How To Write a Marketing Plan for a Tax Preparation Business

Many individuals need filing help creating a market for tax professionals.

A marketing plan doesn't just describe advertising ideas. Your plan must highlight the tools your tax preparation company will use to compete, describe the company's customers, tell the reader how you plan to reach those customers and outline a system to measure your success. Research potential clients and competitors before you start writing. When you're ready, use this guide to draft the vital sections of your plan. Once completed, your plan will serve as a map for your tax preparation service that leads directly to your marketing goals.

Instructions

SWOT Analysis

1. Compare your tax preparation business' strengths with those of your competitors. Strengths are unique advantages an organization has that cannot be easily duplicated. Perhaps your firm has extensive experience filing taxes for self-employed workers or strong ties to the Latino community.

2. Outline your company's weaknesses and those of your competitors. For example, a corporation that focuses on high customization may take longer to complete returns. The extended wait time is a weakness. Or, perhaps a firm is not equipped to handle e-files.

3. Identify market opportunities. Opportunities are external factors that you have no control over that may be beneficial for all competitors. For example, if more people are entering the workforce than ever before, this means more people need to file returns.

4. Identify threats. Threats are external factors that may cause trouble for all competitors in the market. The increasing ease and availability of do-it-yourself software is an example.

The Target Market

1. Write down the characteristics that define your potential customers. It is unreasonable and lazy to say "everyone is a potential customer." A tax firm may use age, occupation, ethnicity, income levels or a barrage of other factors to classify its target.

2. Mention how many people there are in your target market. Use census information and public records to get figures.

3. Highlight why you selected your target. Market research and your organization's strengths must come into play. For example, if your research revealed freelance workers are twice as likely to hire a tax professional as other individuals, this would be a strong case to target freelancers.

Advertising and Promotions

1. Describe in detail every marketing channel you plan to use to reach your target. Write rough draft scripts and draw storyboards for television spots. Create mock-ups of print advertisements as well.

2. Support your advertising choices with market research. For example, you may advertise in a college newspaper because your target is students filing for the first time and X percent of students read the publication.

3. Place budget information for each marketing channel in this section. You can get pricing information online or by making telephone calls.

Goals and Accountability

1. Describe your marketing goals. Possible goals involve increased familiarity with your company, revenue, number of repeat sales or a variety of other factors.

2. Outline the ways you plan to measure your success. This may be sale figures, the number of phone calls coming into the office or the results of a brand awareness survey.

3. Include time-lines and summarize your plan of action if things do not go as you intended. For example, if your company's email marketing messages do not garner a 2 percent respond rate by May, 2011 you will discontinue the practice or rewrite the message.

References

• "Principles of Marketing Ninth Edition"; Philip Kotler, Gary Armstrong; 2001
• "Principles of Advertising and IMC Second Edition"; Tom Duncan; 2005