Meet a Member: Lily Morris

JUST THE FACTS

• Name: Lily Morris
• Title: Internal Communications Specialist
• Years of Experience: 2
• College Name & Degree(s):
  • A., Strategic Communications – High Point University
  • Master’s in Business Administrations – Meredith College
• Firm Name: Johnson Lambert
• Firm City & State: We have eight offices, but I am in Raleigh, NC
• Firm Size: ~240
• Email Address: [email protected]
• Professional Memberships: AAM, Strategic Communications Committee and 2023 Summit Planning Committee
• LinkedIn Profile: linkedin.com/in/lillian-g-morris/

GETTING TO KNOW YOU

• What types of key performance indicators does your firm employ?
  • Our firm employs most of the typical common KPIs like sales growth, website traffic, email marketing, and more, but the big thing we are constantly focusing on when it comes to these key performance indicators is testing new hypotheses. In the digital era, there’s no shortage of data. The trick is figuring out which metrics truly matter to your firm. For instance, something we had never expected to be a KPI for measuring the effectiveness of our TikTok strategy would be talent leads for our internship program. Keeping an eye on the metrics of all of your marketing strategies is important, but even more so evaluating the results in a way that challenges you to try new things. We make a point of reviewing our metrics on a rolling basis to ensure we’re still using the right KPIs for our evolving industries.
• What is the structure of your marketing department?
  • Our marketing team is led by our Chief Growth & Development Officer, Courtney Kiss (AAM President-elect). She oversees both marketing and HR/recruiting operations. We have two marketing managers, a proposal specialist and a marketing coordinator. My role is unique within our firm and sits between the marketing and HR teams and is not necessarily assigned to either department, but I still get to contribute to marketing team projects, with the biggest emphasis in my role being placed on internal firm initiatives.
• What have you learned the hard way?
  • Creativity is very subjective, and every single message you craft or graphic you design won’t always land with your audience. That is not a mark of your talent, work ethic, or your capabilities as a marketing professional! If one thing doesn’t work the next thing might.
• What is a “must know” for new accounting marketers?
  • Don’t just learn marketing. Push yourself to learn accounting and the industries that you serve, because the people who take the time to understand all of those things are going to be the most successful!
  • Understanding best practices for marketing is important, but sometimes your best success will come from creative thinking and daring to try totally new strategies.
• What are your special skills or what is something people may not know about you?
  • During the COVID-19 pandemic I learned to draw on my iPad using the Procreate app and created an Instagram account where I featured my drawings.
• What is the biggest benefit you receive from your AAM membership or what effect has AAM had on your career?
  • The connections I have gained from AAM have already proven to be so valuable in just my first couple of years with the organization. I have met so many incredibly talented professionals who I can relate to, ask questions, bounce ideas off, and learn from. It’s never been a competition with the marketers I have met, and hearing what other firms are having success from or struggles with has really helped me early in my career.
• Share one marketing tip.
  • Create more short-form videos. This trend corresponds to the shorter attention spans of modern audiences, who prefer content that gets straight to the point and allows for quick consumption. Insert platforms like TikTok that have rapidly gained popularity due to their emphasis on short-form videos. While selling audit and advisory services on TikTok probably won’t be super effective, short form video works in proposals, on websites and landing pages, on LinkedIn, and a lot of other places in which your audience already exists.
• What do you feel is the biggest issue facing accounting marketers today?
  • Staying updated with technology poses a huge challenge. The accounting landscape is being revolutionized by automation and cloud-based accounting software, transforming the way accounting services are provided. To effectively promote their firms, accounting marketers must grasp and capitalize on these tools to gain an edge.
  • Differentiating oneself in an already busy market presents another obstacle. With countless accounting firms offering similar services, it is really difficult to stand out from the competition. Accounting marketers need to discover innovative ways to convey their firm’s value and clearly communicate why potential clients should choose them.
  • Adapting to evolving client expectations is another important issue. Client preferences are constantly changing, and we must quickly understand and fulfill these shifting expectations. Personalized services, real-time reporting, and effortless access to information are now anticipated by clients, requiring a proactive approach from accounting professionals.
• What would you be doing if you had not become a marketer?
  • I would be making pottery! Art and design are my core passions, so I am happy doing anything where I can create something to share with others.
• What is the biggest project you are working on right now?
  • One of the biggest projects I am undertaking this year is continuing to push and strategize our diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts across all of our audiences, but particularly internally. At the beginning of the year, I worked with firm leaders to develop seven project groups to ensure we have an approach that spans our firm to bring true impact. Now we are executing on those project plans and constantly evaluating what improvements we can make.
  • Like everyone else who works in marketing, I have a lot of projects going on at the same time. We just wrapped up our summer internship orientation, which I work with our recruiting team and learning and development team on – and it’s time to jump right into planning for our August full-time hires’ orientation. I am also working on prepping some of our internal initiatives for the firm for the remainder of the year. These include our month-long firmwide virtual scavenger hunt that is coming up at the end of the month, and our spirit week that happens in the fall.
• If you had an unlimited budget, what is one thing you would implement immediately?
  • Having an unlimited budget for employee experience activities would be wonderful! The value that can be achieved by investing in your employees cannot be measured in sales goals. I believe investing in your team is one of the smartest and most beneficial things any leader can do for their company, regardless of industry/profession. This can happen in many different ways and doesn’t necessarily need to be increased benefits or pay (which are also great ways to invest in your employees). Just by creating an experience that your employees will remember and appreciate can make a huge impact. Office animal therapy, sporting events, charity days and firmwide chocolate tastings are just a few ideas!
• What books have you read recently that you feel would be beneficial to other AAM members?
  • I will be honest, I am not much of a nonfiction reader. I typically pick books that will transport me somewhere else. However, I can make some great podcast recommendations: How Brands are Built and Call to Action. Both of these talk a lot about marketing basics and breaking down strategies, but are very easily digestible!
• What blogs/social feeds do you subscribe to that are helpful?
  • On Instagram I follow and would recommend Later (@latermedia) and Matt Navarra (@mattnavarra) who has a newsletter for social media managers. This is not social media but I recently subscribed to the business made simple story brand workshop, and that is well worth the money! I am only a quarter of the way through the program and have already gained so many insights to bring back to my team.