A Powerful & Customizable CPA Marketing Strategy (FREE)

A comprehensive CPA marketing strategy, covering the entire sales funnel and all digital marketing channels. Designed to you get more traffic and customers for your cpa business.
Prepared by: Eduardo Yi
Created on: March 5, 2025
Your Strategy
Primary Item (H2)
Primary Item (H2)

The Sales Funnel

The sales funnel is a visual way to understand the journey your customers take, from first discovering your business to eventually making a purchase. Imagine it like a funnel shape: at the top, many people might learn about your business, but fewer move down to become actual buyers.

Optimizing your entire sales funnel, you're able to increase the number of people who move smoothly from interested browsers to loyal, paying customers.

It helps ensure every part of your business—from your website to your follow-up emails—is designed to guide people toward buying. The clearer this pathway, the easier it is to boost your sales and grow your business.

The marketing plan below includes dozens of marketing ideas and tactics to optimize your entire sales funnel.

Your Target Personas

A target persona is a fictional representation of your ideal customer, created by researching and understanding the behaviors, needs, and preferences of people most likely to buy your products or services.

Think of it as drawing a detailed portrait of your best customer, including details like their age, interests, job, daily habits, and the challenges they face.

By visualizing this customer, you're better able to understand what motivates them, how to communicate effectively, and how to reach them through your marketing efforts.

Rather than trying to appeal to everyone—which can lead to wasted resources and ineffective marketing—you can specifically tailor your messages to resonate deeply with the people most likely to become loyal customers.
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Your Target Persona #1: Savvy Small Business Owner
Age: 42 | Education: Bachelor's in Business Administration | Occupation: Owner of a local café
"I'm overwhelmed with the accounting side of my café business. Keeping track of expenses, understanding tax regulations, and making sure I'm compliant is stressing me out."
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Visible Goals
These are the goals your target persona would tell you about.
Streamline my bookkeeping processes
Maximize tax deductions for my business
Set up a solid financial plan for growth
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True Goals
These are the real things they want to achieve.
"I want to feel secure about my business finances"
"If I reduce my tax burden, I can invest more in my café's expansion"
"I need to manage my time better so I can focus on customer service"
🙅‍♂️
Purchasing Objections
These are your target persona's doubts about your product.
"I worry that hiring a CPA will be too expensive for my small business"
"Can I really trust someone else with my financial information?"
"I've heard mixed reviews about CPAs and their services"
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Answer to Objections
These are your product's answers to your target persona's doubts.
Our services are designed for small businesses and we offer transparent pricing to ensure affordability
We prioritize data security and confidentiality, so you can trust us with your sensitive information
Many of our satisfied clients have seen significant improvements in their financial management after using our services
✨
Transformation
In your target persona's own words, here's how your product has improved their life.
"Since I started working with the CPA, I've gained confidence in managing my finances. I now focus on my customers instead of worrying about taxes. My café is expanding, and I finally have a solid financial plan in place."
How to use this information: You should think about your target persona every time you're working on any marketing campaign. Your landing pages, blog posts, social posts, ads, videos, email copy, new products, should all be targeted at your target persona.
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Your Target Persona #2: Tax Time Tom
Age: 35 | Education: Master's in Information Technology | Occupation: IT Specialist at a tech firm
"I'm confused by tax forms and deadlines. Every year, I worry I'll make mistakes and end up with penalties, which adds more stress to my busy life."
🥅
Visible Goals
These are the goals your target persona would tell you about.
File my taxes accurately and on time
Identify potential deductions to save money
Avoid penalties from the IRS
👀
True Goals
These are the real things they want to achieve.
"I want peace of mind knowing my taxes are handled correctly"
"If I save money on taxes, I could take a vacation with my family"
"I need to balance my work commitments so tax season isn't a stressful time"
🙅‍♂️
Purchasing Objections
These are your target persona's doubts about your product.
"I think hiring a CPA will take too much time and effort to find the right one"
"I'm not sure if the cost justifies the benefits I might get"
"What if I don’t have enough documents ready for them?"
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Answer to Objections
These are your product's answers to your target persona's doubts.
Our team makes the process easy; we guide you through every step, saving you time
Investing in a CPA often leads to extra savings through accurate filings and available deductions
We offer document preparation support to help you gather everything needed for a smooth filing process
✨
Transformation
In your target persona's own words, here's how your product has improved their life.
"With the CPA's help, my tax filing is no longer a hassle. I have peace of mind knowing my taxes are done right, and I can finally enjoy tax season without the usual stress caused by confusion and fear of penalties."
How to use this information: You should think about your target persona every time you're working on any marketing campaign. Your landing pages, blog posts, social posts, ads, videos, email copy, new products, should all be targeted at your target persona.

