be doing this! I've tweaked your template and will be sending it to all my clients after my holiday"

"I wasn't sure if it would work but I asked 12 clients for a LinkedIn recommendations and got 4 within 24 hours!"

In my experience, you don't get if you don't ask. If your doing an awesome job for clients, they will ENJOY recommending you. 

You win new work and it cements your value to the existing client doing the referring as they reflect on all you do for them.

Give it a go and let me know how you get on!

How can referrals impact business growth?

How can templates enhance referral requests?

Word of mouth email template for accountants

Two thirds of accounting firms don't have a marketing plan.

If you don't, here's the template we use with firms...

There are three sections:

📋 Strategy which is based in the 1-Page marketing plan by Allan Dib
🚀 90 day action plan
📊 Metrics so you know if you're winning

It's designed for constant tweaking as no marketing plan is ever really "done". But I reckon you could get a basic version knocked out in 1-2 hours.

If even that sounds daunting, happy to help. Just let me know which bit you're stuck on.

Pro tip: start with marketing to clients and work outwards through prospects and leads.

It's way easier to market to clients and you know them better. Use what you do there to inform what you do as things get colder with prospects and leads.

Most firms are leaving money on the table with existing clients. 

You can grow your firm without a plan. But there's a 99.99% likelihood you'll be committing "random acts of marketing" instead of building a consistent strategy.

What do I need to know about the 1-Page marketing plan?

How can I benefit from a 90-day action plan?

How do metrics help in tracking marketing success?

Bizink Marketing Blueprint

Want to benchmark your marketing against 300 other firms? 
 
These are the results from our Marketing Performance Audit.  
 
People self-score their firm's marketing via a bunch of questions. Then they get an overall score. 
 
The average is 38% and only 8% of firms give themselves a "high" score. 
 
Perhaps that doesn't surprise you but some of the individual questions might: 
 
- 70% of firms say they don't have a written down marketing plan 
- 25% say they don't have a website 
- 63% of firms don't promote new services to existing clients 
 
Definitely so low-hanging fruit there! 
 
All the answers are below and you can take the audit in under two minutes to see how you compare. 
 
https://lnkd.in/gdqSCU_y 
 
When you finish, you'll get links to free resources based on what you answered. 
 
Or DM me if you want help with any of it. Especially that 25% of people without a website 😅

What are the key takeaways from the Marketing Performance Audit?

How important are written marketing plans for firms?

Why is promoting new services crucial for firms?

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What are the marketing numbers that smart accounting firms track? (clue - it's not followers) 
 
The lofty promises are "data-driven" marketing are largely spin by ad and app companies trying to sell product. 
 
Being able to track thousands of metrics for every campaign has not made us better marketers. I'd personally argue to opposite. 
 
So what numbers are worth tracking in accounting firm marketing? 
 
This is what I would focus on: 
 
- How many new ideal clients do you want per month? 
- What is your sales conversion rate (meetings to clients)? 
 
If it's 2 new ideal clients a month and your conversion rate is 50% then you need 4 meetings per month. 
 
Meetings per month is your north star metric. No meetings, no new clients. It's an activity that can easily be tracked. And because you know your sales conversion rate (if not you should!) then it's also a leading metric. Sales are lagging metrics. 
 
You also should be tracking your lead conversion rate (leads to meetings). Let's say it's 10%. 
 
So you need 40 leads per month to get 4 meetings booked and 2 new clients. Again, a leading metric which can show you what is going to happen in 1-3 months depending on you sales cycle. 
 
The hard part: getting 40 leads a month or whatever your number is.  
 
The "real" number might be 20% of this though given you are likely getting referrals. So marketing might only need to deliver 8-10 leads. 
 
You could repeat this formula with sales to clients. 
 
I'd also be factoring in lost clients because 4 in the top but 4 out the bottom is only good if you're adding A-grade and losing C-grade clients. 
 
Other marketing metrics just feed into the above. 
 
What metrics do you track?

Why is the sales conversion rate significant in marketing for accounting firms?

Is your branded email template hurting your marketing? Probably... 
 
You've spent $$$ on your brand so naturally want to show it off. But branded HTML emails are likely hurting your marketing performance. 
 
I'll show you why and how to fix it below. Good news - it's usually easier than what you're doing now. 
 
What's an HTML email I hear you ask? 
 
HTML, which stands for HyperText Markup Language. It's the code that's used for the front end of websites. So far, so boring. 
 
