Question

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What Are Persuasive Ways To Ask Clients' Permission To Disclose Their Names On Our Client List?

Posted by Anonymous on 4/28/2004 at 6:43 PM ET 125 Points
I've recently taken over marketing at a global professional services (consulting) firm that has historically been lax in getting permission from clients to use their company names on clients lists, in sales presentations, on the Web site, etc. Many of the professionals here follow an implicit "Don't ask, don't tell" policy because they're afraid if they ask, the client will say no. Our corporate attorney, however, says that without a documented approval we are in legal jeopardy. I want the best possible client list for marketing and branding purposes. My question is, are there any best practices or clever ideas for how to ask clients for this permission in order to maximize the number of "yes" answers? Please note that we're already trying to get our professionals to include this permission as a standard part of contract negotiations; my question relates specifically to existing clients where the contract doesn't address the issue. Our client profile is very large multinationals and large domestics in the U.S., Europe, Southeast Asia, and Australia.
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Pepper Blue on 4/28/2004 at 7:30 PM Member
    Hi bslunde,

    There are no clever ideas or best practices.

    Just ask your clients. People like helping people that have helped them.

    Just make sure you have a happy client before you ask.

    Although you have it in the contract, these aren't always read by your contact person, the one who you actually interacted with on a project, so you should really ask them anyway so they are not surprised to see their name in print.

    I hope that helps.
  • Posted on 4/28/2004 at 8:35 PM Accepted
    bslunde:

    Aside from the advice above, I believe it's important to formalize the practice of using joint PR and case studies within your client engagement process. The sales force should introduce the idea of testimonials / case studies early on and use a champion on the client side to carry it through the approval chain.

    When I was with a global IT services firm that sold to large government and commercial clients, the firm as a whole was obsessive about creating 'project profiles.' We in marcom pushed hard with the senior sales team to adopt the practice. It got to the point where clients were trying to get their case studies done before we delivered the project.

    Another thought: Perhaps you can approach a select few clients with the idea that you're making their project a 'showcase' or 'premier' project. Establish early on that the project is aimed to highlight the client's innovation or industry leadership or whatever. That way maybe you can get their media relations and marketing people onboard early on.
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