TaxCoach Briefs:    March 5, 2009

Volume 4, Number 12

TaxCoach Briefs archives.

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MARKETING MINUTE (EAL)
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MARKETING LESSONS FROM THE MALL

It seems like you can't open a newspaper or turn on the television without hearing more dire economic predictions. Housing prices headed down another 20%. Stock prices headed down another 30%. New York City on the verge of default. My favorite prognosticator is Russian professor Igor Panarin, who says that the U.S. is a year away from collapsing entirely, sending California to China and Alaska back to Russia. (Maybe Sarah Palin really will see Russia from her front door!)

I realize it's hard to be optimistic when the fee for withdrawing money from a bank ATM is higher than a share of the bank's stock. (What's the next milestone? GM stock selling for less than a gallon of gasoline?) But you can find good news and good ideas almost anywhere, so long as you keep the right attitude.

Sunday afternoon, my daughter Mary Claire came to me with a broken pair of glasses. Apparently her three-year-old brother had mistaken them for a chair, with the result that the earpiece had broken off the frame.

I drove over to LensCrafters, where we had bought the glasses, confident that they could solder the earpiece back to the frame and that would be that. But the clerk at LensCrafters said no, it wasn't something they could do. She suggested I try a place called "Fix-It-Quick," which occupied a kiosk at the nearby Eastgate Mall. If "Fix-It-Quick" couldn't fix it, I could replace the entire frame (if they still sold that style) or I could replace the glasses entirely.

Now, I should tell you I'm not a fan of malls. I usually try to avoid them like Vampires avoid garlic. But I figured it couldn't be more than a few bucks to solder the glasses, and a trip to the mall would be worth it to avoid the expense of a whole new pair.

I found the kiosk easily enough, and saw that they fix all sorts of glasses, jewelry, and watches. I handed the glasses to "Mark," who was staffing the kiosk. "These look expensive," he said, before he quoted me a price of $65 to repair them -- and told me it wouldn't take more than 10 minutes.

65 rocks was certainly more than I expected to pay -- but still worth it, as it was a fraction of the cost of a new pair. "Value pricing," I told myself as he sat down at a funny-looking box with eyepieces that looked like the color-blindness tester at the Department of Motor Vehicles. (Turns out it's called "LaserStar" -- and yes, Mark's business is "LaserStar Certified" for both jewelry and optical repairs.

Then he told me I could watch him make the repairs on closed-circuit TV. I didn't care much about the mechanics, but I was intrigued how watching the repair made it more of an "experience" -- and how it helped market his business.

I wound up having a great conversation with Mark, who turned out to be the owner of the business, along with a second kiosk, in Lexington, KY. I was surprised how many lessons his marketing had to offer ours.

How does he price his services? He told me that he had gone to different opticians and determined that the average cost to replace a pair of frames was $150. He took that number, cut it in half, and backed off just a little more so it wouldn't be too obvious how he got there. Now that's value pricing! Notice what was not included in his formula: rent for his cart, hourly rates, or the price of solder!

How does he find his customers? I mentioned I had been referred by LensCrafters. He thanked me for letting him know how I found him, and told me that when he opened his kiosk, he had gone to all the local opticians with information on his services. (He went to jewelers, too, along with anyone else who actually sells the stuff he fixes. Smart!)

By then I had told him about TaxCoach, and how we teach you to price your services according to the value you deliver. He reported that he paid his accountant $250/month for writeup, with payroll and personal taxes extra. I'm betting he found that accountant himself -- how many of us are out looking for "under the radar" clients like him?

As we wrapped it up, he said "Here's your receipt that you don't need." At that point I had some return advice for him. I told him that, because the glasses were a medical device, the cost of fixing them could be tax-deductible. I suggested he tell all his eyeglass-repair customers the same thing -- and I have no doubt that he's sharp enough to do it.

Here are the bottom-line questions for you:

I'm not suggesting you spend your afternoons at the mall! But I am suggesting you keep an eye out for successful marketing ideas in unexpected places. You never know when you'll see success that you can adapt for yourself!

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NEW FEATURE (EAL)
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OBAMA TAX UPDATE SEMINAR KIT

On February 7, President Obama signed an economic stimulus package offering nearly $300 billion in tax cuts. The next week, he announced a 2010 budget proposing a trillion dollars in tax hikes. (In case you're wondering -- yes, it's official TaxCoach policy to always italicize that trillion in tax hikes.)

Your clients are wondering what those developments mean for them. And while there's no shortage of news sources to learn more, they really ought to hear about it from you.

So we've created a new seminar kit, modeled along the same lines as the "Obama Tax Proposal" kit we released the day after the election, to tell your clients about it.

The presentation summarizes these recent developments:

We realize you're not likely to rush out and deliver the presentation now, in the middle of "the season." But keep it in your pocket in case you're invited to address business or trade groups. And consider hosting a client event, after the season, where you can reinforce your value with current clients (and have them invite their friends, family, and colleagues). Even your clients who don't attend will see the information as a signal that you're looking out for them.

You'll find the seminar kit in the Playbook section under "Seminar Kits." Don't miss the Seminar Success Guide and related tools.

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TAXCOACH RECOMMENDS (EAL)
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ENTRYTRACKER SOFTWARE

Here at TaxCoach, our job is to give you tools to set yourself apart from your competition. And we're always keeping an eye out for complementary tools to make your practice even more valuable. This month, we've got a great one for you. Let me introduce you to "EntryTracker," a new tool that saves your time and your clients' tax dollars, all in one convenient package.

EntryTracker is an online version of Sandy Botkin's classic tax organizer that helps clients track their business expenses and organize their documents to legitimize their deductions. And it's far more powerful than just an expense ledger. Does QuickBooks let them take a cell-phone picture of a receipt -- then send it directly to the software? EntryTracker does. And EntryTracker even trains your clients how to use it!

The real opportunity isn't just the practice management benefits. The real opportunity is in practice development. You can license EntryTracker for a low monthly fee, then offer it to your entire practice. Give it to them free as a value-added service. (They would have to pay $49/month to subscribe on their own, making it a nearly $600 value.) Or charge them for it and bundle access into your regular fees.

I realize you're in the busiest part of your year. But now is actually the best time to add EntryTracker to your practice. That's because now is when you're seeing clients and confronting the cost of poor recordkeeping. And that makes now the time to score points for giving them the solution.

Click here for more information and an eye-opening demo!

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MEMBER EVENT (EAL)
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2009 TAMMY AWARDS - SHOW YOUR STUFF!

Excitement is building as we move closer to April 16. Because "the season" will be over? Don't be silly! No, excitement is building because April 16 is when Keith, Catherine, and I will present the very first annual TAMMYs -- TaxCoach's "eagerly-anticipated and highly coveted" Tax and Accounting Marketing Awards. We're looking for your web pages, newspaper ads, direct mail pieces, TV or radio ads, and other marketing materials. (Don't worry about categories -- we're making this up as we go, and if we like it, we'll figure out where to put it.)

Send your materials to Catherine by April 1. Don't miss your chance to make tax marketing history!

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We're happy to answer your questions on TaxCoach content, features, or marketing. While we give first priority to our All-Star and Hall of Fame members, we work to answer all questions. For best response, email support@taxcoachsoftware.com. If we think the answer will be useful to all of our members, we'll publish it (anonymously) here in the 'Member Q & A' section of TaxCoach Briefs.

Regards,

Ed Lyon
Keith VandeStadt
www.taxcoachsoftware.com
(513) 321-2820

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