[ 11 ]

Marketing Intelligence &

Planning
15/ 1 [1997] 1118
MCB University Press
[I SSN 0263-4503]
Market i ng account i ng servi ces: an i nt er-count ry and
et hi cal compari son
Ni chol as C. Mangos
School of Commerce, The Flinders University of South Australia, Adelaide,
Australia
Nei l R. Lewi s
School of Commerce, The Flinders University of South Australia, Adelaide,
Australia
Bet H. Rof fey
School of Commerce, The Flinders University of South Australia, Adelaide,
Analyses studies on the mar-
keting practices of
Australian, UK and Hong
Kong public accountants and
reviews the standards of
professional conduct in each
of the countries. Classies
the methods used for market-
ing these services and associ-
ates them with the prevailing
accounting ethical codes,
thus providing a means of
identifying similarities and
differences in marketing
services arising from those
ethical codes. States that
these methods also provide a
basis for inter-country com-
parison. Concludes that
professional ethical stan-
dards have an impact on
marketing strategies and this
is not reected clearly in the
literature on the marketing of
services.
Int roduct i on
Strategi c marketi ng, i ts i mplementati on and
evaluati on, has tradi ti onally been exerci sed
i n product planni ng, pri ci ng, promoti on and
di stri buti on strategi es (Kotler and Bloom,
1990; Stanton et al., 1994). Professi onal ser-
vi ces, however, have not emphasi zed or exam-
i ned the benets of marketi ng and therefore
need to address such i ssues as servi ce i ntan-
gi bi li ty, i nseparabi li ty of producti on and
consumpti on, and heterogenei ty, or lack of
standardi zati on (Evans and Ber man, 1990;
Stanton et al., 1994). The servi ce sector i s
domi nated by i ntangi bi li ti es and uni que
experi ences; wi th a connecti on between ser-
vi ce quali ty, sati sed cli ents and ulti mately
competi tive advantage assumed to exi st (see
Croni n and Taylor, 1992; Grnroos, 1990; Para-
suraman et al., 1988). Nonetheless, whi le
servi ce marketi ng does i nclude servi ce prod-
uct planni ng, pri ci ng, promoti on, and di stri b-
uti on, the i ntangi bi li ti es of professi onal ser-
vi ces (such as accounti ng, legal, medi cal,
archi tecture) also i nclude the constrai nt of
professi onal ethi cs whi ch are i mposed i n the
for m of professi onal standards of conduct.
The tradi ti onal busi ness envi ronment i n
whi ch accounti ng rms operate has recently
become more competi tive as downtur ns i n
economi c sectors and globali zati on i mpact on
the abi li ty of accounti ng r ms to control
thei r market (Ahmed and Hopson, 1990;
Crane, 1991; Kotler and Bloom, 1990; Sample,
1991). Thi s i ncreased competi ti on and
changes i n professi onal adverti si ng regula-
ti ons by vari ous accounti ng bodi es, has cre-
ated the motivati on for accounti ng r ms to
develop marketi ng programmes to gai n or
hold market share (Hague, 1989; ODonohoe,
et al., 1991; Sample, 1991). Accompanyi ng
these competi tive factors has been an
observed decrease i n cli ent loyalty whi ch has
exacerbated the need to make marketi ng
promi nent i n the overall strategi c process of
r ms i n the accounti ng professi on (Ahmed
and Hopson, 1990; Headley and Choi , 1992).
Despi te the need for the appli cati on of mar-
keti ng concepts and techni ques, ODonohoeet
al., (1991) i denti ed a comparative lack of
market research on the accounti ng professi on
i n both the UK and North Ameri ca as to the
use and practi ce of marketi ng pri nci ples i n
accounti ng rms. Thi s li mi ted research has
lead to a shortage of data on how marketi ng i s
actually practisedwi thi n the professi on; how
the vari ous marketi ng tools are used, by
whom, to what end, and i n what context; are
they used i n i solati on, or i n a formali zed mar-
keti ng strategy? (ODonohoe et al., 1991, p. 51.)