An HTML email can contain most of the formatting you see on websites. Colours, fancy layouts, images...your branding. 
 
Now apps like Mailchimp make it easy to send fancy HTML emails and that's where people get carried away.  
 
The alternative is using a stripped-back plain text version to send emails with. 
 
Hubspot did some testing of plain-text vs. HTML emails and found: 
 
- HTML emails had a 25% lower open rate than plain-text emails 
- HTML emails had a 21% lower clickthrough rate than plain-text emails 
- Combined with the open rate HTML emails had 51% fewer clicks. 
 
At Bizink, we've been using very basic email templates for a few years now and have found similar results. 
 
Why I think this is: 
 
- Feels less like marketing 
- Easier to read on any device, especially mobile 
- Design is almost certain not to get mangled by crappy email apps like old versions of Outlook 
 
The good thing is that making this switch is super easy. You are taking away not adding. 
 
Very easy way to get a marketing performance bump this week. 
 
Are you an accountant or bookkeeper and want help with email marketing? Drop me a message.

How can email marketing impact business performance?

What do I need to know about HTML emails?

We have three core values at Bizink...

1. Advisor for advisors
2. In your shoes
3. Better than yesterday

I was reading through case studies on our website. Loved finding that a client Steven Mulligan can see us living all three values.

3. Better than yesterday
"Bizink is always improving themselves and they’re always on the lookout for partnerships – like Profit First Professionals and Xero. They’re always finding new technology, and it’s quite advanced. I like that you’re developing new things all the time. We just onboarded a new client here who said ‘we’re never satisfied with being status quo’ and I think that’s the same for Bizink.”

2. In your shoes
“You all care about what you’re doing. It comes through on Zoom meetings; it makes us feel special.

1. Advisor for advisors
Everyone knows what they’re doing. You’re professionals. You listen to what we want and even if we don’t know what to ask, you advise us. 

It's easy to sniff at values and lots of businesses either waste hours on them, share weak values or worse, values they don't have.

Your company values are just how you did your work for the last 90 days. 

It's ok to have aspirations but you can't call them values if you're not doing them. They are simply thoughts.

Great to see that someone can see from the outside how we operate.

What are you core values?

What impact do core values have on a company?

How can continuous improvement benefit businesses?

Fringe benefits tax for not-for-profits. That's what a proper marketing niche looks like! 
 
It's what someone I spoke to yesterday has as their target market 
 
- Not SMEs...90% of the economy 
- Not service businesses...massive segment 
- Not tradies...individuals or companies? If companies, what size? 
- Not "businesses that want to grow and have a good mindset". What does that even mean? 
 
None of these focused enough. But FBT to non-profits: one very specific service to a large but focused niche. 
 
This person knows: 
 
- Who to market to 
- What to say 
- Where to say it 
- When to say it 
 
Focusing your marketing answers so many questions and makes your life a lot easier. 
 
Anyone else but a hyper-focused target market?

How does fringe benefits tax impact not-for-profits?

Why is a hyper-focused target market important for marketing?

What are the benefits of targeting not-for-profits in marketing?

Jason Staats, CPA has nailed why marketing fails for many firms here.

To frame this another way, specialising/focusing/niching is key if you want to consistently win A grade clients from marketing.

Some reasons why:

- You'll know who to market to
- You'll know what to say to them
- You'll know where and when to say it
- Your message will resonate because it's just for them
- You'll get better referrals from the clients in your focus area

Repeat.

The alternative:

- "Focus" on small business owners aka marketing to everybody is marketing to nobody
- Spend a heap of time and cash
- Get pissed off that "marketing doesn't work for my firm"

I've seen firms have most success when they pick a niche of clients they already have and work out from there.

p.s. Just because you have a marketing niche doesn't mean you have to drop all your clients not in that niche

p.p.s. If you're new to marketing, I'd warm with current clients: cross and upselling, asking for reviews and referrals. Growth marketing is hard so kick off in the "warmer" environment of those who already know, like and trust you

What impact does specializing have on marketing success?

How can firms attract A grade clients through marketing?

I run a daily podcast for accounting firm runners

Running an accounting firm:

Overwhelm: A product of doing too much

Doing too much: A product of low-paying work (and not saying no)

High paying work: Made possible by solving more rare, painful problems

Rare painful problems: Present themselves when you specialize

Specializing: Done by making the time to attract specific folks via marketing

Making time for marketing: Only possible when you're not feeling overwhelmed

Never mind I see the problem here

Is this an issue in your firm? Keep seeing a hidden problem with client data... 
 
