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In my first 2-3 years at Xcentric the staffing equation dominated the conversation, hot topics, and round table discussions at every conference I went to. As you know the tide has turned in this arena and now partners are discussing marketing, sales, and business development. This has led many firms to question the use of the Internet and how it fits into their overall marketing scheme. The book Inbound Marketing provides a comprehensive look at using the web as a marketing tool and it is a highly suggested read.

The book defines “inbound marketing” as marketing focused on being found by customers.  So, where do your best leads come from? Referrals, of course.  A conversation that started in the gym, chamber of commerce, rotary club, golf club, barber shop, etc, turned into a phone call to your firm because a client was a raving fan and told them they should give you a call. Business conversations inside these circles will continue to be the norm and your goal should be to be found in them. However, more and more of these conversations are being facilitated on the web in a distinct, targeted fashion.

Here’s what Inbound Marketing has to say about why:
* ‘Search’ on the web is targeted. Think rifle versus shotgun. If you have a specific need the web is more likely to return the targeted results you are looking for versus your friend network. This doesn’t mean you don’t ask your friends, it just means that you can now do this in a more leveraged fashion (see last point).
* Social club memberships are on the decline. Costs and time are under more scrutiny than ever and people turn to the web to fulfill some of the value previously gained in these memberships. Conversations that used to take exclusively in these ‘clubs’ are now taking place on the web in hyper focused interest groups.
* It’s leveraged. One to many versus one to one. You can ask the question over the web and get far more brains/eyes/etc on the matter than you could over a week full of meetings. Plus CTRL+C & CTRL+V is hard to do in person, easy to post a question on the web a few different places.

The question the book ultimately asks is: Will you be found in the discussions that happen on the web?  Just like the ‘in-person’ discussions, will your name be dropped, will you come through as a thought leader in that specific practice area or in your community?

Today, 2010 – what’s the apples to apples comparison?

An example.
If I asked you if you knew what Sarcomatoid Mesothelioma is – would you know?
Most likely not.
But if I asked you to find me the answer would you know where to go?
Yes. Google. (they have 70% or so world market share)
So does that mean you actually did know what Sarcomatoid Mesothelioma was the first time I asked, since you could pull up the answer in just a matter of seconds?
Hmmmm.

If you live in a ‘connected culture’ your definition of knowledge (or Epistemology) has radically changed over the last 100 years. If you live in a hut in the Amazon (therefore not reading this post) then your epistemology has changed very little if at all.

So what does this mean?
Niche knowledge industries are becoming a commodity in the ‘connect world’. You see this with how audits and how they are being shopped in the market place right now. Price wins….unless…..you focus beyond ‘knowledge’ on thinks like relationships, trust, and the ability to communicate.

In today’s world, ‘knowing’ tax law has been reduced to the power of search and tax applications. However, if your practice’s success is built on such ‘knowledge’, then you are headed for destruction. On the other hand, if your practice has the ability to communicate, thus transforming knowledge into wisdom (actionable knowledge) then you will become an invaluable partner to your clients.

Below is Google’s Super Bowl ad – also their first ever commercial. An example of what I mean by the example mentioned above.

A day later I found myself in ‘the chair’ with that haunting light over me, hearing deep sighs from the dentist. “Son, we have a problem. You not only need one root canal, you need THREE.” Horrible news, especially for an 18-year old.  But at least I’d found someone who could fix it; someone experienced with helping people get their mouth back in good form, right?

Fast forward 10 years later to a few weeks ago.  There I sat in the dentist chair once again, only to hear another deep sigh from the dentist, “Son, you need a root canal.”

What?  How on earth? I brush regularly, now with a Sonicare toothbrush nonetheless (Link to my Sonicare post), and haven’t had a single cavity in 10 years.  How could this happen?

Turns out the last dentist hadn’t cleaned out the infection properly during the root canal. I won’t go into specifics, but basically tooth #14 has 4 canals, of which the 4th is hard to find.  My previous dentist didn’t find it, which means it didn’t get cleaned out. Thus I have had an infection for possibly 10+ years in tooth #14.

