Before 1984, accountants and lawyers didn’t really need to worry too much about communications or marketing. There’s a simple reason why: they weren’t allowed to engage in any marketing as we know it today.
Back in 1984, it was unethical to engage in any marketing. So, most firms did not have a brochure describing what they did, what services they offered and so on.
It was virtually unknown for a competitor to “steal” a client from you.
In October 1984, professional firms were liberated from the no-marketing or advertising constraints by the OFT. I remember it well.
My firm was one of the first in the UK to have a coloured logo and a powerful brochure. In fact, we were the first accountancy firm to advertise on British Television. Roughly four times a night for seven weeks, my firm brought a new message to prospective clients across Southern England… But that’s another story.
Today, firms have to communicate information to clients quickly and efficiently. If you can’t keep your service documents and information brochures up to date, you’re wasting a real marketing opportunity.
Providing technical and other information to clients and prospects
There are three ways in which a firm can maintain relationships with its clients and prospects in providing technical and other information in response to a request for information from clients and prospects.
- Buy in publications from publishers
The problem with this is that this is a costly thing to do. The information can easily go out of date and it’s a clumsy way of providing information to those who ask for it. What happens in practice is that there are piles of brochures in the corner of an office, gathering dust, part of a long-forgotten marketing plan that didn’t work.
Buying in pre-printed publications was a good idea over 30 years ago when I launched the CharterGroup Partnership and LawGroup UK because small to medium sized firms couldn’t afford to write or publish their own brochures, so they had to be syndicated and bought in from a group publisher. But it’s old hat today. Today, we’re supposed to be saving the Planet and going paperless is one way to do just that.
- Do nothing
This option costs nothing.
Clients get nothing that they need.
Prospects avoid firms that do nothing and move on to firms that provide details of their services and issue free publications.
- The last option is to subscribe to a digital business library and have hundreds of brochures available via your website 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
The advantage of this option is that because the publications are digital they are up to date and always available. Once clients and prospects register on your website they can simply take what they need.
Even better still is that the cost to a firm is a fraction of printing publications under option 1 and helps prevent trees being chopped down and endangering the Planet.
Statistics
- According to recent research over a third of small business owners feel isolated when making key business decisions.
- 43% confess to loneliness when focusing on changing strategy or direction, and another two fifths feel detached over business planning matters.
Accountants and Lawyers are uniquely placed to help businesses by providing them with information direct from their website through a digital business library.
Have you got 8 to 10 years to spare?
When I was in public practice as an accountant, I set about creating a digital business library. It took me about 8 to 10 years to get it right. However, it was all worthwhile as Bizezia’s Online Business Library now leads the digitally-delivered dynamic market with a comprehensive collection of some 700 professionally-written informative publications that you can offer free to your clients direct from your website.
The publications cover an extensive range of business topics from tax to marketing and most things in between.
Digital publications allow you to add significant value to the service you offer your clients, and enable you to build relationships with prospective clients. The alternative, as mentioned above, is to do nothing – it costs nothing but clients get nothing they need.
What is the Bizezia Online Business Library?
Every publication in the library is personalised and branded to your firm and available for your clients and prospects to download from your website.
These business publications provide valuable information on diverse subjects such as law, finance, marketing and management. The Online Business Library is an impressive knowledge resource, underlining your credentials as a knowledgeable, professional firm.
Features
- Nearly 700 personalised publications
- Choose from 5 to 21 categories
- Unrivalled quality and depth of content and subjects
- Online, on-demand delivery through your website
- No work on your part: Bizezia regularly update each publication automatically
- Users can print, save or email the publications to a friend/colleague
- Users can browse the library or search for a particular topic
- No programming experience is required on your part
- No set-up fees, just an easy and affordable monthly or annual payment option with a minimum 12 month subscription
- Free support from Bizezia
Benefits
- Cost savings compared to any other library method
- Always available from anywhere in the world
- An impressive knowledge resource for your website
- Each personalised publication is a powerful marketing tool for your firm
- Attract new clients and build existing client loyalty
- Valuable research resource for your staff
- Bring your website to life
- Keep yourself up-to-date with this valuable technical updating and personal development tool
Categories
| Marketing and PromotionTables, Plans and ChecklistsLawyers and Accountants
Taxation Legislation Pensions, Investments and Estate Planning Company Cars Stock Markets and Going Public Employment and Work Miscellaneous Charities |
International PackBusinesses and those who run themTechnology and the Internet
Insolvency Buying, Selling, Valuing and Financing for Businesses Glossaries Buying a Residential Property Abroad Online Publications for the International Market Doing Business in Other Countries Insurances Budget Reports |
A full List of Publications is available here.
Why do you need Online Business Library?
- Marketing: In today’s competitive business environment, firms must do everything they can to stand out from the crowd. The Online Business Library is a true differentiator: it underlines your knowledge credentials and brings new clients to your firm.
- Website: What does your website say about your firm? Is it full of useful content which encourages visitors to come back time and time again? Or is it merely a static online brochure with nothing to capture visitors’ attention? The Online Business Library, with its 700+ publications, is a great, instant knowledge resource to make sure your website works hard for your firm.
- Time & Research: The publications are so useful that even your staff will want to use them when researching client queries. With some 700 publications to choose from, the chances are that you will find the answer in the Online Business Library.
How does Online Business Library work?
The Online Business Library appears on your website through a unique delivery system:
- Installation is easy. Simply paste our HTML code into the website page of your choosing (your web developer or IT personnel will be able to do this for you)
- A portal will automatically appear as a window on the page you choose (in a colour to match the rest of your website)
- Through this portal, visitors to your website will browse the library or search for a particular topic
- Each publication downloaded will be automatically personalised to your firm
Pricing
There is no set-up fee for the Online Business Library, just an easy and affordable monthly or annual payment option based on how many categories you select (minimum 12 month subscription). The Online Business Library allows unlimited downloads which means visitors to your site can download 100 or 1,000,000 publications and you won’t pay a penny more.
| No. of Categoriesy | Pay monthly | Pay annually |
| 1-5 | £39 | £421 |
| 6-10 | £79 | £853 |
| 11-15 | £119 | £1285 |
| Over 15 | £139 | £1499 |
| Note: VAT is chargeable on all subscriptions | ||
To learn more and to subscribe, click here.
He has written over 700 business publications (see Glossaries at https://onesmartplace.com/resources/glossaries/) and is editor of Better Business Focus (see https://onesmartplace.com/resources/better-business-focus-magazine). His Blog, on a wide range of subjects can be found at: https://onesmartplace.com/blog/
- Mysteries Galore - June 6, 2022
- Information about Telephone and Internet Banking - November 15, 2021
- Information about Falls: Why they happen and how to avoid them - November 15, 2021