And well may you ask.
As we stumble myopically towards a new year we are seeing the usual crop of adverts and exaltations aimed at persuading us that brand A is better than brand B because of point X. Holiday firms in particular promise us a more rounded and enjoyable experience than the competition. Why? Well, um, because, that's why. We have more experience/we're new and not hidebound. We're the cheapest so you'll have more money left to spend/we include more for a higher price so you won't have to spend as much. We have more customers/we have less customers so you won't be crowded out. Any difference in offerings can be spun into a plus for us, a minus for them.
I've worked in the services industry for 34 years now, first in retail (biiig mistake) and then in training. In that time I've worked for various training companies, all who promised a better service than the others, and all of them made the same, rather basic, mistake. They tried to sell training, and not the trainers who delivered it. Without exception they all made claims that their training was better than the other guys, even when one of the other guys trainers joined us.
Service based delivery of any kind that primarily relies on the skills and abilities of the individual is tremendously difficult to sell; we all offer mostly the same product delivered in astonishingly similar ways, all that differs is the wrapping. My office might be all pebbles and peace while yours is retro 60's chic. I might have signature teas in a fancy display and a Dolce Gusto machine. You might have Yorkshire blend and ginger biscuits. Lovely, but what about the product?
If you're going to shell out your hard-earned pennies on a service based product it's important to look at testimonials (oddly enough we tend to do this for the likes of plumbers, electricians and other skills based products) and find out what other people's experiences are. Now I'm sure we've all gone to various web pages and read reviews that appear to have been written by "We'll write a good review for you!" inc. All proper language and glowing analysis. I want to read reviews like "This woman stopped me smoking with one session" or "I had lost my way in life and now I know where I'm going! or even "This woman is bloody brilliant". Sorry about this, but 'at the end of the day' (I know) when you go to a coach, therapist or consultant you are entering an environment of trust, and trust doesn't come easy, you have to work at it. This works in both directions and if you are looking for someone to crack your spine or get rid of your spider phobia you have to work with your chosen business.
From the providers perspective, having a set of glowing testimonials may be the only way you are going to differentiate yourself from the others, it may be the only real difference between you and the competition. It'll be difficult beating a big, expensive marketing campaign but it can be done. Social media has made a world of difference to the way personal services are marketed and sold, and having your referrals available to use as a marketing tool is Very Important.
But hang on, what if I'm a customer? How do I find out what to do? where's my information? Well, same place. The time of the hash-tag is upon us and searching Twitter is as important as using Google or Bing in the quest for satisfaction. Local community groups such as Freecycle Cafe are a local source of information on the best plumber/garage/therapist.
Fostering relationships in the community is a powerful marketing method to spread your word locally, not a substitute for other marketing techniques, but if you are a locally based business it might be at least as effective as a paid for networking group.
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