Top of the Funnel

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Your Goal at the Top of the Funnel: Awareness
At this stage of the funnel, your marketing persona isn't aware of your product and isn't even necessarily looking for a product. They just know they have a problem. Your objective at the top of the funnel is for them to be aware of your business by providing value (without trying to get them to buy right away.)
New visitors to website
Total views on social media posts
Engagement rate on content
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Content Marketing
Content marketing is all about creating the assets you'll promote and optimize on through the different marketing channels (SEO, social media, email marketing, and ads.) At the top of the funnel, you're creating your mass-market content, aimed to attract as many people as possible.
Content ideas:
Blog post: '10 Common Tax Mistakes Small Business Owners Make and How to Avoid Them'
Infographic: 'Tax Deduction Checklist for Small Cafés'
Video series: '3 Steps to Streamline Your Bookkeeping Process for Your Café'
Podcast episode: 'Understanding Tax Regulations: What Every Small Business Owner Should Know'
Webinar: 'Financial Planning for Small Business Growth: Tips for Café Owners'
Social media campaign: 'Share Your Biggest Tax Questions for Our CPA to Answer!'
What to measure:
Pageviews on blog posts
Social shares and comments
Time spent on content
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SEO
With SEO, you can get your content to rank on the top of search engines for the keywords that your marketing persona is typing into Google. At the top of the funnel, the keywords you'll target will likely have a higher search volume and will be harder to rank for.
Keyword ideas:
how to avoid tax mistakes for small businesses
tax deduction checklist for cafés
streamline bookkeeping processes for café owners
understanding tax regulations for small business
financial planning tips for café owners
best practices for bookkeeping in the café industry
how to maximize tax savings for small restaurants
time management tips for busy business owners
common accounting challenges for cafés
local café tax preparation services
What to measure:
Organic traffic
Keyword rankings
Click-through rates on search results
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Paid Advertising
When it comes to ads, targeting is probably the most important predictor of a winning campaign (closely followed by ad creatives.) At the top of the funnel, you'll be looking for brand new audiences who have never heard about your company — these are called "Prospecting" campaigns.
Target audience ideas:
[Prospecting] Facebook Ads: Target small business owners interested in financial planning and tax services.
[Prospecting] Google Ads: Target keywords like 'tax tips for small business' or 'bookkeeping services for cafés.'
[Prospecting] YouTube Ads: Promote a video series on common tax mistakes, targeting individuals searching for financial advice.
[Remarketing] Facebook Ads: Re-target visitors of the tax preparation blog who haven't subscribed for a newsletter yet.
[Remarketing] Google Ads: Show ads to users who have visited pricing pages but did not sign up.
What to measure:
CTR (Click-Through Rate)
Cost per click (CPC)
Impressions
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Social Media
The hardest part about doing social media as a brand/business, is that you should look to not behave like just another business on social media. Your social media content should be native to each channel in tone, format, and style. Because of its mass usage, social media is perfect for top of the funnel content.
Social media campaign ideas:
Run a social media contest asking followers to share their biggest financial frustrations to drive engagement.
Create posts highlighting success stories of café owners who improved their finances with CPA help.
Host a live Q&A session on Instagram to answer tax-related questions from business owners.
Develop a series of educational posts about common bookkeeping errors to engage café owners.
Monitor social channels for mentions of tax season stress and respond with helpful advice.
What to measure:
Engagement rate per post
Follower growth
Reach of educational posts
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Marketing Experiments
For whatever campaign you launch, there will always be room for improvement. It's a good idea to pick a few experiments ideas and launch split tests designed to improve your most important metrics.
Experiment ideas:
Test different headlines for the main blog page focusing on tax tips.
A/B test CTA buttons on landing pages for guide downloads (e.g., 'Download Tax Checklist' vs. 'Get Your Personalized Tax Guide').
Experiment with different layouts for the content pages to see which retains visitors longer.
Run a split test on social share buttons: showing or hiding them in blog articles.
Evaluate forms for downloading resources; try simplifying fields to reduce friction.
What to measure:
Bounce rate on landing pages
Conversion rates for resource downloads
Average session duration

