Ever since the outbreak of COVID-19, businesses have changed how they work, interact with clients, and communicate with employees. Companies have been busy figuring out how to stay afloat while taking safety precautions by maintaining a social distance to prevent the spread of the disease.
One such business is the tax preparation industry. Because of the pandemic, the 2020 tax season could be the first year that tax preparers do not sit down with clients to discuss their tax returns. While the world adjusts to the new normal, preparers are seeking helpful ways to scale their tax preparation business during the pandemic.
In this article, we discuss how a tax preparation business can plan and grow amid the COVID-19 uncertainties.
Analyze the Demographics of Your Top Profitable Clients
The best way to grow a business is by identifying your target market and developing plans to reach the right audience. But you might ask, who is my target audience? Well, you can determine your audience by carrying out a market analysis.
A market analysis can include such information as the age, gender, and location of your prospects. The data is referred to as demographics. An understanding of the demographics makes it easy to determine the needs and tax trends of your clients. The information you collect can help your business craft targeted advertisements to reach the right clients.
Get Social
The opportunity has never been riper for social media targeting than it is now. Because of the pandemic, people are spending more time online, and this offers an opportunity to grow a great number of audiences through social platforms.
Social media platforms allow you to get first-hand information about what prospects think of your tax preparation business. Through their feedback, you can upscale or rectify operations to attract more leads.
A point to note is that various social media platforms attract different clients. So, for better success, use the results from your market analysis to determine which platforms suit your tax preparation business.
Ask for a Referral
A satisfied customer will not hesitate to tell a friend about your business. If you want clients to remember you, offer services that are not only professional but memorable. Say, for example, you help your clients save on the taxes they were to pay, they will remember the process and probably refer someone else to your business.
But better still, go out of your way and request for feedback. You can even ask clients to tell people about your tax business and the services you offer. If you have lots of happy clients, it will be easy for you to share your business cards and have clients distribute to friends and family.
Take part in Community Events
The pandemic has had a tremendous impact on how people interact. But even so, every community still holds charitable activities and events. As a business, you can use such events to get yourself out there and network with other business people.
You can offer free services and volunteer to give talks about the impact of the pandemic on taxes. During the talk, you can introduce your business and let people know how you can help them solve their tax issues.
Email Marketing
What customers will remember most after this pandemic is how you kept in touch by sharing helpful information. For the longest time now, emails have been a useful tool for sharing business prospects. And thanks to the introduction of marketing software like MailChimp, you can now send thousands of emails without manually entering each email address.
Marketing software has features that automatically fetch email addresses and send updates. Through the email list, you can reach, engage, and convert prospects to clients.
Use a Tax Preparation Software
As a tax preparer, you have a lot to deal with every day. You are already keeping track of the customers’ data, converting the data into actionable results, and learning about the latest tax laws and codes.
In a nutshell, everything you want done needs to be done on time and in the right manner. To avoid the hassle of missing on updates, use a software tool likeUltimate Tax to keep track of your customers’ tax information. Ultimate Tax is an effective software that allows you to access information anywhere, anytime, and at your convenience.
Send a Tax Postcard
If you are thinking of direct mail and eye-catching advertisements, then postcards are the way to go. Tax postcards help increase brand awareness and act as great reminders for upcoming tax obligations. As the pandemic continues, it is important to remind clients that they still have to submit their tax reports. Postcards are also great for reaching out to new clients and letting them know about your tax preparation business.
Conclusion
Even in a pandemic, it will surprise you how much you gain from developing proper marketing strategies. There are many helpful ways to scale your tax preparation business during a pandemic. You need to take the time to plan, organize, execute, and evaluate your goals.
Author Bio
Mike Steele
President, Ultimate Tax Service
He is a business-minded individual and an Owner of the Ultimate Tax Service. He started his service with no customers. Today, his company is developing many great relationships all over the country. He grew the business into 4 states with over 50 locations from 1999 to 2005. Since 1999, he has gained valuable experience on what to do and what not to do in business