I speak to a lot of firms about marketing. 
 
Conversation invariably goes like this... 
 
Me: "Do your clients know all the ways you can help them?" 
 
Accountant: "No" 
 
Me: "How about you send them an email and let them know!" 
 
Accountant: "Great idea but...." 
 
What follows is a discussion on how it's really hard to do some or all of the following: 
 
- Know which clients have which services in PM software 
- Know who's even a current, ex-client or kind of a client 
- Know which data to trust across a variety of apps 
- Get this data from PM software into marketing software 
- Keeping this all up-to-date 
 
I hear this from firms big and small, some of them super tech-savvy. 
 
I totally understand how this happens. Even with automation, there are still  a lot of variables and moving parts compared to some services businesses. 
 
But it's clearly not ideal if you can't upsell and cross-sell to clients with confidence and efficiency. 
 
Is anyone solving this and if so how? 
 
p.s. We built a sync with XPM years ago. Massively requested feature which never took off because the way most people had their XPM set-up meant they didn't really want to sync all the contacts...but also wouldn't commit categorising them

What impact can automation have on client data management?

What is the significance of data synchronization in marketing?

How can a sync feature improve client communication efficiency?

Want more sales leads for your accounting firm? Try this instead... 
 
I've talked marketing with several hundred accountants each year and thousands since 2010. 
 
"More leads" is the most common answer when I ask what they want from a marketing company like Bizink. 
 
Adding leads to the top of your sales funnel is hard. It's hard for a marketing company like mine, it's hard for SaaS apps with massive marketing budgets and it's really hard for most accounting firms. 
 
Why? 
 
Main reasons: 
 
- Inertia: good businesses already have accountants and are getting the job done with out. Pain of moving feels high 
- Undifferentiated: unless your solving a specific problem for a specific group, hard to convince a business owner to switch 
- Lack of time/skills/motivation for marketing and sales: nothing to be ashamed of, I'd make a crap accountant 
 
So what to do? 
 
Look within for growth and you'll probably find all the "leads" you need. 
 
For example: 
 
- Do you have ask clients for referrals? (only 20% of firms do) 
- Do your clients know all the ways you can help them? (thought not!) 
- Have you got a network of referral partners? (it not - start building, if so - start nurturing, growing) 
 
Then also, have a good rummage round the firm: I get you'll find a heap of leads that have not been: 
 
- Followed up properly/at all 
- Might have not been a good fit then but are now 
- Could know other people who could be clients 
 
If you're past the start-up phase with a decent client base and a few staff, I am certain you'd find a lot of leads by running through these questions. 
 
Way easier to convert someone already in your "funnel" than try and add someone to it. 
 
Do you agree or would you still like more leads? 🤣

How important are client referrals for accounting firms?

What is the significance of having a network of referral partners?

What does an awesome accounting website look like?  
 
A lot simpler than most people make it. 
 
I've been involved in literally thousands of accounting website builds over the last 15 years. 
 
The more I've learned, the more I think that subtracting is better than adding. 
 
Like Italian cuisine, the secret is a few quality ingredients, combined with skill.  
 
Later today, I'll be sharing my minimalist "recipe for a great accounting website". 
 
Simplicity is the height of sophistication and I am definitely simple! 
 
Love for you to join or if you can't make it, register and get recording. 
 
https://lnkd.in/dzSxZZHW

What is the significance of simplicity in website design?

How can a minimalist approach benefit website design?

How can an accounting website be optimized?

"On time and intact" - terrible slogan of a local haulage firm. What message does your firm's copy send? 
 
"On time and intact" is the bare minimum I'd expect when sending a package. Not something I'd write on the side of all my lorries! 
 
It instantly makes me think...this is going to arrive late and damaged. 
 
Heaps of accounting firms do the same for their slogan and/or marketing copy: 
 
- Professional 
- Accurate 
- Trustworthy 
- Timely 
 
Anyone hiring you expects these things as table stakes. Stating them almost feels like you're hiding something. 
 
What do to instead? 
 
Let happy clients do the talking for you with case studies and testimonials. 
 
No marketing copywriter can beat the power of the real experiences of clients in their own words. 
 
Note: you don't need a slogan or strap line just because everyone else has one.  
 
What's the worst company slogan you've ever seen?

How can client testimonials enhance a company's reputation?

How can a poorly chosen company slogan impact brand perception?

Why are client testimonials more effective than generic slogans?

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