Which Firms Have The Best Web Sites? These Three Ensure Good ROI With Well-Planned Strategy,...

Expert Q&A

Q: Name three truly excellent accounting firm Web sites and tell us what makes them so great.

A: Some firms are doing excellent jobs with their sites, both from creative and strategic standpoints. Even the best sites have a flaw or two, and that's OK, because Web sites are

constantly evolving. My top pick from the client perspective, at the moment, is the Web site of Stonefield Josephson of Santa Monica, Calif., www.sjaccounting.com. It does a remarkable job of personalizing the firm: viewers actually feel like they know some of the people. Its "Day-In-The-Life" feature helps the viewer feel confident in the competence of the firm's professionals. It offers lots of helpful articles. The photography is exquisite, and the design is clean and sophisticated.

Another firm doing some neat things is Vitale, Caturano & Co. of Boston (www.vitale.com). It does a wonderful job of appealing to recruits - just read about the firm's amenities! This firm is also unique in its commitment to community, evidenced by its VCC Foundation. The "Team Leader" page is really different in its design.

Beers & Cutler of Washington (www. beersandcutler.com) beautifully addresses recruiting with one of the best "Careers" sections I've ever seen. It has great use of multimedia to the right audience. The "Industry" pages nicely accomplish a connection with the respective intended clients and prospects, and relevant services are cross-referenced to make it easy for viewers to navigate for more information. (Editor's Note: None of the firms mentioned above are Golden's clients.)

Q: Can we realistically expect our Web site to bring in clients?

A: Yes. A bad Web site (or no site at all) turns off potential clients, because it shows the firm doesn't understand the importance of the Internet to their business. Businesses looking for an accounting firm's services want to know they are choosing advisors who understand today's business climate, and demonstrating an understanding of the role of the Web is crucial. The Internet is not a place where you want your firm to look amateurish.

Q: What role should our site play in staff recruiting?

A: Recruiting stellar talent should be one of the primary purposes of an accounting firm Web site. One of my clients, William F. Gurrie & Co. of Oak Brook, Ill., learned a vivid lesson in the importance of a great Web site to recruiting. Kelly Zabinski, a manager-level CPA with an impressive rsum, sent a letter to the firm's president, Tim Cole, shortly after the firm's Web site was renovated a couple years ago. Her letter referenced the firm's site as key to her interest in the firm. She'd heard of the firm but hesitated to seek a job there, because she thought it worked only with schools. The firm's site, www.gurrie.com, illustrates that it specializes in other government work as well, and Zabinski's passion is serving municipalities, so she wrote Cole to inquire about working for the firm. She is now a leader in the firm's municipal audit practice and already has brought in $210,000 in new business for 2005. Zabinski credits the firm's site with changing her perception of the firm.

Q: How much money should our firm invest in a Web site?

A: The price of a really good Web site has decreased in the last five to 10 years. Lots of great freelance designers are available at reasonable cost. Starting price for design and programming of a moderately sized site is around $3,000. These costs won't include strategy or content, both of which the firm will need to be complete before design begins. Firms with marketing staff in-house should have fewer strategy costs, because their marketers can guide most or all of that aspect. Web content also can be handled in-house, but given the propensity for firms simply to check out each others' sites and follow suit, a huge number of accounting firm Web sites sound and look alike, which defeats the purpose of having a Web site in the first place. A firm of 25 to 30 people with five or six core practice areas should allocate a minimum of $15,000 for strategy and copy development. Larger firms may spend several times this amount, especially if they want databases, custom photography or multimedia elements.

Q: How often should we invest in our Web site?

A: Like brochures, Web sites have a fairly short shelf life. They should be remodeled every two or three years. View your Web investment as you would your investments in hardware, software or print materials. It's a recurring expense you can and should plan for.

The real investment is non-monetary: it's in continually adding valuable and relevant information, such as articles and events, to practice area pages and bios. New content should be added monthly or at least quarterly for a very small firm. Firmwide and individual marketing plans should work in initiatives that feed the firm's Web site while accomplishing other goals.

Q: What are the biggest mistakes firms make regarding their sites?

A: There are five fatal errors that accounting firms frequently make:

1. Failing to connect the needs of clients and prospects with solutions that the firm can provide. The firm's Web site must demonstrate that it understands prospects' needs and pain, then reassure them that the firm can and will make it better.

2. Static content. A Web site that misses the opportunity to be a resource for its visitors misses a lot of ROI on their marketing dollars. Adding new and useful information builds your credibility and helps people. It also accomplishes No. 1.

3. Failure to target recruits. Entrepreneurial people rely on the Internet to investigate the job market and prospective employers. Don't underestimate that role of your Web site.

4. Firm-centered content. Web sites that shout "All About Us" and have no language that is unique from other accounting firms' sites are missing the mark on differentiating their firm. They are also boring visitors to tears.

5. Ineffective bios. Biographies are the one place on your site where it's OK to be "All About Us." But most firms list only partner bios, and most of those are far too light: They don't support the firm's touted specialties and ability to deliver solutions. Look at the difference between attorneys' bios and accountants' - you'll find that, in general, attorneys' bios deliver a lot more power. There is no reason that accountants' bios should have so much less substance.

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Golden

AUTHOR_AFFILIATION

Michelle Golden, president of St. Louis-based Golden Marketing Resources, is one of the foremost experts on accounting firm Web sites in the nation. Her company's Web site, www.goldenmarketinginc.com, features reviews of accounting firm Web sites, with new ones added regularly. Here, she answers some of the questions she's most commonly asked about accounting firm Web sites and how the right investments in a good site can pay off.

AUTHOR_AFFILIATION

Golden can be reached at (314) 416-1201, michelle@goldenmarketingresources.com