Why hadn’t the dentist gotten to the root of the issue (in every senses of the word)? In short, he wasn’t a specialist. He was a generalist. He was actually a great dentist, but he wasn’t a skilled Endodontic Specialist. In certain cases a specialist is needed and, in this case, the dentist didn’t possess the lens needed to find the 4th canal in tooth #14. Luckily my current dentist knew he wasn’t a specialist in this matter so he referred me to an Endodontic Specialist.  He was the expert and, for him, finding the 4th canal was routine.

In summary:
I had an issue.
I found help.
It wasn’t the right help.
I had another issue.
I found the right help.

How does this relate to your technology?
Glad you asked.  As a CPA firm your technology needs are more complex than SMBs, ie. your clients. Most technology companies are generalists and have 90% of the tools (staff and/or technology) for 90% of the businesses out there. But what happens when your audit application won’t sync? What happens when an update blows up? Most likely a generalist technology company won’t find that 4th canal and may even have no clue how to help you…unless they spend multiple hours looking for a needle in a haystack, which they may or may not find, but will most certainly bill you for.

Why won’t they find it? Like the generalist dentist, they don’t have the right lens. They don’t possess that skill. They are generalists and they may be a great generalist at that…but that’s not what you need. You need a specialist.

*Article was written approx 30 minutes after completing the root canal, I blame typos and non-sense on the drugs!

Have you made the leap to an electric toothbrush yet? If yes then you understand where I am going with this post. If not, that’s okay but know your life is about to change!

Don’t get me wrong, nothing is wrong with the old-fashioned toothbrush. It works as advertised. People have been using it for years, it is a good deal at $4 or less, and you just need water and toothpaste for it to work. So why would you change? You don’t have a cavity, the cost is nominal, and it’s a known quantity. I had the same thoughts at one point; here is a brief story about my journey.

It all began when I was on a trip and saw a friend brushing with a Philips Sonicare (I am not being paid for this) and began to question them on why they would dare spend $120 on a toothbrush. “I care about my teeth, that’s why,” they said. I was offended. I care about my teeth, I brush them 2+ times a day and floss when I can – how do they know I don’t care about my teeth?

This conversation started my research into the topic of electric toothbrushes versus the traditional type. I read websites, packaging, company promises, and asked my dentist and friends. In the end it came down to 2 things: 1) what did my dentist have to say about it and 2) what friends used the brush and did they have better teeth than my other friends who didn’t use the electric.

My dentist has a good business; I don’t think he was being paid off when he told me that I was crazy not to use the Sonicare (he even said to use specifically a Sonicare) and that it would be an investment that would pay dividends. Then I talked to my friends and I found a consensus amongst those who use an electric – they, by and large, have a whiter smile and a cheaper dental bill.

Within 24hrs after being convinced, I found myself on Amazon.com reading reviews on the different Sonicare brushes.  I took the plunge and haven’t looked back since. I now walk the streets with confidence as I flash my pearly whites. I no longer dread the dentist and even look forward to hearing their compliments at how good of job I am doing on keeping my teeth clean.

How does this have anything to do with Cloud Computing?  I’m glad you asked. Let me attempt to tie the two together.

Like a traditional toothbrush, a traditional network (*a server-based network inside your four walls, managed and replaced every few years) works as advertised. It’s been doing the job for years, it’s relatively inexpensive upfront, and is also a known quantity. You just need time (water) and money (toothpaste) to make it work. Why would your business switch?

I won’t be as offensive as my friend and say it’s because you don’t care about your business, I know you do! But have you considered making the switch to Cloud Computing? Maybe yes, maybe no– either way, talk to your peers and industry consultants about the latest happenings with Cloud Computing.  Which option is the most efficient? Which one has the lowest cost of ownership? Which one keeps you more secure and your work flow cleaner?  In short, technology now has options – there are multiple models that will support your business model as a CPA.

