What Borders Books' Catastrophe Can Show CPA Firms About Technology

Borders Books' failure provides unbelievably good insight for accountants about the importance of adopting new marketing technologies such as productivity software and websites. What might Border's Books have done differently to prevent its failure that might help you grow your CPA or accounting business? Border's ruin was brought about by it's own management because it wouldn't accept the significance of emerging technologies. Borders' ruin came as no surprise to anybody who follows technology. The cause was their refusing to move into digital publishing. Accounting professionals can make the identical life-threatening misjudgment. In a changing world, simply pursuing "business as usual" is usually deadly. So pay attention to Borders' missteps! Understanding emerging technologies will protect your firm from facing this kind of crisis.

The last decade has brought technological advances that improve accessibility, communication, and product delivery, making traditional print virtually obsolete. The technology revolution coincided with greater environmental awareness. Electronics also meant less need for paper resources. With newspapers, books, magazines, even tv guides available online, we live in an online world. People automatically turn to electronics nowadays. And that makes modern marketing tools like attractive websites for accountants essential.

Once Borders Books was at the top of its industry. Few companies could match its worldwide brand recognition, valuable stock, and distribution muscle. But despite the technological changes over the last decade, Borders chose to pursue a strategy of business as usual. Borders turned up their noses at e-books. They ignored electronic communications of all sorts. It simply wasn't their world. They didn't bother to become technologically literate. Their payback didn't take long. The strategy failed and so did Borders. Even their proven marketing tools failed them. Marketing cannot save a bygone business model.

Competitors of Borders, in contrast, were quick to adopt new technologies. They invested in product development because they saw the rewards to come. It wasn't long until their e-book and online sales added significantly to their bottom line. Both Amazon and Barnes and Noble pulled ahead of Borders based on their electronic savvy. Meanwhile, Borders slept. Previous customers of Borders who became excited by the electronic possibilities had to use more accommodating booksellers. As in any industry, once a customer has made a switch to another company and finds it satisfactory, that customer is almost impossible to retrieve.

Reluctance to embrace technology spawned a series of further marketing missteps. In an effort to shore up eroding profits, Borders raised prices in retail stores and online, antagonizing their loyal customer base. Customers revolted, moving their business to Borders' competitors. At that point, Borders went into a tailspin. They filed for bankruptcy in February 2011.

So what does this have to do with your business? In every industry, businesses must adapt to a changing technological climate or become obsolete. Like any other industry, forward-thinking accountants must keep track of and embrace the evolving world of technology and novel internet marketing tools such as fine websites for accountants. That is the meat of Borders Books' lesson for CPA firms. Avoiding its biggest mistakes will help sustain your firm primed to succeed.