Thi s paper analyses the i nter-country nd-
i ngs of a recent multi ple case study of Aus-
trali an accounti ng r ms marketi ng methods
(Mangos et al., 1995) and compares those
results wi th previ ous research i nto market-
i ng methods whi ch has been undertaken i n
the UK (Di amantopoulos et al., 1989; 1990;
Hague, 1989; and Morgan, 1988) and Hong
Kong (Yau and Wong, 1990). The standards for
professi onal conduct of accountants i n Aus-
trali a, the UK and Hong Kong are then exam-
i ned and conclusi ons drawn as to the nature
of si mi lari ti es and di fferences i n marketi ng
preferences of accountants exhi bi ted wi thi n
these countri es.
The market i ng of account i ng
servi ces
A li terature revi ew of vari ous studi es on
Australi an, UK and Hong Kong accountants
marketi ng practi ces was undertaken and
analysed as to the most commonly used mar-
keti ng tools, the most and least effective mar-
keti ng tools, atti tudes to adverti si ng, the role
of i mage, use of marketi ng plans or market-
i ng strategi es, and cli ent relati ons. These
countri es were chosen as Australi a was a
for mer colony of the UK, as i s Hong Kong
now, consequently, these countri es have a
common heri tage wi th respect to the develop-
ment of accounti ng and i ts standard of appli -
cati on.
Nicholas C. Mangos
Neil R.Lewis and
Bet R. Roffey
[ 12 ]
Nicholas C. Mangos,
Neil R. Lewis and
Bet H. Roffey
Marketing accounting
services: an inter-country and
ethical comparison
Marketing Intelligence &
Planning
15/ 1 [1997] 1118
Thi s li terature revi ew revealed that there
were a li mi ted number of studi es whi ch have
researched the marketi ng vi ews of accoun-
tants i n publi c practi ce. The i denti ed stud-
i es were: Australi a Fay and Bell (1990) and
Mangos et al. (1995); UK Di amantopoulos et
al. (1989, 1990); Hague (1989) and Morgan
(1988); Hong Kong Yau and Wong (1990).
Australi a was dependent on the UK for i ts
professi onal accounti ng standards unti l Aus-
trali an Accounti ng Standards were i ntro-
duced i n the 1970s. Hong Kong had a si mi lar
background and now produces i ts own
accounti ng standards. Unti l 1984, all of the
above accounti ng bodi es restri cted adverti s-
i ng. Si nce that date, these countri es have
developed thei r own accounti ng standards,
i ncludi ng standards of professi onal ethi cs.
Wi th the commonali ty i n ori gi n and the evo-
luti on of local di fferences emergi ng, market-
i ng could be exami ned si nce 1984 wi th respect
to the constrai nts i mposed by the mandated
ethi cal practi ces of the professi on.
Thi s approach per mi ts the marketi ng of
accounti ng servi ces to be exami ned for si mi -
lari ti es and di fferences whi ch can be
explai ned (wholly or parti ally) by profes-
si onal ethi cal standards and provi des
i nsi ghts i nto the li mi ti ng effect of those stan-
dards on marketi ng practi ces. I n parti cular,
thi s paper exami nes the role of, and atti tudes
to, adverti si ng, i mage creati on, the use of
promoti onal tools, and cli ent sati sfacti on.
Approaches and at t i t udes t o t he rol e of
adver t i si ng
The role of adverti si ng i n the i mplementati on
of marketi ng strategy i s relatively new to the
accounti ng professi on. Whi le adverti si ng has
a si gni cant functi on to perfor m i n market-
i ng strategy, i t i s only si nce 1984 that restri c-
ti ons on i ts use were eased i n the UK and
Australi a. As a consequence, the use of adver-
ti si ng by UK and Australi an accounti ng r ms
i s i mplemented currently i n vari ous for ms
and i s generally of a reserved nature because
of past restri cti ons, whi le i t i s prohi bi ted i n
Hong Kong.
I n Australi a there has been observed a
growi ng trend i n the recogni ti on of the bene-
ts of adverti si ng accompani ed by greater
frequency and vari ati on i n i ts use. Thi s trend
i s expected to conti nue (Fay and Bell, 1990;
Hodge et al., 1990). However, Mangos et al.
(1995) concluded that accountants beli eve that
adverti si ng di d no more than li ft name prole
and were scepti cal of i ts use as an ai d to prac-
ti ce development growth. I n the UK there i s
also a beli ef that adverti si ng i s not an activi ty
that should be entered i nto by the professi on.