Middle of the Funnel

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Your Goal at the Middle of the Funnel: Consideration
At this stage of the funnel, your marketing persona is aware of your product but isn't ready to purchase. They are still doing research and comparing your solution against competitors. This is the time to build trust by giving them more information and provide answers to questions they might have. Your main objective at the middle of the funnel is to turn a stranger into a lead.
Return visits to the website
New leads generated
Engagement rate on informational content
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Content Marketing
The content you'll create for the middle of the funnel is typically called a "lead magnet." This is usually a free (or very cheap) piece of content that you'll offer to your marketing persona in exchange for their contact information (e.g. email address or phone number.)
Content ideas:
Webinar: 'Maximize Your Tax Deductions: An Essential Guide for Café Owners' to build trust and offer value.
E-book: 'Streamlining Bookkeeping for Small Business Success' providing in-depth strategies for financial organization.
Case study: 'How We Helped a Local Café Save Thousands in Taxes' showcasing successful partnerships with clients.
Email course: '5 Days to Better Business Finances' offering actionable tips on bookkeeping and tax planning over a week.
Video tutorial: 'Understanding Your Tax Forms and Deadlines' making complex information more accessible.
Blog series: 'Financial Health Check for Small Businesses' addressing common concerns of café owners.
What to measure:
Webinar attendance rate
E-book downloads
Engagement on case studies (views, shares)
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SEO
At the middle of the funnel, your marketing persona is likely specifically searching for information about the solutions to their problem (without looking into any specific product, yet.) These keywords are considered to have "higher intent" (aka, more valuable) than the ones at the top of the funnel, but they will have smaller search volumes.
Keyword ideas:
how to maximize tax deductions for small businesses
best practices for bookkeeping for cafés
case studies of successful CPA-client relationships
financial health check for café businesses
step-by-step guide to understanding tax forms
tips for streamlining bookkeeping processes
how to save money on taxes as a café owner
ways to improve cash flow management for small businesses
impact of accurate bookkeeping on tax liabilities
templates for organizing business finances
What to measure:
Number of organic leads
Conversion rate from blog to lead magnet downloads
Average time on content pages
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Paid Advertising
At the middle of the funnel, your paid advertising campaigns will zoom into people who are already aware of your brand somehow, but haven't yet become leads. "Remarketing" campaigns are great for this (although, you might also sometimes experiment with prospecting campaigns that try to convert strangers to leads right away.)
Target audience ideas:
[Prospecting] Facebook Ads: Target café owners interested in financial organization and tax efficiency solutions.
[Prospecting] Google Ads: Advertise around keywords like 'bookkeeping services for small businesses' or 'tax saving strategies for cafés.'
[Remarketing] YouTube Ads: Re-target users who viewed introductory videos but didn't sign up for webinars or e-books.
[Remarketing] Facebook Ads: Target past visitors of resource download pages who haven't converted into leads yet.
[Prospecting] Google Display Ads: Use visuals highlighting the benefits of professional tax services for café owners.
What to measure:
Cost per lead (CPL)
Lead conversion rates
Audience engagement rates
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Social Media
The social media campaigns at this stage of the funnel are designed to get your marketing persona off of the social media channel and into your own platform (e.g. your website), where you can actually capture their contact information.
Social media campaign ideas:
Share testimonials from satisfied clients about how you've helped streamline their finances.
Post snippets from the e-book to entice followers to download the full version.
Host live chats on social media featuring experts discussing tax tips for café owners.
Create infographics illustrating the importance of precise bookkeeping for financial success.
Encourage users to share their tax preparation experiences in a branded hashtag campaign.
What to measure:
Social shares of testimonials
Engagement on live chats
Reach of educational graphics
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Email Marketing
Email marketing is an often overlooked channel that's critical for the middle of the funnel. Email is a very effective way to reach your marketing persona directly. The most common mistake businesses make is underutilizing email in their marketing (you should think beyond just email newsletters.)
Email marketing campaign ideas:
Welcome email sequence for new leads, providing valuable resources and encouraging webinar registration.
Nurture email series featuring tax tips specifically catered to café owners.
Invitation to the upcoming webinar on tax deductions tailored to small business needs.
Follow-up emails post-webinar with exclusive offers for CPA services.
Monthly newsletter summarizing recent trends in tax regulations and bookkeeping best practices.
What to measure:
Open rates of nurture emails
Click-through rates (CTR) on webinar invites
Engagement with follow-up content post-webinar
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Marketing Experiments
For this stage of the funnel, your experiments will be designed to maximize the number of leads you get from your campaigns.
Experiment ideas:
A/B test subject lines for nurture emails to see which generates higher engagement.
Evaluate landing page designs for webinar sign-ups to improve conversion rates.
Test different email timing to determine when your audience is most likely to engage.
Run split tests on various offers in follow-up emails after the webinar to find the most persuasive.
Experiment with call-to-action placements in blog posts to drive more lead conversions.
What to measure:
Landing page conversion rates
Email engagement metrics (opens, clicks)
Webinar registration rates

