{"id":3652,"date":"2018-01-25T09:59:01","date_gmt":"2018-01-25T09:59:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/?p=3652"},"modified":"2026-01-29T10:41:38","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T10:41:38","slug":"growth-strategy-accountancy-practice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/growth-strategy-accountancy-practice\/","title":{"rendered":"How to create a winning growth strategy for your accountancy practice"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGrowth & Customers<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tHow to create a winning growth strategy for your accountancy practice\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\tLee Frederiksen<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Any accountancy firm that wants to improve its fortunes needs a growth strategy. A robust growth strategy describes a firm\u2019s target industries and clients, what services it will offer and how it will position and develop its brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is designed to help you grow, in spite of such pressures as increased competition, automation and the commoditisation of services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019ve never developed such a strategy, don\u2019t worry. This post will explain some of the most popular growth strategies you can pursue and the two primary vehicles you can use to put your chosen plan into effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Growth strategy options to try<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are many strategies for growing a company and they all involve varying degrees of risk. They are frequently mentioned in strategic planning<\/a> discussions \u2013 and yet they are also often misunderstood. Below, I describe three popular growth strategies:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Increase market penetration<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In the world of consumer products, this approach means selling more products to the same consumer group. The maths is simple: if it\u2019s good to sell one laptop, selling several dozens is even better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the accounting world, a similar concept applies \u2013 but in this case, it means offering more services to the same clients. It\u2019s relatively easy as strategies go but it is not entirely without risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For starters, you need to make sure clients understand your full range of services<\/a>. Cross-selling unfamiliar services to existing clients can be challenging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may have plenty of room to grow the business and get more revenue from existing clients. However, before you can do so, you first need to educate them about your full range of capabilities \u2013 which is by no means an easy task.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Open up to new markets<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Another strategy is to offer your existing services in a new market, which is one of the most commonly used growth strategies in the professional services sector. In fact, many firms go all in, by rolling out their services to any and every type of client. More potential buyers mean more sales, so what could go wrong? Well, plenty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This strategy\u2019s risks begin with the fact that it takes money and resources to educate and nurture new audiences \u2014 and underinvesting can lead to wasted efforts and underwhelming results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s also the very real risk of brand dilution. If people associate you with a particular market and you expand to compete in other markets, any advantage you had as a specialist could evaporate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Introduce new services<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Another strategy is to develop an entirely new service offering. An accountancy firm, for example, might decide to offer financial planning or internet security services on top of its traditional tax practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This growth strategy involves many risks. It can take a significant amount of time and effort to develop a new service. This could distract you from billable work, business development or other essential activities. There may also be regulatory obstacles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, perhaps the most dangerous risk in this strategy is that of watering down your brand. The expression \u201cjack of all trades, master of none\u201d sums it up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By pursuing a broader recognition in the market, you could end up being known for nothing at all. The more extensive your service line becomes, the less focused you are on a core area of expertise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You could end up throwing away the one unique trait or strength that people associated with you, the one that made you memorable in your market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You should also consider whether your market will accept that your firm can provide the new service you want to launch. Could it seem to create a conflict of interest? Alternatively, could it alienate or confuse some of your already existing referral sources?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is it fit a good for your brand? And, regardless of how capable you are of delivering the new service, will it be a natural complement to your other services? Or will it be an awkward add-on, raising questions in the minds of prospects?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Embracing
Select the growth strategy that works for your practice<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Choosing between organic growth and M&A<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Once you have selected the strategy for growth that makes the most sense, you have another major decision to make: how will you implement it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Organic growth means winning business from new or existing clients. This is typically the healthiest road to growth, as it is more reliable and valuable than acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This course requires that you research your target clients to determine their needs and interests. You can then use this research to develop a definite market niche and strong differentiators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From there, you can embark on a marketing programme that combines digital and traditional efforts in order increase your ability to reach a wide range of potential clients and share your expertise with the marketplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mergers and acquisitions (M&As), the second path to growth, has several key advantages but also some notable limitations. In a sense, you are buying growth \u2013 which in itself is not necessarily bad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

M&As allow firms to quickly add new expertise and capabilities, helping organisations gain credibility in new markets or change the balance of power in an existing one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are several ways that M&As can generate growth, such as addressing critical gaps in service offerings or clientele or bringing in new revenue streams and efficiencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be sure to vet any firm you consider merging with or acquiring fully. Poorly thought through mergers or acquisitions can be fraught with problems, including culture clashes, diluted brands and confusion in the marketplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Each accountancy firm needs to figure out its strategy for growth<\/a>. While most firms begin with a small number of existing client relationships and referral sources that they can tap, they eventually outgrow these limited resources. Without a formal business growth strategy, firms tend to grow in fits and starts, if at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, there is good news. Any of the approaches listed above can work \u2013 but the one you choose has to be a good fit for your resources, culture and risk tolerance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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Join more than 500,000 UK readers and get the best business admin strategies and tactics, as well as actionable advice to help your company thrive, in your inbox every month.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSubscribe now<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Any accountancy firm that wants to improve its fortunes needs a growth strategy. A robust growth strategy describes a firm\u2019s target industries and clients, what services it will offer and how it will position and develop its brand. It is designed to help you grow, in spite of such pressures as increased competition, automation and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":347,"featured_media":3597,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sage_video":false,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[16],"business_type":[115],"lilypad":[],"context":[],"industry":[],"persona":[67],"imagine_tag":[220],"coauthors":[465],"class_list":["post-3652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-growth-customers","tag-grow-accounting-practice","business_type-accountants"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-gb","author_name":"Lee Frederiksen","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2018\/01\/Sage_microsoft-e2w0359_screen.jpg","imagine_tags":{"220":"Accountant accounting"}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice UK","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/347"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3652"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3652\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/3597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3652"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=3652"},{"taxonomy":"lilypad","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/lilypad?post=3652"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=3652"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=3652"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=3652"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=3652"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=3652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}