Business is built upon trust.
People are more likely to hire you if they view you as competent and trustworthy—especially if you provide a vital professional service like tax advice or legal counsel.
Establishing yourself as a preferred resource provider can help you grow your business because you can harness the power of referrals from reputable sources.
Just as you would likely trust your banker’s recommendation of an accountant, so too would a tenant value a referral from their landlord. They would especially value their landlord’s opinion if they knew that the person who is renting space to the business would also like that company to grow.
Almost 65 percent of marketers consider word of mouth to be the most effective form of marketing, according to an American Marketing Association study cited in a Forbes article about referrals.
If you want to get customer referrals, start by providing excellent service. Your client is not going to recommend you if they worry that you may harm their reputation by disappointing the customer that they refer to you, according to a U.S. Small Business Administration blog post about the power of referrals.
Seek opportunities for referrals from reputable sources. Preferred resource directories that only include businesses that have been evaluated on factors like customer service can be a particularly fruitful source of referrals. A preferred resource directory conveys the credibility of the company that chooses the providers for the list.
The ESP Preferred Resource List has generated numerous referrals for participating businesses.Compiled by the experts of Executive Suite Professionals based upon their extensive experience working with service providers like architects, attorneys and engineers, the ESP Preferred Resource List only includes partners that have consistently achieved high marks in areas such as:
- competency;
- reputation;
- financial stability;
- suitability for small and medium-sized businesses; and
- the speed and accuracy with which they deliver services.
Clients trust ESP to refer them to resource providers who can quickly learn and fulfill their needs. So, ESP re-evaluates the partners in its preferred resources list regularly to ensure that they continue to deliver the prompt, reliable and quality service that clients expect.
If you would like to put the power of referrals to work for you, contact us to learn if you can be evaluated for consideration in the ESP Preferred Resource List.
