Your website is indisputably the number one resource for services buyers to learn about you. If your site isn't designed to draw prospects in, or if your online presence isn't geared to help potential clients find and positively evaluate you, you're missing a huge opportunity.
This is according to research by Lee W. Frederiksen, Ph.D., the Managing Partner at Hinge, a marketing firm that specializes in branding and marketing for professional services.
Providing references to potential clients is important—it shows satisfaction with your services from buyers you've worked with before. It offers a glimpse into your firm's past. But if it's your future that concerns you, take a look at the developing trends in how buyers research their services purchases. Below, you'll find data from a new body of independent research based on surveys of over 1,000 buyers of professional services. Those interviewed buy services from a wide range of providers, in fields from engineering to accounting, with about 40% of them engaged in purchasing legal services.
The references you provide are still significant, with over half of those surveyed using them as a resource, but they are no longer as widely embraced as newer research methods.
And because three of the top four research methods are directly related to your online presence, it might be time to update your approach to online marketing. Hang on to those client references—they could be a tipping point in your favor—but engaging in social media, revamping your site, and investing in search engine optimization will go a long way to getting potential customers' eyes on those references in the first place.
In our research, we also found that buyers are looking to multiple sources for information about their upcoming purchases. If you're missing from any of their usual channels, you're missing the opportunity to shine. So get online, get optimized, and get visible. Put your best foot forward online, and become your own best reference.
Comments
Candace Reply
Posted Mar 24, 2014 at 17:12:46
The world is changing. Have you ever noticed that when you ask a younger colleague a question, the first thing they do is an internet search? When I see that I’m always slammed with the thought of ‘I could have done that.’ Well, that’s the norm.
Larry Bodine Reply
Posted Sep 14, 2015 at 09:08:14
The data is for consumers, but my opinion is that is also applies to GCs.
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