It is remarkable to see just how many small businesses there are in the world fighting to stay alive and prosper. Since the introduction of the internet it is easy to find them but it is often harder to distinguish the good ones from the bad without some type of filter that works. Internet marketing is alive and well and it preys on small business owners who want to succeed. There are many firms who claim to be able to help market the top rated homes for sale in Courtenay. Marketers will describe your business in just about any way to make money but how much of the marketing is real and honest? A great example is the business that touts how integrity is the foundation of what it does. But is it really? Does the business owner put that into practice? Does the business owner even really know what integrity is? A good friend of mine once told me that integrity is all about doing the right things the right way even and especially when nobody is looking. Marketing is not about doing things behind the scenes. It is almost always in your face. But how much of it can be trusted?
Referrals from real people are another way to try and distinguish the good from the bad in business. Almost every business will proclaim the merits of what is does for you and the manner in which it does it. That is precisely the problem. If you believe the marketing and advertising slogans every business is the best thing since sliced bread. The truth is that many are not and that too many place their bottom line (making money) ahead of providing great service or fabulous products to you.
People do refer other people to businesses as a means of trying to weed out the great ones from the also rans. In business, however, the word referral often comes with the connotation of compensation. Businesses will often refer other businesses to you for some form of compensation. Realtors, for example, will refer other realtors from outside of their working area to you for a percentage of the commission earned by the other realtor when you buy or sell a home from them. Does this mean that the person to whom you are referred is as good as the referral tends to suggest? It depends. It depends on the motive of the person providing the referral. Do they know the other person and are they truly concerned about the level of service that will be provided and is the referral fee merely a by-product of working within the industry.
To further screen information that you receive from others perhaps the referrals need to come from friends. By this I mean true friends and not just acquaintances. True friends will be there in the bad times when you need them the most. The vast majority of acquaintances will abandon you under these types of circumstances. Referrals from the handful of true friends that you can always count on and trust to be there for you are worth their weight in gold. Unfortunately, your friends simply may not know the best person out there that can provide you with the best service because they have not met them. They are there but if they do not know them or know of them how can they refer them to you?
Sometimes you simply have to take a chance on someone else. Do research, check online ratings, and ask others about them. Wading through all of the internet marketing paraphernalia can be tough. At the end of the day you may have to just try them out and go with your gut instinct about them. Try out their service in some small way first. See how they react and how you feel. Did you receive a high level of attention? Was the person professional? Did they know what they were talking about? Were they competent? Did they make time for you? Did they try to help you or did they just try to sell you something? These are all relevant questions and you are the best one to answer them especially when it comes to personal services.
In my industry I know a few good realtors to whom I can refer people and I know that they will truly do a great job. The best part is I also know that I will be able to sleep at night with the comfort that the other realtor will care as much about providing service to their clients as I do. After all, when you refer someone to someone else you should care because it will impact your reputation. Call it karma if you wish but what comes around often does go around. If you refer good people to bad ones it will not take long for the action to get back to you in some way.