How can marketing help overcome the price objection?

Our podcast series in partnership with ACCA looks at how to grow your practice through data driven marketing.

We dive into five podcasts on how to use marketing to win the business you want, whether you should become a specialist firm with a niche focus, how to create a marketing strategy and plan for your practice, how marketing can help overcome the price objection, and how to market your firm on a budget.

This week we look at how marketing can help overcome the price objection, listen to the podcast here.

If there’s something we can all agree on, it’s that customers objecting to our prices can be frustrating. You’ve had it, we’ve had it, it’s a universal experience for anyone in business.

Nobody can really blame people for questioning the prices of a business’s services. That’s especially true when the services on offer are relatively sophisticated. Unlike, say, plumbing, accountancy doesn’t always have a value the majority of people instinctively understand.

Prices can seem expensive to the average consumer who perhaps doesn’t appreciate the years of study that go into qualifying, or the amount of work that goes into “just doing a tax return”.

Sometimes, of course, haggling is a simple test or negotiation ploy on the client’s part. Business owners are on a budget, after all, and they’re always being told (by their accountants!) to manage cashflow by reducing spending.

If your accounting firm is new, the problem might be even more acute, with clients feeling as if they’re doing you a favour when they could go to an established practice.

There are different ways to combat this price objection. Perhaps most obvious is acting on the things your sales team notices.

Is there something potential clients feel doesn’t represent value for money that proved to be a sticking point? What does your service not include that clients were asking about?

Answer these kinds of questions, either by tweaking your service or improving your sales script, and your sales team will be better prepared for the next tricky potential client.

But that’s only reacting to your problem. Marketing can be the proactive solution to preventing any more price objections.

Removing price objections through marketing

Above all, a good marketing strategy will get you and your potential clients on the same page about who you are, who you specialise in working with, and what you can do for those people and businesses.

Strong communication about these sorts of issues should filter out the window shoppers and tire kickers who are most likely to object to your prices.

Good marketing will also communicate your expertise in your field. Or, more accurately, it will demonstrate it.

Written content moulded around the questions your ideal client might come to you with is a great tool to do this, along with case studies and testimonials from other clients.

With evidence of your knowledge and experience, combined with ‘social proof’ from their peers, potential new clients will be more likely to trust you and your prices.

How to communicate value to reduce price objection

What do informational content and case studies actually look like? And what makes for a good testimonial?

First, populate your blog with posts about developments in the tax and business world, explainers of complicated issues and advice on topics people might be asking about.

A blog dedicated to your niche (if you have one) can be extremely beneficial to demonstrate you understand your specialisation inside and out.

Again, get a potential client to trust your expertise and they’ll be more likely to trust they’re getting good value for their money.

Client stories or case studies should be relevant to the potential clients you want to convince.

They’ll want to hear from businesses in their sector, of the same size, at the same stage of development, or some combination of all three. If you had a great success story with an unusual one-off client, that isn’t going to resonate with your target audience, so perhaps consider another.

What it should be, however, is about a time in which something worked really well because of your contribution. Stick to this structure:

• What was the issue your client came to you with?
• How did you help?
• What was the outcome for the client?

You should look to create something between 700 and 1,000 words long so you can include enough details for a wide audience to identify with different parts of the story you’re telling.

Consider soliciting short and snappy client testimonials, too. Google Reviews is particularly good for this. They can go onto your website or even under your email signature if you want.

Some people find it awkward asking for testimonials from clients but it’s essentially a free marketing tool waiting to be used. Can you afford to turn down such an opportunity?

Communicating your value doesn’t always just have to be swathes of written words.

As an accountant, it’s safe to assume you’re good with numbers, so do the maths for your potential clients – show them their potential return on investment if they choose to work with you. For example, we’ve got clients who are able to say things like, “Most of our clients save in tax more than they pay us in their first year with us.”

With some of the work handed to them on a plate, they’ll move further down the sales funnel and be more ready to commit to buying your services.

How to handle price objections with marketing

Earlier, we said that one way to handle price objections is for your sales team to discuss their experiences with potential clients. What we didn’t say is that this should also feed into your marketing.

If potential clients are repeatedly asking the same questions about your services and firm, that suggests certain information might be missing from your marketing materials.

For instance, you might lack a page on your website to explain your value, or your price packages might require a shakeup to make them more understandable.

We know that marketing can feel like an abstract concept that is difficult to wield, especially when you’re in the framework stage. That’s why, as a quick shortcut, we would suggest you look at your competitors to see what they’re doing around pricing. Something might jump out at you that you think you could also be doing or do better.

It’s also always worth working with a specialist agency who can help you with your marketing.

Get in touch with us on 0117 915 0420 to discuss how we can help with your accountancy firm’s marketing.

Listen to the podcast here.