Question

Topic: Strategy

No Repeat Business Businesses

Posted by Anonymous on 11/21/2010 at 4:29 PM ET 125 Points
I searched the archives and found a post https://www.marketingprofs.com/ea/qst_question.asp?qstID=231 that answered most of my questions, but since it is 6 years old and does not mention social media, I thought I would go ahead and rephrase the question to see if there are some important updates to consider.

It turns out the original poster and I have a lot in common: the legal field, no or low repeat business, and selling 'peace of mind'. The difference is I am more of a broker than a direct service provider. It seems the best thing I can do is make sure the customer/client has a good experience and receives value, in the hope that it will lead to good word of mouth / referrals, if not repeat business. Several people in the earlier post suggested newsletters and other ways to keep in touch.

Would you say this is all the same now, 6 years later, and it is a simple matter of transferring that to social media, or is the use of social media different / more complex than that? I can always ask existing customers for referrals, but there are always going to be more visitors to my blog or people reading my social media posts than actual customers. What is the key - if there is one - to getting these visitors with whom I have a much more tenuous relationship to give me good word of mouth and referrals?

Thank You!
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by telemoxie on 11/22/2010 at 9:28 AM Accepted
    I have a dozen years experience doing outbound telemarketing, and attempting to establish long-term relationships with prospects.

    I would not recommend telemarketing for you. And I would not recommend that you spend a lot of time or money trying to establish long-term relationships with prospects.

    As Michele suggested in the above mentioned link, I suggest that you develop long-term relationships with non-attorney professionals (e.g. accountants, real estate agents, life insurance agents, caseworkers, bank managers) who can provide you with a stream of referrals.

    A high risk/possibly higher return strategy would be to network with other specialized attorneys... but be careful when swimming with sharks.

    If I were personally in your situation, I would research and identify similar attorneys in remote geographical regions and I would develop a substantial online presence, distributing the leads and sharing the costs.
  • Posted on 11/22/2010 at 1:24 PM Accepted
    I think the contrast with Michele's suggestion is that the poster in the old discussion was an attorney. This gentleman is a broker rather than a service provider. As a CPA I often refer my clients to an attorney. This is for business, estate planning, or whatever. I have a list of people I refer. I have met these folks while working on a situation. mI have seen how they perform and I have a good feeling that my client will be well served if I make the referral. The quality of my referrals is a direct reflection on me. I would never send my client to a broker...I have no idea who they would end up with.

    That is a fine distinction but i believe it would be a real impairment when trying to market to professionals.
  • Posted by telemoxie on 11/22/2010 at 2:34 PM Member
    oops... sorry, I missed that.

    I agree with Bob. If you are a broker, I doubt very seriously that you will be able to establish credibility with CPAs and other professionals.
  • Posted by Chris Blackman on 11/22/2010 at 2:43 PM Accepted
    I don't understand the opening assumption - that a legal services broker might never have repeat business.

    Come to that, like others above, I don't understand the value proposition for a legal services brokerage either, and hence how you get business in the first place.

    But assuming there IS a viable value proposition, why would that not be repeatable, even if infrequently?

    Could you please explain exactly how your legal service brokerage works, and why people would want to use it, (and which people - who are your targets?) as well as the unique value it provides, so we may better understand the concept?

    I think we need to be able to answer the question as to whether the idea is DOABLE in the first place, rather than whether it can be made REPEATABLE.

    Thanks

    ChriosB
  • Posted on 11/22/2010 at 2:51 PM Author
    Thanks to all of you for your input so far. To clarify, the idea is that I would be able to check court records to verify specific types of experience and performance by attorneys, and then make an objective recommendation based on what I learn rather than who I know or which attorney is paying me a referral fee, which is how most attorney referrals are done.
  • Posted by Chris Blackman on 11/22/2010 at 3:31 PM Member
    Malik, why would someone pay you for this service rather than accepting "free" advice from their other professional advisers, colleagues, family or friends?

    What is the unique value you bring to the equation?

    Can you point to an increased likelihood of success, using an evidence-based referral, for example?

    What sort of charge do you make for this service?

    Could the service be automated via the web?

    What prevents or inhibits others from competing against you?

    Chris
  • Posted on 11/23/2010 at 4:06 PM Author
    From my observation, 'free' is also quite often 'uninformed'. There is also the issue of some referrers getting kickbacks from the attorneys.

    The unique value proposition is a fully informed consumer who is in a much stronger bargaining position with the law firm. Although this kind of checking is novel for consumers, it has been routine in the insurance industry and among the Fortune 500 for decades.

    I don't have a study that says this process brings about a greater likelihood of success, but it seems logical that if the investigation leads you to choose -evidence based- someone with more hands on relevant experience than you would have been aware of otherwise, you have a greater likelihood of success.

    Charges vary depending on how extensive a search you want done.

    Could it be automated? Probably. I just set up a meeting for next week with my VC attorney to see about raising money for that exact purpose.

    Competition. I never understood this question, although I see it a lot. Surely you don't mean that if I have competition I shouldn't do it at all? Doesn't competition validate the market? Who doesn't have competition? Even if I successfully automate and patent that technology, what's to stop someone from hiring their own coders to do the same thing differently and patent that? Nothing. That hasn't stopped Microsoft, Google, Apple, or Facebook from going forward, or getting started in the first place.

    I'm sorry, I hope this does not come across as argumentative or defensive. But the fact is people use brokers, experts, and all kinds of middlemen to help them make choices. You call them real estate agents, insurance salesmen, and securities dealers.
  • Posted by Chris Blackman on 11/25/2010 at 8:54 AM Member
    Malik

    Good, clear explanation, thank you.

    I can't see why you would not get repeat business. Of course, you would hope your clients would not need to come back for their own sakes, but if they do, and they had previous good experience, why would they not come back to you?

    Your big problem is that people won't be listening to your messages until they desperately need what you sell. Like people who don't go shopping for an oncologist until they are diagnosed with the disease. So you still need a referral network - and a good inbound marketing SEO campaign - so anxious searchers can find you in their hour of need.

    Of course blogs and social marketing are an intrinsic part of SEO these days.

    Does that help? Any further specifics you need answered?
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