Simons Marketing

HOT TAKES abound in this Accounting Today article about talent shortages in public accounting.... and thank goodness because the world did not need another bland article on this well trodden topic. So, what's the solution? As has been true for as long as I've known her, @jenniferwilsonprofile of ConvergenceCoaching, LLC cuts straight through the nonsense and says what people need to hear; "...the solutions lie at the employers' feet. We're going to have to make changes. We need to take responsibility as employers for these solutions." Luckily, marketing can help! - Flatten the annual demand cycle - Reduce the percentage of CPAs needed in your ranks by broadening your service offerings - Develop niche specializations that allow you to command higher profits - Messaging that attracts employees would who be happy and successful in your culture for improved recruiting and retention - .... and more! https://hubs.li/Q02YRGZT0

The bees got robbed! At the end of September I used the escape board that lets the bees leave the honey supers without me having to smoke and brush them off. BUT! I was shocked when I went back 3 days later and the supers were empty. I can only imagine that somehow the lid had a space just large enough for visitors... since them I have put rocks on the lid. Time to shake it off and move on the Step 2: So. Much. Sugar water. I have fed the bees 20 pounds of sugar mixed with water in a 2:1 ratio with a bit bee multi-vitamin mixed in. They have been packing it away to the point that I can barely lift the top box. (The bottom box stays on the base, but it's just as full and heavy too!) When I checked the colony this weekend I saw a small patch of brood hatching but no eggs.That means these bees are the winter bees. They will live for about five months. The queen likely won't lay eggs again until January. Autumn is less intense for the beekeepers. In the coming weeks I'll do another mite treatment and keep an eye on their food supplies.

"'Do not hallucinate. Do not make up factual information.' If only it were that easy!" Yes to that Descript AI is super eager to make you happy by giving you what you want... even if it has to invent something to make that happen (hallucinate, as it's called in AI). And it's hard to tell the difference between fact and fiction because AI presents its ideas with a lot of confidence. My go-to of the methods for reducing hallucinations shared in this article are: -- Choose the right model: Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, ChatGPT, Jasper... my colleague, Myah, and I use multiple AI tools on a daily basis. We choose the right tool for the job... and still we have to be the human in charge of the results. -- Chain of Thought: Have a multi-prompt conversation with the AI. Feed it small pieces of information and ask it to confirm its knowledge of what you've shared. Ask for what's missing. This will help the AI to center its thinking around what you want and not the entire vast data lake of the LLM. Have you experienced AI hallucinations? What do you do the minimize them? https://hubs.li/Q02YRH590

LinkedIn released a 36 page report on B2B growth marketing. It's worth the time to read it... but if that's not going to fit into your day *today*, here are three insights for accounting and wealth management firm marketers: Balance brand building and short-term sales activation: Aim for a 50/50 split. Why? Because building your brand is all about driving awareness and shaping perceptions, while activation efforts focus on converting those leads into clients. This balance helps create a sustainable pipeline of prospects while supporting immediate sales goals. Learn about Share of Voice (SOV): Accounting firms can grow by ensuring their share of voice (advertising and marketing presence) is greater than their share of the market. The report shows that investing in SOV leads to market share growth in B2B just as it does in B2C. This is crucial for accounting firms looking to differentiate and stand out in competitive industries, especially when vying for new clients or expanding niche services. The heart and the head: Emotional advertising is often overlooked in B2B, but it plays a significant role in long-term success. Rational, product-focused messaging works for short-term gains, but emotional connections drive lasting loyalty and positive associations with the brand. Sure, talk about your services, but don’t forget to feel good; emotions drive long-term success. What do you think of these three? If you've read the report, what was your biggest takeaway? https://hubs.li/Q02V4Mvf0

In the most recent Hinge High Growth Survey, high growth firms cite differentiation as one of their top priorities, and with good reason. By focusing on specific industries, these firms can leverage their expertise to become indispensable partners to their clients, command higher prices, deliver services more profitably, attract ideal clients and mitigate employee burnout and turnover. Transitioning from generalist to specialist provides a competitive edge and leads to long-term sustainability and growth. Here is how to bring a niche marketing strategy to life. https://hubs.li/Q02V4TNb0