However, from the cli ent vi ewpoi nt, adverti s-
i ng i s seen as an i mportant activi ty whi ch
keeps them i nfor med (Burton, 1991; Di aman-
topoulos et al., 1989).
Further more, cli ents have a healthi er atti -
tude to adverti si ng than do practi si ng
accountants (Hi te and Belli zzi , 1986). Thi s
divergence of vi ews has been categori zed as
an atti tudi nal gap between accountants and
the cli ents they serve regardi ng the i ssue of
adverti si ng (Hi te and Fraser, 1988). I n confor-
mance wi th Australi a and the UK, Hong Kong
accounti ng rms also exhi bi t a reluctance
towards the use of, and benets to be gai ned
by, adverti si ng. I n Hong Kong, accounti ng
r ms have been observed as supporti ng the
restri cti ons on the practi ce of adverti si ng
i mposed by thei r accounti ng standards (Yau
and Wong, 1990). I n consequence, the restri c-
ti on on adverti si ng i mposed through the
Hong Kong Accounti ng Standards and Hong
Kong accountants atti tude to adverti si ng can
be consi dered somewhat of a ci rcular argu-
ment, as the standard (restri cti on) i s both
developed and supported by the members of
the professi on and prompted Yau et al., (1990)
to descri be Hong Kong accountants as lag-
gi ng i n thei r atti tude to adverti si ng.
Accounti ng r ms whi ch are establi shed,
and are recogni zed as havi ng the followi ng
characteri sti cs of establi shment: known
reputati ons, loyal cli ents, and larger adverti s-
i ng budgets, may exhi bi t aggressive and
i ntense competi ti on for cli ents relative to
smaller and less establi shed accounti ng
r ms. Consequently, there i s a greater
requi rement that the newer and/ or small
r ms adverti se than the more establi shed
r ms (Marts et al., 1989).
A recent study i n Australi a suggests that
numerous universi ti es have recently
i ncluded marketi ng and ethi cal aspects of
accounti ng i nto thei r curri culum (Mangos et
al., 1995). Thi s i nclusi on i n the curri culum
suggests that the most recent accounti ng
graduates and/ or accountants who have been
exposed to such a curri culum wi ll have a
greater appreci ati on of the si gni cance of
adverti si ng than previ ous graduands.
The si gni cant role whi ch adverti si ng can
play i n the enhancement of professi onal
servi ce practi ces and the associ ated profes-
si on i s reected on i n the research of
Folland et al. (1991); Stevens et al. (1992); and
Traynor (1983). As accounti ng educati on
i ncorporates marketi ng and associ ated
...until 1984, all of the above accounting bodies restricted
advertising. Since that date, these countries have developed their
own accounting standards, including standards of professional
ethics...
[ 13 ]
Nicholas C. Mangos,
Neil R. Lewis and
Bet H. Roffey
Marketing accounting
services: an inter-country and
ethical comparison
Marketing Intelligence &
Planning
15/ 1 [1997] 1118
adverti si ng techni ques i nto the syllabus, then
posi tive atti tudes towards adverti si ng can be
expected reasonably to proli ferate, where
professi onal standards per mi t.
Despi te the reluctance of accountants to
enthusi asti cally encompass adverti si ng, they
are sti ll seen as the most advanced professi on
i n thei r strategi c approach to thei r servi ce
delivery relative to other professi ons (Fay
and Bell, 1990). These other professi ons
i ncluded, doctors, denti sts, veteri nari ans and
lawyers.
The Fay and Bell (1990) research study
i denti ed the uti li zati on of contracts by ten-
der, cli ent-driven poli ci es and procedures,
and the use of recogni zed marketi ng tools, as
bei ng the foundati on of these effective
accountants strategi es. A relati onshi p
between a strong atti tude to adverti si ng and
the i mage of the r m was recogni zed i n an
Australi an study (Mangos et al., 1995). Fur-
ther more, i t was noted that there was a si gni f-
i cant di fference i n atti tude and practi ce
between accounti ng r ms.