Bottom of the Funnel

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Your Goal at the Bottom of the Funnel: Purchase
At the bottom of the funnel, your marketing persona already knows your product and is ready to make a purchase decision. They already have all the information they need. Your objective at this stage is to address purchasing objections and convince them to take that last step and become a paying customer.
Conversion rate of leads to customers
Average order value (AOV)
Customer acquisition cost (CAC)
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Content Marketing
The content you'll create for the bottom of the funnel is purposely design to get your marketing persona to purchase. You don't have to be afraid to be sales-y or about talking about your product directly.
Content ideas:
Case study: 'How Our CPA Helped a Café Owner Reduce Tax Burden and Invest in Growth' underlining the transformation achieved with our services.
Comparison guide: 'Why Hiring a CPA is Worth It for Your Café' addressing common fears and misconceptions about cost and value.
FAQ video series: 'Answering Common Questions About Our CPA Services' helping alleviate trust issues before making a purchasing decision.
Success stories blog post: 'From Overwhelmed to Organized: Real Stories from Small Business Owners We've Helped.'
Webinar replay: 'Navigating Tax Season with Confidence: Best Practices for Café Owners' providing reassurance of expertise.
Promotional email campaign: 'Limited Time Offer - Save on Tax Preparation when You Sign Up Today!' highlighting urgency and value.
What to measure:
Views and downloads of case studies
Engagement rate on comparison guides
Inquiries following FAQ video releases
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SEO
At the bottom of the funnel, your marketing persona will be searching Google for information about your product (for example: reviews, pricing, features, etc), which is why you'll be optimizing for a lot of "branded" searches — these are searches that include your brand/product name.
Keyword ideas:
CPA services for café management
tax preparation costs for small businesses
reviews of CPA firms for small cafes
why hire a CPA for tax season
client success stories CPA services
benefits of professional bookkeeping for cafes
cost-effectiveness of hiring a CPA
how CPAs can save you money on taxes
transparent pricing for CPA services
CPA support during tax season
What to measure:
Lead conversion rate from SEO traffic
Customer inquiries from organic search
Keyword ranking improvements for targeted phrases
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Paid Advertising
At this stage of the funnel, you'll be running conversion campaigns to get purchases. These will be your highest revenue campaigns, where you will be keeping a close eye on your return on ad spend (ROAS.)
Target audience ideas:
[Remarketing] Facebook Ads: Re-target users who visited service pages without converting, offering a special discount.
[Remarketing] Google Ads: Show ads to users who have downloaded resources but haven't taken further action, emphasizing CPA benefits.
[Prospecting] YouTube Ads: Target individuals searching for CPA services or tax advice, promoting a limited-time offer.
