Master Your Messaging: Lessons Learned from Accountex & How They Apply to Accounting Firms

Don't make this same messaging mistake other apps & vendors made...

I’m just back from a week in London where I spent 2 days at Accountex. 

My biggest takeaway?

So many missed opportunities with messaging. 

Hang tight because although the lessons here are directed towards some of the apps & vendors exhibiting, they’re just as applicable to most accounting firms (especially when it comes to your website’s messaging).

As I was walking around the exhibition hall, I was struggling to make sense of what lots of apps did.

Behind the bright colours, bold stands, and attempts to lure me in with free swag, it didn’t instantly click for lots of apps.

And that’s a huge missed opportunity…

If I’m walking around a busy exhibition hall, there’s a 2-3 second period where I’ll look at your stand and try to figure out what you do. If I can’t figure it out then, I’m going to carry on walking. 

This is also true for people visiting your website - they need to figure out who you are and what you do quickly or the likelihood is they’re going to bounce.

So what mistake did they make?

They focused too much on aspirational messaging.

Bold claims and empty statements like “making accountants great again” or “making life easier for accountants”.

I’m not hating on these guys. Messaging like this does have its place…

But you can only use aspirational messaging like this once you’ve done something else first…

Told people what you actually do.

The very first thing people will think when they walk past a stand (or land on your website) is “What does this company do?” 

Aspirational messaging doesn’t answer that question. 

It just furthers my confusion. 

It just means I’m more likely to ignore and walk past. 

You need to make it clear exactly what you do first.

Once you’ve done that, you can talk about the benefits, use cases, and aspirational/visionary messaging that goes with it.

There’s a hierarchy to follow - and I’m a big fan of Wynter’s B2B Messaging Framework.

You need to follow these 4 steps - in order:

1. Clarity - Say exactly WHAT you do

2. Relevance - Why should THEY care?

3. Value - Answer the question “Is this for me?”

4. Differentiation - Why YOU?

Follow that process, and I guarantee your messaging will be 10x clearer and easier to understand. 

As I said at the beginning, this doesn’t just apply to exhibition stands. It’s also very applicable to websites.

Load up your website now and ask yourself: does the copy in the hero section (above the fold) make it clear what we do?

For most prospects, you’ll have one chance to win them or lose them.

Good messaging is what swings the odds in your favour.

Until next week

Jordan