ProAdvisor: Christine Campbell

Bookkeeping Firm: C. Campbell Agency

Located: Squamish, BC

We spoke to Christine Campbell of C. Campbell Agency, who was the recipient of the ProAdvisor Marketing Fund. She runs her bookkeeping agency out of Squamish, BC.

How long have you worked in the industry? 

I started working in finance when I was Operations Coordinator for a small manufacturing company. I gravitated toward it. I moved on from that and opened my own bookkeeping agency as well as worked with business development in Squamish. I was still drawn toward bookkeeping and the finance side of things. So, I started exclusively doing bookkeeping in 2009 and then after being in bookkeeping and working on multiple platforms I chose to work exclusively with QuickBooks Online. I loved the versatility of it and what the platform would do for small businesses. I just thought it was a great direction to go, and a good business-choice to use a platform that was as intuitive as QuickBooks.

In your mind why was it important to master one piece of software instead of navigating many platforms?

I liked being able to be extremely proficient at what I did. Finance has this tendency to be extremely detailed, down to the last penny. But I liked being able to understand the program and the platform and how to operate it. I started developing a team that worked with me and for me, and I wanted them to be proficient and efficient as well. Working in one platform allowed us to basically do training and optimize our skills and serve our clients and deliver more for them.

How did your clients react to you switching to QuickBooks exclusively?

We found that most business owners were open to the concept of seeing their numbers in real-time. That it wasn’t a mystery that was with their bookkeeper or with their accountants. All of our clients moved over, and new clients were open to the concept of moving over to a well-known platform like QuickBooks Online. So, we helped them with their transition from their previous platform to QuickBooks.

Tell us about your experience with the ProAdvisor Marketing Fund

A couple of years ago we were recipients of the ProAdvisor Marketing Fund. I was grateful to be able to receive and work with the marketing team at Intuit and develop a marketing campaign. The campaign was to help medium to large-sized businesses migrate into QuickBooks Online. We created a landing page that still exists now, and social media marketing that directed them to the landing page. We had them fill out a questionnaire and change from existing platforms to QuickBooks.

We also applied for the fund last year. It was such a great opportunity that we couldn’t resist applying again. This time we did a different campaign called “Know Your Numbers.” We still have this campaign running and use it to help businesses out there that don’t know what their numbers are in real time and to start the conversations of what it’s like to be connected to their books and finances through a platform like QuickBooks Online. That’s what QuickBooks is all about, it’s about knowing your numbers in real time.

During this campaign it was so successful we had leads coming in all through the summer and they continue to this day. We’re super pleased with the results and continue to have conversations with existing customers about knowing your numbers.

How has this helped grow your business?

The ProAdvisor Marketing Fund has allowed us to focus more than ever on marketing campaigns. Working with the Intuit marketing team has taught us how to target markets and really find that ideal client we all talk about. The Intuit marketing team helped educate us, and we saw a growth of 63% the first year, and we’re on target for the same level of growth for this year's campaign.

After we launched the marketing campaign, we were thrilled to see the amount of success we had. What was even more surprising, was we had leads continue to come in through July and August. Normally our industry is quiet that time of year, but the leads kept coming in. We directly contributed that success to the marketing campaign we ran with Intuit Canada.

In what ways did you find the marketing campaign helpful?

The marketing campaign was something that helped us understand what marketing could be: marketing funnels, targeting, the different platforms. It was a very educational and enlightening process to go through. It has allowed the C. Campbell Agency to establish itself as a major bookkeeping firm. We’re not just getting friends of friends as clients, we have people telling us, we found you as one of the top bookkeeping firms when we searched on Google. Without the help from the fund, I don’t think we would be here.

What advice would you give to others who are considering applying for the ProAdvisor Marketing Fund?

I would highly recommend any ProAdvisor to take the opportunity to apply for the grant and work with Intuit’s marketing department. It really helped us to take the company to the next level. We got lots of leads from it and it was a great experience.

Was it easy to apply?

I know that applications can sound a little intimidating, but it was an easy and smooth process.

What does the future hold for C. Campbell Agency?

I’m so excited to take C. Campbell to the next level. Now that we’ve had the opportunity to work with the marketing team at Intuit, we’re excited to explore what it means to launch other marketing campaigns. C. Campbell Agency is looking to grow and expand across Canada. As well as adding new products that will help entrepreneurs empower themselves to know their numbers and work past pain points in their business.