[Remarketing] Google Display Ads: Target users who engaged with financial planning content to consider CPA consultations.
[Prospecting] Facebook Ads: Audience targeting local smaller businesses seeking tax preparation assistance.
What to measure:
Cost per acquired customer (CAC)
Conversion rate of remarketing ads
Return on ad spend (ROAS)
🚀 Help me execute this paid ads strategy
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Social Media
The bottom of the funnel campaigns will usually only make up a small minority of your social media content.
Social media campaign ideas:
Share client testimonials stressing the relief and reassurances they've found in our services.
Post highlight reels of successful webinars, focusing on how it benefited café owners during tax season.
Create polls or questions addressing common doubts about hiring a CPA on social media to engage directly.
Run a campaign offering free consultations for first-time clients, boosting social engagement and trust.
Monitor mentions of tax-related concerns and provide expert responses encouraging users to reach out for help.
What to measure:
Engagement rates on testimonials
Traffic driven to service pages from social posts
Inquiries generated via social media interactions
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Email Marketing
Email is perfectly tailored to run bottom of the funnel campaigns. After you've provided value to customers via your other email campaigns, you can run sales and promotional campaigns to get conversions.
Email marketing campaign ideas:
Follow-up email series to leads highlighting timely reminders for tax preparation services as deadlines approach.
Special offer email targeting past clients encouraging them to schedule a consultation with a discount.
Nurturing emails providing valuable tax tips while subtly prompting leads to consider signing up for services.
Feedback request email sent post-service to gather reviews and testimonials from clients for future references.
Monthly newsletter that includes case studies and transformations encouraging existing leads to follow through.
What to measure:
Open rates for follow-up campaigns
Conversions from special offer emails
Click-through rates (CTR) on nurturing emails
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Marketing Experiments
Your bottom-of-the-funnel experiments will have the objective of maximizing your profits. That could be by getting more first-time customers or increasing the amount of money you get from each customer on their first purchase.
Experiment ideas:
A/B test service page layouts to determine which elements drive higher conversions.
Test different incentives in follow-up emails to see which generates more sign-ups for consultations.
Evaluate checkout process user experience to identify friction points and improve completion rates.
Experiment with CTA placements on landing pages for maximum impact on lead conversions.
Run a split test comparing different promotional offers (e.g., discounts vs. additional services) to see which attracts more clients.
What to measure:
Conversion rates from optimized pages
Lead generation metrics post-AB tests
Drop-off rates at various stages of the funnel