An overvi ew of thi s li terature would sug-
gest that, wi th an emphasi s on bei ng competi -
tive and the conti nued development of mar-
keti ng i n accounti ng courses, a trend towards
the i ncreasi ng use of adverti si ng by the
accounti ng professi on wi ll develop, depen-
dent on the age and si ze of the r m, and the
age and experi ence of the i ndivi dual accoun-
tant, as well as the stance adopted i n profes-
si onal standards.
Adver t i si ng and i mage i n t he account i ng
professi on
The tradi ti onal mi nd-set of the accountant
towards adverti si ng i s epi tomi zed as a gen-
eral beli ef that adverti si ng under mi nes the
i mage of the professi on (Burton, 1991, p. 117).
I n the tradi ti onal role professi onal i mage was
used as the sole or major competi tive tool i n
obtai ni ng and sustai ni ng cli ents and enabli ng
practi ce growth. Usi ng thi s i mage accounti ng
r ms fai led to recogni ze the gap between
thei r percepti ons of i mage and the cli ents
percepti on of need and i mage (Lacy, 1988). A
recogni ti on of thi s gap was noted as r ms
experi enced a decreasi ng rate of customer
loyalty whi ch can become a threat to the
r ms vi abi li ty (Ahmed and Hopson, 1990).
Unli ke the tradi ti onal accounti ng i nterpreta-
ti on of professi onal i mage, contemporary
professi onal i mage i s consi dered as only one
part of an overall marketi ng strategy and
should not be consi dered as the major
component.
Follandet al., (1991) postulated that an
adverti si ng strategy can enhance the profes-
si onal i mage of accounti ng r ms and that
thi s professi onal i mage can be conveni ently
analysed usi ng two major factors. These fac-
tors are a general factor and an imagefactor.
Thegeneral factor represents the benets
that are received by both parti es, i .e. the
cli ent and the practi si ng accountant. The
imagefactor i s that whi ch i s perceived as the
professi onal status and reputati on of the
accounti ng rm by both the accountant and
the cli ent. I n sum, these two factors combi ne
to create a posi tive i nuence on professi onal
i mage.
Relative to Australi a and the UK, Hong
Kong accounti ng r ms are the more tradi -
ti onal, i n a marketi ng sense, regardi ng the
role of i mage. Hong Kong accounti ng r ms
beli eve professi onal i mage i s advanced
through word of mouth promoti on and that
thi s promoti on i s the most si gni cant compo-
nent i n mai ntai ni ng a loyal cli ent base, pro-
moti ng growth i n the for m of new cli ents and
mai ntai ni ng an ongoi ng respect i n the com-
muni ty, (Yau and Wong, 1990). Thi s word of
mouth promoti on of professi onal i mage was
i nfor med by the level of servi ce quali ty. I n the
UK the i dea of professi onal i mage was
enhanced by provi di ng a hi gh level of, and
range of, techni cal servi ces (Morgan, 1988).
To further di fferenti ate the i nter-country
understandi ng of i mage i deology, accounti ng
r ms i n Australi a i denti ed the creati on of a
comfortable, appropri ate physi cal envi ron-
ment for the cli ent, combi ned wi th the provi -
si on of quali ty servi ce at value for money
rates, as the i ngredi ents of a successful pro-
fessi onal i mage (Mangos et al., 1995).
Market i ng t ool ef fect i veness
The least effective marketi ng tool i denti ed
i n the UK and Hong Kong for accountants has
been mass medi a (Di amantopoulos et al.,
1989, 1990; Stevens et al., 1992; Yau and Wong,
1990), wi th the excepti on of the Yellow Pages
telephone di rectory and newspaper adverti se-
ments i n the UK (Di amantopoulos et al., 1989;
1990; Hague, 1989; Marts et al., 1989; Stevens et
al., 1992). I n ter ms of effectiveness the UK
studi es i ndi cate that semi nars and brochures,
were consi dered the most effective UK mar-
keti ng tools (Di amantopoulos et al., 1989; 1990;
Stevens et al., 1992). The UK ndi ngs are con-
si stent wi th evi dence of accounti ng r ms i n
Australi a (Mangos et al., 1995). The
Australi an study also i denti ed that account-
i ng r ms reported si gni cant new cli ent
generati on from professi onal semi nars and
workshops. I n contrast to Australi a and the
UK, accountants i n Hong Kong most com-
monly used and reported, word of mouth
promoti on as the most effective marketi ng
tool. There was also evi dence i n Hong Kong of
[ 14 ]
Nicholas C. Mangos,
Neil R. Lewis and
Bet H. Roffey
Marketing accounting
services: an inter-country and
ethical comparison
Marketing Intelligence &
Planning
15/ 1 [1997] 1118
active sponsori ng by r ms i n academi c exhi -
bi ti ons and contests (Yau and Wong, 1990). I n
Australi a, si gni cant use of televi si on as a
tool for enhanci ng professi onal i mage has
been undertaken, wi th consi derable success,
by the Australi an Soci ety of Certi ed Practi s-
i ng Accountants. The Nati onal I nsti tute of
Accountants and the Chartered I nsti tute of
Accountants have also undertaken si mi lar
programmes, but have been li mi ted i n the
amount of exposure ti me, probably because of
thei r smaller membershi p base.
