In a slow economy, a firm needs to modify its marketing and client development activities to deal with the new realities. When business slows down, accountants may tend to hide in their offices, ignore the outside world, and hope that business will improve. However, consider this an opportune time to put some extra effort into your marketing and client development activities. Here are a few things to consider in these tough times.

Adding value. Show your existing clients that you really care about their business by adding value wherever possible. When things are slow, clients look for greater value from all of their service providers. Do not give them a reason to find a new accounting firm because you are reluctant to bend a bit on your fees or services.

Repackage your services. Look at your service offerings and see how they could be changed or repackaged to make them more attractive in this situation.
Upgrade or develop a website. If your firm has a website, spend time thinking about how it can be made more effective and take steps to upgrade it. If you don’t have a website, set one up and be sure to add your website address to your letterhead and business cards.

Renew your marketing efforts. Marketing during difficult economic times is always tough. But cutting back on your marketing efforts is the opposite of what you should be doing. When things are slow, use the time to review and re-energize your marketing efforts. While the suggestions above may require some creative thought, effort and money, they will help ensure the future growth of your firm.
Keep in touch with former clients. Send your clients something of value such as a report, survey results, an article of interest or other information, and then follow up to discuss it.

Attend to your prospect list. A down economy is no time to forget about your prospective clients. Just don’t spend a lot of time trying to sell and persuade. Instead, spend most of your time providing information — hands-on material that your prospects can really use. These types of activities will keep your name in front of the prospect and also help communicate the value that you offer.

Broadcast Your Message. When business is slow, you need to get your name, your message, and your ideas out there for prospects and clients to see and hear. Send out a newsletter, or give a talk at a conference at least twice a year. This will spread your name around and generate new leads shortly.