Marketing Your Process Service Business is a Daily Must

I continually remind myself that getting clients and keeping them is what I must do every day; it’s what keeps the doors of Record Time Retrieval & Investigations open. Should I forget to remind myself, I could receive a not so pleasant sign within a very short period in the form of a drop in business. With that drop comes a decrease in accounts receivable.  Even with a client base like ours that repeats, attorneys’ filing lawsuits, if you fail to give good customer service, face-to-face time and/or excellent service, there is someone else out there who will leaving you out in the cold. There are also things out of your control that shrink a client base -- clients going out of business, moving, retiring and/or (heaven forbid) passing through the pearly gates. So if you want to maintain your process service business you have to market your business. If you want to grow your process service business you have to market your business even more and market it with consistency. Market like a shark swims – constantly – or your business, like the non-swimming shark, may die.

Whether you’ve been in business for decades or you are just starting out, it is important to keep a fresh perspective on how you market your business. What may have worked for you one, five or even ten years ago may not work as well for you in today’s market. And nowhere in time is this more evident than today. And tomorrow. Technology is changing at an unprecedented pace modifying, updating, improving; and did I mention changing? With that comes a change in how your clients locate you and even perceive how you do business.

This is one area you don’t want to be a secret agent. Do you know what your on-line presence looks like? Have you checked lately? If not, you should. What’s being posted online could have a big impact on your traffic, both internet traffic and client traffic. Is all your information current? I maintain a website presence and write a blog. I participate in some of the various social media networks. Social Media networks include Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, Google Hangout, Twitter, and more. I’m also listed 30+ times with specific links to Record Time Retrieval & Investigations. In writing this, I noticed a few of those need to have some slight updates. If you don’t have time to do it, consider outsourcing. Just make sure you have a solid online presence.

A strong online presence will help your business to be located. In our business location is a big thing. Local is important. Being listed where you can be easily found is important. Not just on a computer search, but on everything mobile, phones, tablets, notebooks, etc. Where do your clients look for you? That is where you want to be prominently recorded.

Other areas to be found that I’ve suggested in previous blogs include:

1.     Advertise in your local bar association newsletter.

2.     Yellow pages and business pages – particularly online

3.     Business cards – hand them out to all clients and potential clients. In particular, make sure your court clerks have at least two of your cards.

4.     Market to a list of the members of your local bar association.

5.     Associations – be a member; NAPPS, local, state bar associations.

           

The important thing to remember is find out where your clients “hang out” or seek your services and market there. Market consistently and continuously.

Next time – servicing your customer.

If you enjoy reading my posts, please leave me a comment. I always welcome feedback. If you haven’t yet taken a look at my book, check out “The Business End of Process Service: Running a Process Service Company from the Ground Up”. I think you’ll find a lot of helpful information for working on and growing your business. Thanks. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=%22The+Business+End+of+Process%22&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3A%22The+Business+End+of+Process%22&ajr=0.