Cl i ent sat i sfact i on
The market competi ti on between accountants
i s seen as i ntensi fyi ng, as i s the competi ti on
from other professi onals perfor mi ng si mi lar
servi ces. The role of marketi ng by accoun-
tants consequently has i ncreased and atten-
ti on to i denti cati on of factors of success has
gai ned domi nance. One of the emergi ng fac-
tors of success i s seen as cli ent sati sfacti on
(Andrews, 1992; Zorski , 1990). Nonetheless,
whi le a focus on cli ent ori entati on by
accounti ng rms wi ll lead to greater cli ent
sati sfacti on, i t i s also li kely to lead to
i ncreased cli ent expectati on as they become
better educated i n understandi ng di fferences
i n cli ent focus between accounti ng r ms as
well as techni cal experti se.
Research i n the UK has suggested that
cli ent sati sfacti on i s greater i n larger
accounti ng rms when compared to cli ent
sati sfacti on i n smaller r ms (Andrus et al.,
1990; Hague, 1989; Morgan, 1988). Thi s sati s-
facti on gap may be explai ned as a functi on of
aggregate resources. The access of larger
accounti ng rms to resources i s argued to
i mpact on the extent and the number of pro-
moti on strategi es, the range of servi ces pro-
vi ded and the extent of cli ent follow-up.
I n Australi a, Fay and Bell (1990) found that
mobi li ty of cli ents and thei r abi li ty to negoti -
ate pri ce had i ncreased between 1985 and
1988. I n general, the majori ty of the
Australi an cli ents were consi dered demand-
i ng and havi ng relatively hi gh expectati ons of
thei r accountants. I n contrast, Yau and Wong
(1990) observed that Hong Kong accounti ng
cli ents appear to have low expectati ons on
servi ces and therefore di ssati sfacti on i s
arguably less li kely to occur.
However, they also concluded that Chi nese
cli ents rarely express thei r opi ni ons, so the
level of complai nts may not reect Hong Kong
accounti ng rms servi ce quali ty. The Chi -
nese cultural ethos of mai ntai ni ng face and
communi ty har mony whi le pursui ng alter-
native means of resoluti on may also be a
contri buti ng factor to the relatively low
expressi on of complai nt level.
The foregoi ng exami nati on of research i nto
publi c accountants marketi ng practi ces i s
summari zed i n Table I .
Revi ew of account i ng codes of
prof essi onal conduct
Aust ral i a
The development of adverti si ng i n Australi a
was commenced i n 1979 wi th a shi ft away
from a ban on adverti si ng to li mi tati ons on
si ze and content. These restri cti ons were
removed i n 1984 wi th a constrai nt only wi th
respect to responsi bi li ty to the professi on and
Tabl e I
International marketing of accounting services
Aust ral i a UK Hong Kong
Most commonl y used (Mangos et al., 1995) (Diamantopoulos et al. (1989, 1990) (Yau and Wong, 1990)
market i ng t ool s Seminars Press, including telephone directory Indirect promotion, i.e.
