Watch

Listen

Read

How can you market with HEART?

Something that I have observed during my time in the marketing industry is that many small- to mid-sized businesses, including accounting firms, struggle to remain consistent in their marketing, or they simply miss the mark on their marketing and communications.

A while back I created the HEART model, named after my marketing company atHeart.

I created this simple memory device so that when clients are sitting down to work on a piece of marketing, like a social media post, or writing the script for a video, your marketing remains consistent and on brand.

The HEART Model stands for:

Honest
Empathetic
Authentic
Repeatable
Transformational

Let's dig into what each piece of the model means as it relates to your firm's marketing.

When you are working on a marketing campaign or a communication, you should ask yourself these five questions.

Is this piece of marketing HONEST?

Marketing can be given a bad wrap for misleading the public.

We don’t want to do that.

So, take a second to reflect if there is any misleading information in this marketing material that should be removed.

Is the marketing asset that you are working on telling an honest story?

Is this piece of marketing EMPATHETIC?

You need to connect with your clients and target audience in a genuine way. They need to feel that you understand them and their problems.

So, reflect on the marketing material that you are creating and ensure that there is a level of empathy baked into the final result.

Is this piece of marketing AUTHENTIC?

Clients are no dummies and can smell disingenuous marketing from a mile away… and it reeks!

Ensure that your marketing material is authentic to your brand.

Don’t try to be something that you’re not. Lean into what makes your brand and your firm special!

Is this piece of marketing REPEATABLE?

When you are marketing your accounting firm you want to keep the “curse of knowledge” top of mind. Your clients likely aren't an expert in accounting, hence why they are a client!

So you need to communicate with them in an easily digestible way. One way to make sure that you communicate clearly and simply is to ask yourself, “Is the message of this marketing material repeatable?”

In other words, if someone is to hear it once, could they repeat it to their friends so that it makes sense?

A repeatable story may sound boring and redundant to you, but your customers likely need to hear it several times before it sinks in, so make sure that you repeat your story so that it’s clear, and well, repeatable.

The same goes for calls to action!

Ensure that your call to action is clear and direct, leaving no guesswork on what you are wanting your clients and prospective clients to do after viewing the marketing material you are reviewing.

Is this piece of marketing TRANSFORMATIONAL?

Is the marketing material you are creating communicating the transformation that your customer is going to go through after doing business with your firm?

If not, you are missing out!

Your clients and potential clients are looking for solutions to help them survive and thrive, you need to communicate how you are going to help them survive and thrive in the majority of your marketing.

So, is your message transformational?

Wrap Up

That's it!

Using this model shouldn't take a ton of time.

When you're reviewing your marketing material before publishing it or sending it to print, just run the material through the HEART model by asking yourself, "is this piece of marketing Honest, Empathetic, Authentic, Repeatable, and Transformational?

That's the HEART Model! 💛

A simple memory device to ensure that your marketing is consistent and on brand. No more guesswork, just use the HEART Model when you are sitting down to work on a piece of marketing, and you'll be ahead of the game!

If you're looking for a guide to elevate your firm's marketing, be sure to head over to marketmycpafirm.com and download the FREE Ultimate Accounting Firm Marketing Playbook! It's packed full of tools, resources, and exercises to help you build your firm's marketing!

Thanks for reading and I'll see you next time!

Need some additional help? Book a FREE Discovery Meeting today, here, to chat about how I can help!

I'll see you next time.

About the Author

Bryton Udy is the Founder and CMO of atHeart Creative, and host of the Accountant Marketing Mentor YouTube Channel. Dedicated to helping accountants simplify their marketing and communications so they can grow their accounting, bookkeeping, and financial planning businesses, he is passionate about harnessing creative marketing to support the independent accountant.

How can the HEART Model help with your Marketing needs?