If you are running a private investigation agency, it goes without saying that you need to have some skills in attracting customers and clients. Just as with any business, your private investigation agency must be able to stand out from the crowd and deliver an exceptional service.
Here are some top tips for ensuring that you are attracting the right people to your private investigation agency, and sending the right message.
Quality Counts
This is the most basic tip of all, but really it should be priority number one. If you do a good job, then your customers are not only likely to return, but they’ll also recommend others. After every job, consider what it was like for the customer. What did you do, which could have been done better? Did you leave things on a positive note? Was the customer satisfied with the conclusion of the work? Your aim should be to try and make the experience of working with you as positive as possible for the customer. You have to remember that hiring a private investigator is not the ‘norm’ for the majority of the public. They might feel uncomfortable or uneasy at the idea of doing so, and therefore it is your job to put them at ease and reassure them in both your integrity and your trustworthiness. By completing a job to a positive standard, you won’t just be helping your business out, but the private investigation industry as a whole. The public perception of private investigation is not a positive one. It doesn’t have to be this way, however, and any negativity stems from a minority of unscrupulous individuals who have given the career a bad name.
The better you can perform, the more customers will be able to rely on you, and the more likely it is that they’ll return for business.
Focus Your Skillset
What are you best at? Is there a particular area that you specialise in? It might be the case that are an ‘all purpose’ private investigator, which is fair enough, but the problem is that the majority of private investigators focus on certain things. With this in mind, think about who you would choose if you were a client. If you needed someone for an insurance investigations job then would you choose the all-purpose investigator, or the investigator who specialises in insurance investigations? The answer is that you’d choose the second. A field like this requires specialist knowledge, so clients will want to know that you are someone who has an understanding of claims, the technicalities surrounding them (more on this later), and the language of the insurance industry. The same applies for any other field, whether it’s dealing with process serving, divorce, or anything else – people want to hire a specialist in that field.
It’s important to understand that the act of hiring a private investigator is inherently alien for the majority of people. They need to know that they are in safe hands, so showing them that you are a specialist in a certain feel will make them feel reassured. Furthermore, you need to be truthful about this! Make sure you are 100% comfortable referring to yourself as a specialist in a certain field before advertising this. The bottom line is that if clients come to you asking you to perform a certain job, but you can’t do it to a high standard, then you’ll receive poor reviews and lose money. So, make sure you are genuinely skilled at one particular area before putting the word out there.
How will people find your Private Investigation Agency?
Of course, even if you’ve honed your skills, you need people to be able to find you and your services. This won’t just happen overnight, so there are a few steps that you need to implement first:
Getting a good website. This is super important, as it says an awful lot about the quality of your work and your attention to detail. You need to pay close attention to everything from the design elements to keywords and phrases. Make sure your website clearly answers the following questions:
- Who you are.
- What experience you have.
- What you specialise in.
- Your prices.
- Why you are the right person to solve their problem.
If you can include customer reviews then even better! People are far more likely to trust you and your services if they see that other people have had good experiences working with you.
If they can’t find you, find them!
Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. Even having a great website is no guarantee that clients will find you, so if you are still struggling then it’s time to get active. Contact lawyers, companies, prospective clients…put your name out there. Try and build a relationship with them, and above all else, advertise your services! Some people in the industry don’t think that advertising for private investigators produces a good return, but this is not true. There is a huge market out there, you just have to persuade people in the right way.
Networking Matters
Some people have a perception of private investigators as lonely individuals who go out of their way to avoid communication with others, where possible. This is simply not true, and this perception is based purely on a media/fictional stereotype. The reality is that if you want to be successful as a private investigator then there will be times when you’ll need to work with other companies and private investigators. Not only will you need to lean on them for tips, but there’s always a chance they’ll be able to provide you with extra information. No person is an island, and building relationships within the industry will certainly make your life easier. This will also make finding work easier, if you’re ever struggling – because organisations and companies whom you’ve built a good relationship with will be more inclined to pass work your way. The bottom line is that the nicer you are to people, the more likely they are to help you out when you need it.