Brochures Yellow Pages personal
Referrals from bankers; lawyers; real (Hague, 1989) Selling and sponsoring
estate agents; associations; clubs Yellow Pages (89 per cent) academic exhibitions
and societies; professional and Brochures (56 per cent) and contests
business associations Entertaining (47 per cent)
Local press (44 per cent)
Local sponsorship (44 per cent)
Directories other than YellowPages
(33 per cent)
Direct mail (22 per cent)
Other (36 per cent)
Most ef fect i ve (Mangos et al., 1995) (Diamantopoulos et al., 1989, 1990) (Yau and Wong, 1990)
market i ng t ool s Referrals Advertising and brochures Positive word of mouth
(i n order of preference) Seminars
Professional and client networking
(Continued)
[ 15 ]
Nicholas C. Mangos,
Neil R. Lewis and
Bet H. Roffey
Marketing accounting
services: an inter-country and
ethical comparison
Marketing Intelligence &
Planning
15/ 1 [1997] 1118
Tabl e I
Aust ral i a UK Hong Kong
Least ef fect ive (Mangos et al., 1995) (Diamantopoulos et al., 1989, 1990) (Yau and Wong, 1990)
market ing t ools Referrals and seminars were more Referrals and seminars Mass media, pushy and
important than advertising militant marketing
Newsletters gained little response tactics
At t it ude (Fay and Bell, 1990) (Diamantopoulos et al., 1989, 1990) (Yau and Wong, 1990)
t o adver t ising Between 1985-1988: accountants 70 per cent of the respondents 71.25 per cent agree with
suspicion regarding advertising favoured advertising the advertising and
was diminishing promotion ban
(Mangos et al., 1995)
Advertising did no more than lift name
prole. Accountants expected little
response to advertising
Fact ors inuencing (Fay and Bell, 1990)
at t it ude Direct advertising perceived as a prole
ehancer. Advertising techniques do
not necessarily result in new clients
Ot her professional (Fay and Bell, 1990)
at t it udes Accountants the cost advanced
professional group in adopting
marketing/ advertising techniques
The role of image (Mangos et al., 1995) (Morgan, 1988) (Yau and Wong, 1990)
Middle road image is promoted, i.e. One of the most important Image is an essential
value value for money service objectivesof marketing is to ingredient to gain client
Image is related to ability to provide achieve a professional image loyalty and respect in
quality service the community
Image promoted by creating a physical
environment comfortable for clients
to visit
Market ing (Fay and Bell, 1990) (Morgan, 1988) (Yau and Wong, 1990)
plans/ st rat egy Main emphasis is on service quality Emphasis is on service quality to Emphasis is on service
(Mangos, et al., 1995) to achieve; professional quality
Some medium-sized rms had reputation and image, distinction
marketing plans but not written in technical service and the
Others had no structured marketing range of service offered
plan instead functioning on a needs-
based evolving plan
Informal strategic plans were justied
from an uncertain economic
environment
An evolving and exible approach is
suggested
No mission statements
Evidence of target marketing and organized organized
positioning
Specied service mix in most cases
Client relat ions (Fay and Bell, 1990) (Morgan, 1988) (Yau and Wong, 1990)
Clients are demanding and have Larger rms tend to be more Clients have low
expectations, from 1988-85 the effective and organized with expectations on
clients mobility and ability to marketing than smaller rms services, therefore
bargain increased (Hague, 1989) dissatisfaction is
96 per cent agreed that larger less likely to occur
rms are signicantly more Clients opinions are rarely
organized for marketing expressed, thus comp-
plaints do no reect
service quality
[ 16 ]
Nicholas C. Mangos,
Neil R. Lewis and
Bet H. Roffey
Marketing accounting
services: an inter-country and
ethical comparison
Marketing Intelligence &
Planning
15/ 1 [1997] 1118
the publi c i nterest wi th a further change i n
1992 whi ch per mi ts adverti si ng, or the obtai n-
i ng of publi ci ty for an accountants servi ces,
provi ded that the content or nature of such
adverti si ng or publi ci ty i s not false, mi slead-
i ng or deceptive and i s consi stent wi th the
di gni ty of the professi on.
I n general the di gni ty of the professi on i s
seen as safeguardi ng the publi c i nterest,
mai ntai ni ng i ntegri ty, perfor mi ng profes-
si onal duti es objectively, i mparti ally and free
of coni cts of i nterest whi le exerci si ng com-
petence, condenti ali ty and due care along
wi th a general constrai nt on tar ni shi ng the
i mage of the accounti ng professi on.
