Referral Source Surveys
Strong referral sources can help you define your competitive advantage, uncover your direct and indirect competitors, and offer candid insight about perceptions and impressions that others have of you and your firm. Business opportunities from strong referral relationships are easier to close than other leads, and they can help you generate a secure, higher quality and profitable stream of work. The clients you earn from referrals tend to be less price sensitive and more loyal, and strong referral sources often lead to enjoyable, mutually beneficial and personal friendships.
So how do you strengthen and nurture your referral source relationships? You treat them like your valued clients. It’s that simple.
LaBrie Consulting has devised survey programs for law and consulting firms focused on their existing and prospective referral sources. Typical engagements closely mirror (in program design and implementation) those described in the previous section on Strategic Client Interviews. One such program involved conducting face to face interviews with key referral sources of a global management consulting firm seeking “intelligence” and candid perceptions about its fee structure, competitive strengths and weaknesses and the specific criteria for winning desired middle market assignments. Another engagement for a high-end personal injury law firm focused on gaining candid feedback and impressions from referring attorneys about their experiences with the firm’s professionals and case outcomes – information used in that firm’s first-ever brand building program.
Although the “intelligence” garnered from referral source surveys is designed to provide immediate solutions to the particular business case or problem, survey “learnings” often influence future strategic initiatives, plans and budgets of client firms. Another critical benefit of customized qualitative surveys, particularly to market leaders, is the validation of the “Best Practices” used to strengthen and nurture referral relationships.