Retention

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Your Goal at the Retention Stage: Increase Lifetime Value
In the retention stage, your marketing persona is already a customer of your product. Your objective is to increase the value you can extract from them directly by generating repeat purchases, upsells, or reducing churn; or indirectly by improving brand image or promoting referrals.
Customer lifetime value (CLV)
Churn rate
Net promoter score (NPS)
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Content Marketing
The objective of the content you'll create at the retention stage is to keep your existing customers happy by providing ongoing value (even after purchasing.)
Content ideas:
Monthly webinar: 'Managing Your Finances Year-Round: Tips for Café Success' to keep clients engaged.
Personalized financial reports: Offering insights and progress tracking relevant to their business goals.
Blog series: 'Ongoing Tax Tips for Small Business Owners' featuring continual updates on tax regulations.
Client spotlight video interviews: Sharing success stories from café owners who improved with CPA support.
Exclusive content for existing clients: E-books on optimizing tax savings with ongoing changes in legislation.
Feedback session: Hosting a live Q&A for existing clients to address their ongoing concerns and needs.
What to measure:
Engagement on monthly webinar sessions
Open rates for personalized financial reports
Feedback collected from client spotlight videos
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SEO
At the bottom of the funnel, you'll want to make sure your marketing persona can find all the information she needs to get the most of your product (e.g. knowledge base articles), or to solve any problems that may arise (e.g. support/contact page.)
Keyword ideas:
client retention strategies for CPAs
best practices for small business financial management post-engagement
how to maintain tax compliance year-round
financial consulting for growing cafés
what to do after hiring a CPA
ongoing tax advice for café owners
brilliant bookkeeping tips for small business success
how to maximize savings with your CPA
success stories of CPA-client partnerships
updates on tax regulations impacting small businesses
What to measure:
Repeat organic traffic to client resources
Keyword ranking improvements on retention-related terms
Uptime on specific resource pages
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Paid Advertising
At this stage of the funnel, you might choose to be run campaigns promoting of new features, upgrades, or promotions.
Target audience ideas:
[Remarketing] Facebook Ads: Target existing clients who haven't interacted with new services recently, promoting financial check-in consultations.
[Remarketing] Google Ads: Show ads that reinforce the value of CPA services tailored to returning clients with seasonal offers.
[Prospecting] LinkedIn Ads: Focus on small café owners highlighting collaboration with experienced CPAs for continuous financial success.
[Remarketing] YouTube Ads: Re-target previous webinar attendees with follow-up sessions based on their feedback.
[Prospecting] Instagram Ads: Target existing clients showcasing behind-the-scenes success stories from small businesses.
What to measure:
Click-through rate (CTR) for retention-focused ads
Cost per retained customer provoked by remarketing efforts
Conversion rates from retention advertising campaigns
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Social Media
Retention campaigns on social media revolve around building a sense of community with your existing customers. You'll do a lot of monitoring of brand mentions on social media.
Social media campaign ideas:
Create a monthly client appreciation post celebrating their successes and encouraging user-generated content.
Run polls asking about common challenges clients face, inviting them to share their thoughts or suggest topics for future webinars.
Develop a series of infographics on financial health metrics specifically for small cafés, sharing tips via social media.
Engage with comments on client posts addressing feedback directly and reinforcing trust.
Monitor brand mentions on social platforms and provide timely responses or solutions to enhance client relationships.
What to measure:
Engagement metrics on appreciation posts
Feedback collected from polls
Referral activity and mentions of the brand online
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Email Marketing
Retention email campaigns will be a mix of educational emails (onboarding, activation, etc), transactional emails (reports, receipts, reminders, etc), and promotional emails (upgrades, upsells, etc.)
Email marketing campaign ideas:
Monthly performance update email, summarizing key financial achievements and goals reached.
Special promotions aimed at loyal customers to book additional services with discounts.
Feedback request emails following consultation calls to gather insights on customer satisfaction.
Newsletters featuring ongoing tax updates, financial tips, and exclusive client-only content to strengthen engagement.
Re-activation emails targeting clients who haven't scheduled a consultation recently, including testimonials of recent success stories.
What to measure:
Open rates for monthly performance updates
Response rates on feedback requests
Engagement with re-activation emails
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Marketing Experiments
Your retention experiments will have the objective of maximizing lifetime value of existing customers.
Experiment ideas:
Test varying formats of client reports to see which resonates best and drives continued engagement levels.
A/B test incentives offered in follow-up emails to encourage referrals and new client acquisition from existing ones.
Evaluate landing page content for client referrals to ensure clarity and effectiveness in prompting action.
Experiment with different webinar themes and timings to determine what works best for client engagement.
Conduct usability tests on client portal features to improve customer satisfaction and make access to information easier.
What to measure:
Client engagement metrics post-content formats
Conversion rates from referral programs
User satisfaction scores related to client portal experiences

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