- The Approach
First, our team conducted in-depth interviews with firm leaders, employees, clients, and referral sources. This qualitative research revealed the accounting firm’s strengths – business solutions, retention of team talent, and niche expertise with family businesses. But the company didn’t have a strong brand and actually had confusion around its name, with some respondents calling it Horovitz, others calling it Rudoy, and still others calling it HRR.
The company’s original name and logo Equipped with these target audience insights, we began our creative process. We knew the company needed a growth marketing plan. We also knew they needed to tell their story to current and potential referral sources in addition to current and potential clients.
But we also thought they needed to solve their overall brand challenge with a new name.
Changing a name for any company is difficult. Changing the name of an accounting firm about to celebrate their 60th anniversary wasn’t something we took lightly.
We focused on the insights gleaned from the research and set out to create a new name that signaled a new era and gave a current and futuristic vibe.
- The Implementation
Our recommendation was a bold, modern new name: H2R CPA’s.
The company’s leaders loved the name and logo. They also made a commitment to their No Bullsh!t Growth Marketing Plan and set out to tell their story.
The company’s leaders loved the name and logo. They also made a commitment to their No Bullsh!t Growth Marketing Plan and set out to tell their story.
One opportunity was the new building the company was moving into which had high visibility from a major highway artery heading in and out of downtown Pittsburgh. We recommended the new logo be featured on the outside of the building. We emphasized the immense marketing value of prominent signage showcasing H2R’s new name. Again, the company’s leaders jumped in with a full commitment to the new name and brand.
We also led messaging workshops to align employees on not only the rationale for the name change but also the specific storytelling pillars which focused on H2R’s specialty serving family businesses and how they treat team members like family which drives retention of talent.
Their growth marketing plan also included a referral source marketing strategy to spur growth through people who believed in H2R and felt comfortable connecting them with people from their networks who could benefit from working with H2R. The firm expanded its business development activities and brought on key talent to drive growth through referrals, business development and marketing.
- The Results
Within a year of our research-driven rebrand, H2R’s revitalized name and messaging gained awareness. New clients proactively contacted H2R after noticing the eye-catching highway signage. One new client even recalled H2R’s name standing out during his accounting firm research when he expanded his company into the region.
Overall, our comprehensive growth marketing strategy and brand storytelling services fueled a doubling of H2R’s size in just 6 years. The transformation equipped them to flourish amidst industry changes.