Uni t ed Ki ngdom
I n 1981 the professi onal gui deli nes on adver-
ti si ng and promoti on were relaxed to allow
accounti ng rms to adverti se usi ng tomb-
stone style adverti sements i n newspapers.
Followi ng Gover nment pressure, i n 1983 the
Bri ti sh accounti ng bodi es i ssued a new state-
ment on publi ci ty and adverti si ng whi ch
per mi tted members to openly promote thei r
servi ces.
The content of the adverti sements was
requi red to be i n good taste and should not
beli ttle the servi ces offered by other mem-
bers of the professi on, or be false or mi slead-
i ng. However, di rect mai li ng and cold calli ng
was not per mi tted.
Hong Kong
I n 1973 the Hong Kong Soci ety of Accountants
was establi shed. Adverti si ng i s not per mi tted
under the ethi cal standards of the Hong Kong
accounti ng professi on.
However, early i n the 1990s thi s absolute
ban was amended to per mi t a member to
adverti se for staff, promote a publi c semi nar
for whi ch commerci al fees are charged, or
when acti ng on behalf of a cli ent or i n a du-
ci ary or si mi lar capaci ty.
Thi s relaxati on was accompani ed by stri ct
gui deli nes whi ch requi red that the adverti se-
ment must not appear to promote or give the
appearance of general publi ci ty for the rm.
Further, any publi ci ty or communi cati on
must not be presented i n a manner whi ch i s
not consi stent wi th the good taste or di gni ty
of the professi on; i t must not beli ttle or clai m
superi ori ty over others; and cannot consi st
of self-laudatory statements not based on
veri able facts.
Reect i ons on t he research and
t he et hi cal const rai nt s
Market i ng and adver t i si ng i nt er-count ry
preferences
The studi es i ndi cate that UK accounti ng
r ms were more reli ant on adverti si ng than
thei r Australi an counterparts, whi le i n Hong
Kong the ethi cal restri cti on on adverti si ng
created a bi as towards i ndi rect promoti on vi a
sponsori ng academi c exhi bi ti ons and per-
sonal contact. I n Australi a semi nars,
brochures and referrals were domi nant and
may reect the more recent easi ng of adver-
ti si ng restri cti ons i n Australi a as compared
to the UK.
Wi th respect to the accountants percep-
ti ons of the most effective marketi ng tools,
the Australi an, and Hong Kong accountants
preferred referrals and semi nars above other
methods whi le the Bri ti sh preferred press
adverti si ng. As such, thi s commonali ty
between Australi a and Hong Kong may reect
the common heri tage of thei r standards of
conduct (Bri ti sh-based) and the success of
marketi ng usi ng these approaches under
condi ti ons of restrai nt on adverti si ng, despi te
current di fferences i n adverti si ng restri c-
ti ons i n thei r respective codes of professi onal
conduct. On the other hand, the earli er li fti ng
of the adverti si ng restri cti ons has led to a
greater maturi ty i n the use of thi s medi a i n
marketi ng i n Bri tai n and i s reected i n
accountants preference for i ts use. Thi s di f-
ference i n ti mi ng between countri es i n li fti ng
the adverti si ng restri cti ons (Hong Kong i s
sti ll restri cted) can also be seen i n the least
effective marketi ng tools of the studi es, where
referrals are preferred less than adverti si ng
i n Bri tai n, whi le Australi ans reected suspi -
ci on of the success of adverti si ng. The Hong
Kong study di sli ked mass medi a (reecti ng
the adverti si ng ban) and pushy and mi li tant
marketi ng tacti cs. The latter may be
explai ned by the Chi nese cultural preference
for har mony. The i mportance of i mage was
consi stent between the three countri es and
no doubt reects the consi stency between the
standards of conduct as to di gni ty of the pro-
fessi on (See Table I ).
The marketi ng plans and/ or strategi es
reected i n the research revi ewed i ndi cate an
emphasi s on servi ce quali ty and cli ent focus
i n the three countri es. The major di fference
between the countri es as to cli ent expecta-
ti ons i s i n Hong Kong where the di fference
may have a cultural explanati on not revealed
i n the research.