The term "Trusted Advisor" has never quite resonated with me. After all, would you work with someone you *don't trust*? In his article for Accounting Today, @gary-shamis-wrc points out that this moniker may be going away for an entirely different reason. Accounting firms are becoming more factory-like in their production, moving away from the personal relationships that earned CPAs the Trusted Advisor title. However, the desire for relationship-driven services isn't going away. Marketing can help! By properly describing, pricing, and packaging services, firms can distinguish between production-level offerings and high-touch relationship options. Clients seeking constant, proactive attention from their CPA partners will pay for it, and rightly so. What do you think? Are you seeing these changes in your firm? https://hubs.li/Q02V4D7s0

The way you deliver service as a wealth manager can set you apart from the competition. Every time a client interacts with you or your brand, it impacts the way they see you. So, while you may think marketing ends after a client comes on board, it actually plays a crucial role in client service and impacts the lifetime value of a client. Elevate your service by focusing on client engagement and brand differentiation, aligning marketing efforts with your clients’ needs. https://hubs.li/Q02V4D7K0

In a recent article for Accounting Today, @donnyitk , the head of the Center for Accounting Transformation, predicted a shift in the ratio of services provided by accounting firms; 20% (highly automated) compliance and 80% (automation-enabled) advisory. This does not just signify a technological evolution but a fundamental change in how firms operate and generate revenue. Currently, many independent firms are closer to 80% compliance and 20% advisory. Transitioning to the model suggested by Shimamoto involves more than just adopting new technologies; it requires a cultural shift within the firm and a strategic reorientation of resources, including marketing efforts. But let's be clear—the benefits of making this transformation are substantial including increase profitability, differentiation in the marketplace, and enhanced client value. Reposition your firm’s market presence to highlight your advisory capabilities, attracting clients who seek strategic partners rather than just compliance providers. The shift won’t be easy, nor will it happen overnight. However, for firms willing to make the leap, the rewards could be significant, opening doors to new revenue streams and securing a competitive advantage in the marketplace. https://hubs.li/Q02V4Gf10

When the work is coming through the door, and you’re busier than ever, it may be hard to see why your accounting firm needs marketing. However, I would argue that this is the perfect time to invest in your marketing. You are in the fortunate position of being able to be strategic and make substantive changes that will serve the firm for years to come. Marketing can help you connect with today’s buyers, build a roster filled with ideal clients, retain strong team members, and even serve an integral role in succession planning. Here are a few ways marketing can help successful firms thrive. https://hubs.ly/Q02V4xZS0

I went to a "hive opening" hosted by the Worcester County Beekeepers Association. It's a social event and a learning opportunity. In addition, beekeepers check in on each other to gauge how things are going with their own hive versus others' hives. Some beekeepers collected too much honey and their colonies starved to death during the dearth. Other beekeepers collected large amounts of honey and their colonies are thriving. My colony is somewhere in the middle. It comes down to competition and access to resources (pollen and nectar). What I did learn from the hive opening is that my colony should have about 6-7 frames of developing brood. I'd say there's less than that right now so I'm going to feed the bees for a couple of weeks. The reason to feed is to boost the queen's confidence that there are enough resources for the developing eggs and brood to be successful. She'll lay eggs more if she's optimistic. Beekeepers don't feed sugar water when the honey supers are on the hive because the bees will pack the honey supers with sugar water, which is not high quality honey material. Instead of brushing all of the bees off and storing the honey supers in the house, I purchased an "escape board". It's a maze that the bees will only travel through in one direction; down. They will go out of the honey supers toward the brood section to help pack the food into the cells, but won't go back up to the honey supers. When I decide to stop feeding, the bees will be able to freely move about the entire hive, and will be able to resume their work in the honey supers. (And I can go back to crossing my fingers that they will cap the honey for me to jar from them at the end of the season.) Any uncapped honey is too wet to keep. I can spin it out and feed it back to them. Wet honey (with water content of over 18%) will ferment when jarred. The reason to intervene at the level is that we are one generation away from the winter bees, so this generation will be the nurse bees to the winter bees. Every generation is important, but this one needs to be strong and ready to care for and feed the winter bees. Because it has been a hot, dry second half of the summer, the plants have been blooming earlier than "normal." This means that the time between when there is nothing to forage for in the fall and the new spring booms will be longer. That adds stress to the colony so they need to be as strong as possible. That's the plan for now!