Who Cares If Grant Thornton is Passionate about the Business of Accounting?
They registered a slogan that’s all about them.
It has nothing to do with how they benefit their clients.
If you watch any business-oriented TV, you’ve probably seen the Grant Thornton commercials. They’ve spent millions to tell the world that they have ‘a passion for the business of accounting.’ Are they suggesting that their fellow accounting firms lack a passion for the business of accounting? That seems unlikely. In fact, their slogan has essentially no customer value because it’s all about Grant Thornton. Apparently, they aren’t passionate about content marketing.
Couldn’t They Have Been Passionate about the Success of their Clients?
Grant Thornton could have launched a customer-centric set of commercials that were all about helping their clients solve thorny financial problems. As it is, I have no idea why they are different or better than anyone else–or how they could help my business. There was nothing in their commercials with a customer-centric message that would likely motivate prospects to check out their website.
On Their Website: They bury the good stuff 3 layers down–and then don’t give attention-grabbing headlines
If you did find your way to their website, it does make a stab at content marketing. Although the design is pretty pedestrian, they do ask “What can we do for you?” They mention ‘Grant Thornton thinking’ and have a few items that visitors are meant to click on–but it’s not obvious why I would care about their ‘thinking.’
They have done some good research but they hide it below the surface. Because they aren’t thinking like publishers they don’t present it in a way that would drive readership. In their bank survey, they buried the lead, which should have been, Bankers Cautious about U.S. Economy in 2007.
They also offer some news and show that they’ve been recognized as a good place to work. However, they don’t take a coherent approach to showing why I should move through the site toward becoming a new client. In addition, there doesn’t appear to be any special knowledge/service area for existing clients.
Lessons to Learn: Effective Content Marketing Must Focus on What’s Relevant to the Client
- Had Grant Thornton focused on how they have made and will make their clients successful, they would have had a marketing program with a measurable pay off. As it is, any follow up research on their TV ads could only show whether viewers remembered an accounting firm that has an accounting jones.
- To differentiate yourself, you need to communicate something relevant to your customers. I’m sure that GT has areas of expertise that have benefited clients. But we can’t easily tell from their commercials or their website.
- Had GT extracted what is most certainly a treasure trove of knowledge to create an invaluable web presence they could have established financial thought leadership. That would then translate into much improved client acquisition and retention.
- Think like a publisher. Present compelling, relevant content in a way that guarantees readership. Don’t hide the good stuff.
- Web design is critical to the message. GT’s web design doesn’t make it clear what to do or how to benefit from that mostly hidden knowledge base. In addition, they have ‘news’ items that don’t relate clearly to how GT can benefit its clients.
- The investment to create a content marketing campaign would not have required more money than what GT squandered to talk about themselves. Doing it right doesn’t have to cost a penny more than doing it wrong. It’s about the thinking, not the money.
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Comments [4]
Newt,
You analysis of Grant Thornton’s focus is dead on. In fact it is the norm for the profession. The major firms, such as Grant Thornton are faced with such a litigious society they focus inwardly and wind up creating barriers to entry rather than focusing on benefiting their clients through expanded or enhanced features. It winds up forcing many professionals to exit the large firms and instead start their own practice, where they can focus on their clients.
Kirk Ward
Kirk,
Thanks for your comments. The amazing thing to me about many companies is that they remain inwardly focused in their marketing–even when they do a good job of taking care of their clients. My guess is the GT is perfectly competent in their work. They just do a terrible job of marketing their skills.
Newt
A passion for the business of accounting suggests that Grant Thornton does have a commitment to customer service. It suggests that they are committed to being experts in their field and will get it right the first time so that their clients will not have to worry about it themselves.
You may be on to something though, Grant Thornton is planning a new marketing campaign and logo due on in February.
Kyle,
Thanks very much for your comment. I think a major problem arises when you say ’suggests that…have a commitment, etc. My take is that the focus of the commercial requires a leap from the viewer to figure out that passion = customer service and getting it right the first time. When you have so little time to connect, you need to make it obvious that the customer comes first.
And, in terms of the website, I think GT is missing a huge opportunity to convey their expertise with valuable content.
Newt