[ 17 ]
Nicholas C. Mangos,
Neil R. Lewis and
Bet H. Roffey
Marketing accounting
services: an inter-country and
ethical comparison
Marketing Intelligence &
Planning
15/ 1 [1997] 1118
Pract i cal i mpl i cat i ons f or
market i ng account i ng servi ces
These reecti ons i ndi cate that the marketi ng
of accounti ng servi ces di ffers from the mar-
keti ng of other servi ce i ndustri es i n conse-
quence of thei r professi onal standards of
ethi cal conduct. These reecti ons may be
consi stent i n other professi ons where other
codes of ethi cal practi ce are employed. Conse-
quently, the provi si on of marketi ng advi ce to
accounti ng professi onals, and perhaps other
professi onals, must take i nto account not
only the servi ce plan, pri ci ng, promoti on
strategi es and the heterogenei ty and i ntangi -
bi li ti es descri bed by Evans and Ber man
(1990); Kotler and Bloom (1990); and Stanton et
al., (1994), but also the statements of ethi cal
conduct and the ti me peri od si nce the li fti ng
of any restri cti ons, as these appear to affect
consi derably the preferences of the account-
i ng professi onals.
Other studi es i ndi cate that there i s evi -
dence that accounti ng r ms are begi nni ng to
adopt strategi c marketi ng pri nci ples (Reed,
1992; Stanton, et al., 1994) to thei r practi ce
development i n an i ncreasi ngly competi tive
envi ronment.
Accounti ng r ms tend to use readi ly quan-
ti able i ndi cators of servi ce perfor mance,
both i n measuri ng the success of thei r mar-
keti ng activi ti es as well as measuri ng the
success of thei r professi onal servi ces. Whi le
effi ci ency measures provi de valuable plan-
ni ng and control i nfor mati on, they do not
necessari ly ensure that cli ent expectati ons
are i n fact bei ng met.
Accounti ng r ms can ensure that cli ents
pre-consumpti on, consumpti on and post-
consumpti on percepti ons of the servi ce are
based on relevant cri teri a, by provi di ng i nfor-
mati on duri ng the pre-consumpti on deci si on-
maki ng stage about the way i n whi ch the r m
operates, and the type of servi ce quali ty cri te-
ri a used.
Thi s i nfor mati on may help cli ents make
i nfor med deci si ons about the most appropri -
ate choi ce from the accounti ng r ms range of
servi ces, and help ensure that they have real-
i sti c expectati ons of the servi ces (Lovelock,
1991; Zei thaml et al., 1988). Accounti ng r ms
can use publi c relati ons and promoti onal
activi ti es to provi de i nfor mati on to potenti al
cli ents about thei r poli ci es and operati ons, i n
addi ti on to basi c i nfor mati on about the range
of servi ces provi ded.
The economi c condi ti on of a country can
sti mulate change i n professi onal servi ces
marketi ng practi ces. Speci c cultures pro-
vi de the framework for i mplementi ng such
changes. Australi a and the UK have
experi enced severe economi c downtur ns i n
recent years. As a result, accounti ng r ms i n
these countri es have become i ncreasi ngly
competi tive, and are lear ni ng how to manage
thei r marketi ng strategi es to provi de quali ty
servi ce for competi tive advantage.
Accounti ng r ms i n Hong Kong have expe-
ri enced a very stable cli mate wi th respect to
ethi cal pronouncements whi ch has requi red
li ttle change to thei r atti tudes and practi ces
i n cli ent-ori ented marketi ng strategi es. Thi s
si tuati on may change wi th the hand-over to
the Chi nese Government i n the near future
(1997).
The observati ons contai ned i n thi s paper
have drawn together a number of studi es
whi ch appear to address si mi lar matters
concer ni ng marketi ng strategi es i n
Australi a, the UK and Hong Kong. These
studi es have di fferi ng objectives and thei r
results have been reected agai nst an analy-
si s of the codes of professi onal conduct i n
each of the countri es.
Consequently, the conclusi ons drawn from
thi s paper may be consi dered as exploratory
i n nature and requi re further testi ng, not
only of the accounti ng professi on but also
other professi ons, to establi sh whether
testable hypotheses can be developed.
Nonetheless, the tentative conclusi on can be
drawn that ethi cal standards are a further
i ntangi bi li ty whi ch should be taken i nto
account when assessi ng marketi ng strategy.
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