| Meet Joe Lauzen, CPA, president of Lauzen Accounting in Warrenville, Ill., a suburb of Chicago. Lauzen Accounting is a full service firm offering tax planning and preparation, accounting, bookkeeping, and payroll to a diverse client base. One challenge Joe shares with other firms is differentiating himself in a crowded marketplace. As a result, he stepped up his marketing efforts, and changed the way he looked at retaining clients and developing new business. He agreed to share some of his marketing savvy with AS411.com.
Scott Cytron: Tell me why you felt your firm needed a change in the way it marketed itself.
Joe Lauzen: We had to change the way we marketed our firm because our services had evolved and so had the expectations of potential clients. Over the last few years, we’ve added paperless payroll, hosted QuickBooks and outsourced bookkeeping services, while also pushing for delivery through portals. We want our services to be as convenient as possible and that’s what prospects expect today. |
Joe Lauzen, CPA |
Scott Cytron: I understand you changed your approach to focus on niche industries. Explain how you did this.
Joe Lauzen: The first step was to look at our client base and determine within which industries we really excelled. After choosing a few specific niches to concentrate on, we purchased prospect lists from a vendor and added them to our CRM system. We were then able to sort our prospect database by industry and begin our marketing campaigns.
Scott Cytron: Many accountants are still hesitant about using interactive media. I saw a “welcome video” on your site. How effective has this been in attracting business or reminding your current clients about the kinds of services you offer?
Joe Lauzen: I think it’s been effective in both attracting new clients and communicating new services to current clients. Having a welcome video on our website gives our prospects and clients a brief introduction to our services without having to read through our entire website. I also plan on using additional videos going forward – such as client testimonials and how-to videos for SmartVault, Bill.com, Hosted QuickBooks and paperless payroll.
Scott Cytron: How about social media? In what ways are you or the firm involved in social media?
Joe Lauzen: We have a firm Facebook page, and I use both LinkedIn and Twitter. I see our involvement with social media as an easy and convenient way to further extend our brand out into the community and to increase the number of meaningful client communications.
Scott Cytron: What is your advice to a firm that thinks it’s too small to execute a marketing program?
Joe Lauzen: I would encourage them to give it a shot. A marketing program doesn’t need to be super complicated or time consuming. Firms can start with a simple marketing strategy and stick with it. You can always add more later.
Scott Cytron: Your website seems to have a fairly robust portal for clients and employees. What does your portal offer that you can’t provide otherwise?
Joe Lauzen: It’s all about convenience. Our portals give clients anytime-anywhere access to our services. Clients can access digital copies of financial statements and tax returns, submit time cards for payroll processing, and access their internal accounting software. It’s also a place where we can share information with our clients in real time.
Scott Cytron: I know you offer QuickBooks and SmartVault. I’m interested to know why you decided on SmartVault. Was it because of its cloud-based offering or something else?
Joe Lauzen: We use SmartVault because in enables us to offer outsourced bookkeeping services remotely. SmartVault’s cloud-based integration with QuickBooks is really slick. Beyond QuickBooks integration, it also allows our clients to save digital copies of other critical documents in a well-organized and familiar folder structure format.
Scott Cytron: Another program listed on your portal is “Cash Management.” What is this?
Joe Lauzen: The Cash Management Calendar login is for Bill.com; this is another solution that enables us to offer outsourced bookkeeping services remotely. Depending on the client’s needs, we either set them up with SmartVault or Bill.com. Typically, if the client wants access to their QuickBooks file and they don’t need a sophisticated approval process for paying vendor bills, then we’ll set them up with SmartVault. If the client is looking for a more “high-level” review of their cash flow with no need to access QuickBooks, or if they need to specifically approve each bill before payment can be made, then we’ll set them up with Bill.com.
Scott Cytron: What are some of your favorite business-related books or publications you’ve read that you would recommend to other CPAs and accountants?
Joe Lauzen: I would recommend the CPA Practice Advisor. Each issue is filled with insightful articles and information that accounting firms can use to improve their core processes.
Scott Cytron: Last question … what is your personal mantra or “words” you live by?
Joe Lauzen: I don’t know if it’s my personal mantra, but I really like General George S. Patton’s quote: “A good plan violently executed today is far and away better than a perfect plan tomorrow.”