In the local business marketing game, professional service businesses – doctors, dentists, lawyers, accounts, financial planners, architects and the like – totally miss the boat (actually, they’ve usually fallen off the boat and are currently drowning). Or, in technical speak, professional services rank among the most poorly and ineffectively marketed local businesses.
OK OK! In all fairness, this class of business has some distinct disadvantages, especially in comparison to their brethren in the retail and general services fields.
A retail store has, well…a store!?! Which means a store front, with signage and customers coming and going, i.e. a physical presence in the community the store serves.
Similarly, general services – we’re talkin’ you pool guy, plumber, landscaper, general contractor and the like – are out and about in the community the serve every day (and if they’re smart, they’ve got a logo, business name and phone number on the side of their vehicle) How many times do you have to notice Dan’s Plumbing truck on your block before you give them a shot when your drain’s backed up? (Probably not too many, huh?)
No retail store. No community presence. But it gets worse: the level of credibility required to sell a prospect on professional services is infinitely higher than either retail stores or general services.
When you’re promoting yourself as doctor or lawyer or financial planner, it’s all about trust, credibility and competency, right? So how do you engender the level of trust, credibility and competency, necessary for the average person to put their physical, legal or financial health in your hands?
Neither a store (no matter how well patronized) nor community presence (no matter how many or how often a service provider’s truck is in your neighborhood) can begin to carry the weight of credibility necessary to literally risk your physical, legal or financial health. For professional services, it’s a whole different ballgame…
So, how do you bring customers (in droves) to your local professional service business?
Well, my friends, it’s a two-step process:
- Establish credibility
- Leverage that credibility to your advantage
PART I | ESTABLISHING CREDIBILITY
Of course it’s easy to define your goal as: Build trust and establish credibility and competency. Achieving this goal, however, is VERY VERY HARD.
But despair not friends, ‘cause despite the seeming roadblocks, there are two surefire strategies to help your local service business to establish the credibility you desire…
Do the Best Job Possible
Really want to build trust and establish credibility and competency?
Start with doing the best job possible. Well, DHU!
Sounds like a no-brainer, right? But you’d be surprised how many of your competitors are falling far short of this seemingly simple directive. If you have your finger on the pulse of your industry in your community, no doubt you’re aware of competitors that don’t measure up – not just relative to you – but in terms of minimum basic standards.
This goes both ways too, because in today’s “reviews as marketing” driven marketplace (the new-school version of good ole fashion word-of-mouth common in most communities), if your biz fails to provide good service, you company’s names is going to wind up on that “undesirable list” along with your underperforming competitors. And once you’re on the “naughty list” any notion of trust, credibility or competency goes right out the window.
Suffice it to say, striving to do your very best for your customers is the most critical component of establishing your business’s credibility. And if your customers are less than satisfied, doing your best to address and hopefully alleviate their concerns, which leads us to the second most critical component of building credibility…
Building Relationships with Careful and Considerate Customer Service
Another “well, duh” tenet that echo’s the point above, but if you really take into full account the aforementioned “reviews as marketing” reality of today’s marketplace, Customer Service is Job One.
Odds are you’re not the only doctor, lawyer, dentist, accountant or architect in your community. That means you need to go the extra mile in developing positive personal relationships with your customers to ensure they see you as more than “just another provider.” When your services become a commodity to a client, you’ll lose their business as soon as a competitor undercuts your price.
Moreover, trust flows from making a personal connection and getting to know someone as a person. In order to gain their trust, you need your clients to see you as someone who cares about them as people. Not just one of the numbers revolving through your doors day in and day out. And nothing says you care more than careful and considerate customer service.
Customers’ trust businesses they feel view them as real people and look out for their interests:
- Learn your customer’s names.
- Ask questions about their lives.
- Get to know the personal details that make them distinct individuals.
- And be sure your staff does the same (or at least are informed on some of these key details).
If customers have issues or concerns or are dissatisfied, make a concerted effort to personally find out what’s bothering them and seek satisfactory solution. Sprinkling a little “sugar” on your clients goes a long way toward banking goodwill with your customers that result in trust and loyalty.
PART II | LEVERAGING CREDIBILITY
OK, now that you’ve established trust, credibility and competency, how do you use these new found valuable assets to boost your business and bring in new customers?
Ask for Referrals
Referrals are so valuable because the cut through the muck and mire and questions swirling around trust, credibility and competency. By personally recommending you, your client’s are saying: “I see this doctor (I trust him, he’s credible). He does a great job (he’s competent at what he does). If you need a doctor, you should make an appointment (this is your guy if you want a trustworthy, credible and competent doctor).”
One of my first freelance clients, a realtor, included a personal note in her final payment to me for a business identity project with a quote that said: “Referrals are the highest form of flattery.”
The trick with referrals, however, is you have to ask. As your customers go about their daily lives, you may not be top of mind. But by prompting them with the little push of asking, when they encounter someone in need of your services, your name will jump to top of mind…so you have to ask (for referrals).
You can include the request in a follow up note or email. Add it to a receipt or invoice. Put a blurb on your website. Or just come right out and ask at the end of an appointment with a valued, loyal or obviously satisfied customer. My client’s “highest form of flattery” quote is not only true, but makes a great segue into the topic. Let your customers know your business is built on referrals, and if they’re genuinely satisfied with your service, by all means please tell family, friends and associates!
Ask for Testimonials
Testimonials are one of the most powerful marketing tools available to any local business. They provide tangible evidence that your customers consider your business to be trustworthy, credible and competent. Written testimonials also provide proof positive of customer satisfaction you can use on you website, in brochures, sales letters and social media pages.
So how do you gather testimonials? Once again: Just ask.
Most valued, loyal or obviously satisfied customer will be more than happy to oblige. And often times, these types of clients are so pleased with your service they have already written a note praising your business. In which case, just ask if you can use their loving note as a testimonial, it’s unlikely they will object.
Take Advantage of Yelp
The internet and review sites have become referral engines. If you view 50 positive customers reviews (from people seemingly just like you) for a particular doctor, lawyer or accountant those service providers just earned huge trust, credibility and competency points in your mind. And when it comes to review sites, Yelp is the biggest player in the game.
Believe it or not, Yelp reviews for Professional Services are growing by leaps and bounds. And as the aforementioned (several times over now) “reviews as marketing” continues to dominate trust, credibility and competency building in the local business marketing landscape, Yelp is an important place for your business to be. Especially considering Yelp has grown into such a massive site constantly updated with fresh content. Google searches for increasing numbers of business categories return Yelp reviews well above individual business sites in organic search results. So treat Yelp just like Referrals and Testimonials – ask away! Reach out to valued, loyal or obviously satisfied customer and ask for a positive Yelp review.
Take Advantage Social Media
Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and others offer you the ability to directly engage with existing clients online. And in turn those customers can share their interaction with family, friends and associates.
Social media sites are simply one more platform to seek referrals, with satisfied customers who see your business as trustworthy, credible and competent.
And yet again, leveraging these platforms begins with promoting your social media pages to your existing clients. Add your Facebook icon with an invite to “like” your business on receipts or invoices. Include a Facebook icon in your brochure. Put a social share bottom on your website. Or personally invite a client to visit your page next time you see them.
What About You?
What have you done to build trust and credibility and establish competency with your clients? Have you employed any of these marketing tools in the promotion of your local professional services business? If yes to either, what were result?
Talkback: Give it to us, the good, the bad and the ugly – we want details!