There are 3 things clients need to know before deciding to use your services. Can you answer their questions?
Global marketing specialist Casey Lightbody from Cloud Marketing Services explains why it’s vital to understand how people choose a service provider to market yourself effectively.
When buying products people predominantly use rational criteria to make their choices. It’s different for professional services, because your services are intangible and the outcomes can be hard to predict. Typically your technical capability is greater than that of the buyer, which makes it difficult for them to assess. So buyers rely on other criteria to make their decisions, including their personal ‘gut feeling’ about you.
People generally turn to professional service providers because they need help handling a perceived risk, or to achieve something important to them. They have a unique set of needs and they’ll have to trust you with sensitive information about themselves or their business. They could be risking their wealth, home, career or reputation by following your advice. If you fail to deliver, they will personally suffer the consequences.
So what professional service buyers most want is an adviser they can trust.
Authority: getting on the shortlist
For product purchases people tend to rely on impartial reviews to judge the quality of an item. When it comes to professional services, buyers prefer personal recommendations from someone they know. Research by the Hinge Research Institute shows that 87% of people buying accounting and financial services turn first to friends or colleagues for a referral, with a further 11% searching online or asking via social media.
At this stage the primary question buyers have is ‘who is most able to do this for me?’. They’ll base their answer on the information they get through referrals (i.e. your reputation) first and then on their research into your qualifications, capabilities and expertise, predominantly online via your website, a web search or your social media channels. Buyers are looking for evidence of your authority and experience – unless they’re convinced you have the skills they need, you simply won’t make the shortlist.
Getting personal: clinching the deal
To choose between providers on the shortlist, buyers ask three questions:
For more essential information from Casey Lightbody and numerous other business experts, keep an eye out for this year’s MPA Business Strategy supplement, which will appear on desks with issue 14.7 of MPA in late June.
When buying products people predominantly use rational criteria to make their choices. It’s different for professional services, because your services are intangible and the outcomes can be hard to predict. Typically your technical capability is greater than that of the buyer, which makes it difficult for them to assess. So buyers rely on other criteria to make their decisions, including their personal ‘gut feeling’ about you.
People generally turn to professional service providers because they need help handling a perceived risk, or to achieve something important to them. They have a unique set of needs and they’ll have to trust you with sensitive information about themselves or their business. They could be risking their wealth, home, career or reputation by following your advice. If you fail to deliver, they will personally suffer the consequences.
So what professional service buyers most want is an adviser they can trust.
Authority: getting on the shortlist
For product purchases people tend to rely on impartial reviews to judge the quality of an item. When it comes to professional services, buyers prefer personal recommendations from someone they know. Research by the Hinge Research Institute shows that 87% of people buying accounting and financial services turn first to friends or colleagues for a referral, with a further 11% searching online or asking via social media.
At this stage the primary question buyers have is ‘who is most able to do this for me?’. They’ll base their answer on the information they get through referrals (i.e. your reputation) first and then on their research into your qualifications, capabilities and expertise, predominantly online via your website, a web search or your social media channels. Buyers are looking for evidence of your authority and experience – unless they’re convinced you have the skills they need, you simply won’t make the shortlist.
Getting personal: clinching the deal
To choose between providers on the shortlist, buyers ask three questions:
- Can you really fix my problem? They want evidence that you can resolve their individual, specific issues. Other considerations only become important once they’re convinced of this.
- How will you make my life easier? This will be based on costs, flexibility, service standards and the picture you paint for them of future outcomes.
- Will I enjoy working with you? Clients want advisors they feel comfortable with. They need to have total confidence that the specific person or team who’ll be handling their project has their best interests at heart.
For more essential information from Casey Lightbody and numerous other business experts, keep an eye out for this year’s MPA Business Strategy supplement, which will appear on desks with issue 14.7 of MPA in late June.
