It’s the Vision Thing

George H.W. Bush famously responded to the suggestion that he look up from the short-term goals of his campaign and start focusing on the longer term by saying, “Oh, the vision thing.” At the recent Winning Is Everything conference speaker Pat Williams, Senior VP, Orlando Magic, stated that vision is the heart and soul of leadership.

Effective leaders have a vision and set strategy to realize their vision. Yet, the Seven Keys to Successful CPA Firm Management research conducted by Capstone Marketing and Bay Street Group reveals that only 10 percent always develop business plans with input from everyone, 12 percent always meet regularly to check progress against their business plan, 10 percent can always articulate how they are better than their competition, 10 percent always have business goals that are specific and measurable, and 15 percent always hold individuals accountable for results.

It seems that few firms are successfully setting and executing strategy. This is an opportunity for your firm. What opportunities exist in your marketplace? How are you obtaining and retaining clients? How are you recruiting and retaining employees? What could your firm be doing differently? Engage firm leadership in strategy setting by doing your homework, facilitating strategy sessions, and gaining commitment one partner at a time.

To participate in the Capstone Marketing-Bay Street Group research go to http://cpatrendlines.com/seven-keys-research.

This article appears in the March/April issue of MarkeTrends published by the Association for Accounting Marketing.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I couldn't let the day pass by without wishing all of you a happy St. Patrick's Day. I have many happy memories of St. Patrick's Day and a couple of trips I've taken to Ireland. When I was in seventh grade at Holy Name of Mary School in Valley Stream, NY the band marched in the St. Patrick's Day Parade in New York City. I played the glockenspiel and was very excited to see a cousin wave to me from the sidewalk. The fact that we were the last band and just ahead of the street sweeper doesn't diminish this happy memory!

Of course, in college St. Patrick's Day was a non-authorized day off spent drinking green beer, dancing, and spending time with friends.

And, I've been fortunate enough to travel to Ireland twice, both times kissing the Blarney Stone. I have a photo of me and my Mom standing by the Carragh River. We figured that was as close as we were going to get to a landmark with our surname!

May you live as long as you want, and never want as long as you live.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Social Media Marketing Tips from the Marketing Diva

I caught up with Toby Bloomberg, Bloomberg Marketing, on a recent trip to Atlanta. Toby and I served on the AMA-Atlanta Chapter BOD many years ago. Known for her Diva Marketing blog, Toby now focuses on building strategic marketing plans that use Interactive/new media as a core tactic and integrate traditional into one master branding plan. Toby is ahead of the curve when it comes to social media marketing so I asked her for a few tips. Enjoy!

Top 100 Most Effective Subject Lines

A recent article published by www.marketingprofs.com shared the Top 100 most effective subject lines from the MarketingProfs Get to the Point! Newsletters. See whether any of these catch your attention...

Potty All Night Long
Four Blogs You Should Be Reading
Seal Your Pitch with a Kiss
Release Me Please!
A Week at IKEA
Twitter for Timeliness
I See Riches on the Horizon
Newsletter No-No's
A Doctor Who Only Makes House Calls
Widget for Dollars
Did He Really Call It a 'Nymphomercial'?
I Am McLovin!
Playing Tag
The Freeconomics of Online Media
How Customers Are Like Lab Rats
Sidle Up to the LiveBar
The SEO Rapper
Burger King Tells a Whopper
Get 'em to Gawk
A Coffee Klatch for Every Marketer
Laugh 'Til You Cry
Shameless Marketing Stunt
A Super Bowl Strategy That Paid Off
How Saying the Least May Achieve the Most
Loaf Run
Senior Makes Site Accessible
Oh, Count the Ways You Can Annoy a Journalist
Ranting and Raving
Jingles 101 with Dinah Shore
When Your Video Isn't Viral
On-the-Fly Creativity
Put That Checkbook Away
Branding Tips from the Queen of Burlesque
Time to Yelp!
Get Over It, Kid
Do You Have Peripheral Vision?
Rules Schmules
Create a Customer Walk-a-Thon
Is Your Newsletter a Must-Read?
Keeping Up With the Kremplers
Subject Lines: Tell, Don't Sell
Cool Open-Rate Stats
Podcasting is Easier Than You Think
Don't Be a Twit
My Blog, Myself
Think Small to Win Big
Social Security Shenanigans
Would Your Blog Get an A?
A Resolution You Can Keep
How to Measure That Long Tail
You've Been Punk'd ... and Wiki'd
The Cold, Creamy, Refreshing Story of Social Media
The Wisdom of the In Crowd
The Angel in Red Speaks to Us
Glad You Could Make It!
Springtime for Twitter
Using Tricks of the Journalistic Trade
We're Still Married to the Past
I Like 'em Small and Focused
Get Gored
Will Dance for Gum
It's Alive! It's Alive!
No More Boring Conferences
A Clearly Good Marketing Plan
Yammer to Keep It Together
Passengers: Your Captain Has Screwed Up
Invite. Engage. Inoculate.
The Slow Art of Customer Seduction
How to Blow It in Five Words or Less
Give 'em a Good Tease
Taking the Email Plunge
Analyze This
The Deviant Approach to Creativity
A Gentle Step into Web 2.0
Sprechen-Vous Italiano?
We're Short on Euphemism Today
The Revolution Will Be Widgetized
Inspiration from the Swat Team
Why You Want Customers to Notice Your Zits
Help Your Customer Live the Fantasy
Remember Me?
Pepsi's Scheme Fails Taste Test
Mind Your E-Manners
Time to Step Up Your Blogging
Go Where the Current Leads
Look at Me. Now CLICK.
Warm Up Your Thinking Cap
What You Can Learn From Starbucks' Mistakes
Dumb It Up, People
Those Jerks Are Talking About You. So Talk Back!
How to Be a Better Blogger
A Permission Marketing Primer: Picking and Choosing
It's Time to Socialize, People!
Stick to the Script!
Loose Lips Sink Ships
Customer Service the Lexus Way
It's Talkification Time!
Plurk It, Baby!
The Cocktail Party Rule
On Target