In the end I made my toothbrush decision for 2 key reasons:
1)    Less Pain: I don’t have to tell you, toothaches ruin your day. It’s such a small piece of your body, yet it paralyzes you when something so fundamental goes wrong.  The technology parallel is alarming. As a CPA, it’s about you providing value to your clients.  It’s your experience, ability to listen, and guidance that creates the value. BUT if you have technology pains, it will hinder everything else in your business, including your ability to deliver.

2)    Lower Cost of Ownership: No way to slice it, an electric toothbrush is about 30x more expensive than a normal toothbrush upfront. BUT add a few cavities that could have been avoided by using a more proficient device and you are talking about a serious role reversal in the above cost scenario. Networks are the same way, where cavities and root canals come in the form of security breaches and downtime – a mismanaged network will cost you far more over the life of your business than a proficient computing model that has been realized with Cloud Computing.

First, let’s define it. Social Media is media designed to be disseminated through social interaction, created using highly accessible and scalable publishing techniques (Wikipedia). That’s a fancy way of saying what we see Facebook, Twitter, and thousands of other websites now accomplishing on the web.

I think it is also helpful to understand modern day Social Media(SM) by way of a simple formula:

D + C + S = SM

Device = computers, phones, e-readers
Connectivity = advanced cellular signals, Wi-Fi availability, WiMax
Software = Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Yelp, Craigslist

The development of devices, connectivity and software has expanded our capacity for mobility and collaboration exponentially, and it is their interaction that has birthed this ‘new’ technology called Social Media.

So what does this mean for you and how does this apply to your business?

The answer is multi-faceted, so let’s break it down into three points and discuss how each component might affect you and your firm:

1 – Access to ‘inf-ada-tent’ (information, data, & content). Everyone is now a publisher of sorts, creating both supply & demand of ‘inf-ada-tent’ like never before. How does all this help or hurt when making a decision, either personally or professionally?

• Pros:
  o    You are able to tap the collective wisdom of many in a matter of minutes.
  o    You can filter who you listen to and who you don’t; think of it as a ‘wisdom aggregator’.
• Cons:
  o    Access to too much information; paralysis by analysis as it’s commonly called.
  o    Marketers are becoming more savvy in guising their message, thus making it unclear as to what can be trusted as an authentic referral.

2 – You will be noticed. Who doesn’t like a pat on the back every once in a while for a job well done- especially when it encourages business?  But what about the negative feedback that can spread just as fast?  Is being noticed a good thing?

• Pros:
  o    If you are good at your job and your business delivers value, people can now spread the good news in more ways and faster than ever before.
  o    More and more people look to others for their decisions, so as people take notice, it will have a rippling effect far greater than in the past.
• Cons:
  o    If you or your business has a bad day and rubs someone the wrong way, it may cause damage that is undeserved, out of proportion, or flat out incorrect.
  o    Staying under the radar- away from competition, etc- is a good rule of thumb for some business models, but this will no longer be an option since anyone can spread the word about the good or bad service they receive.

3 – You have a voice. Conversations have never held so much weight; however, there have never been this many conversations happening at once. At what point does too much of a good thing become a bad thing?

• Pros:
  o    In today’s conversant world, if you have a message you will have listeners.
  o    Social Media has allowed ‘permission marketing’ to reach full potential and has now made it easier to build a base of raving fans.
• Cons:
  o    More people saying more things means people have to be more and more protective of their time, causing them to shut certain things off; just hope it’s not you.
  o    You have a voice, but it may not be a pretty one. If your organization lacks a compelling or clear message, the problem will be compounded and you will get lost in the noise of Social Media.

These three points, as stated, are tip of the iceberg thinking. We must learn, as individuals, where & when Social Media tools make sense for us to use personally and professionally. Does social media help or hurt you?  You may only be able to find out after trying a few contained experiments.  But what’s good about the current marketplace is that you are just like everyone else– experimenting.