Summary
Even in times of uncertainty, analysing the risks ahead is essential to safeguard your business against future changes. A PESTLE analysis is one of several tools you can use as part of your marketing plan.
There are some things you just can’t predict.
If you told anyone a year ago about the challenges firms are facing today, they might not have believed you.
Even now, a multitude of factors are affecting the economy, making it very hard to see where your business might be in a year’s time, and even harder to plan your marketing goals and activities in the meantime.
As uncertain as things are, planning is still key. Taking a methodical approach to the risks and opportunities ahead will help you to deal with them, while also putting you in a more stable position to handle any unexpected problems that come your way.
Fortunately, there are tools you can use to help you do this when you’re revising your marketing strategy for 2023.
You might already be familiar with the practice of SWOT analysis, which can help you to assess your firm’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for an understanding of your market position.
A slightly lesser-known – but equally important – tool is the PESTLE analysis. This is a way of understanding and evaluating the external factors that affect your business, and your sector of the market.
It goes beyond what your firm is doing and looks at what’s happening in the wider world, to anticipate how factors beyond your control might impact your business and affect the marketing activity you choose to spend on in the year ahead.
A PESTLE analysis looks at the following six factors:
- Political
- Economic
- Social
- Technological
- Legal
- Environmental
It might feel too late to be making predictions about the threats your business might face over the next year – after all, many businesses have already suffered financial difficulty.
Conducting a forward-looking PESTLE analysis can help you to break down potential challenges across different areas, and plan for eventualities you might otherwise have overlooked.
For instance, you’re already likely to be considering the economic impacts as a part of your planning and forecasting, but it’s also important to think about the social and technological implications on your market.
How will this change the way your clients work, and how they interact with customers? Will there be a permanent shift in their working practices and business model? And will their needs when it comes to accountancy services change as a result?
Thinking about these shifts and planning your marketing around them means you’ll be staying ahead of the curve, rather than responding to changes as they happen.
How to carry out a PESTLE analysis
Your analysis itself can be carried out step by step, with bullet points – or a more in-depth description, if you prefer – for each section.
Consider the six factors in turn and think about what might happen in the year ahead, and how it might affect your business.
It might be helpful to carry out research into each area, and find relevant data so that you’re not just relying on assumptions.
Think about the level of risk for each category, as well as the potential opportunities on offer.
Using this information, think about how each aspect of your analysis applies more specifically to your marketing activity.
Political factors
This section looks at how political change could affect the business environment, in particular with regards to regulation and taxes.
For example, following the Government announcements with the mini-Budget and Autumn Statement, there are more economic implications to come with taxes and spending being addressed.
Your analysis should consider the changes that might be announced, and the potential impacts of measures that take effect in April 2023.
Economic factors
This can include any economic change that could affect your business, taking into account current forecasts and how they will affect other businesses in your sector, as well as buyer behaviour.
Social factors
Consider any demographic and cultural changes that are happening at the moment and could continue throughout the year, as well as changes in attitudes.
As the UK is facing its longest recession on record, people will be tightening their purse strings and cutting back, while trying to cope with the rise in mortgages and bills that they face. How will this affect your marketing plans?
Technological factors
Advancements in technology could affect how your business operates and how your clients operate, too.
Many businesses in the UK moved to digital ways of working as a result of Covid, and are relying more heavily on e-commerce.
Your accountancy firm’s website is now the main point of contact you’ll have with potential clients. It’s now more important than ever to make sure your website is functional and appealing, and that you’re spending time on the right digital marketing activities.
Legal factors
This covers the regulatory requirements that apply to your business and your clients’ businesses.
Changes to consider might include industry-specific regulation, or wider-ranging laws like the general data protection regulation that was implemented in 2018.
Significant upcoming changes might affect the way you communicate with prospects, and the content you produce.
Environmental factors
Finally, it’s important to factor in the way the environment could impact your business. This could include concerns around climate change, and steps your firm and your clients’ firms are taking to reduce their carbon footprint.
It could also include weather-related issues, such as the risk of damage from flooding or storms.
What else should you put in your marketing plan?
A PESTLE analysis is just one of several components that should go into your full marketing plan.
Other sections could include a SWOT analysis, a summary of your marketing goals, assessment of your growth areas and capability, as well as customer and market research.
It’s also important to include a schedule to set out the marketing activities you’re going to undertake to meet your goals.
Our complete guide to marketing plans for accountants explains the process of creating a marketing plan in full, with helpful tips based on our experience.
