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So you’re thinking of getting into a private investigation, I have some marketing strategies that may help.
Now you’ve thought about it and decided that becoming a private investigator isn’t just a pipe dream; it is something you’re going to do. So let’s start by establishing where you can get customers.
When it comes to marketing your private investigation business, the possibilities are endless. You can do a combination of promotional methods or one form of marketing.
Whatever you decide, here are some definite strategies you should be employing to capture clients and keep them coming back for more.
Why Private Investigation is a Unique Business
Use your skills for a noble cause
Unlike other careers, being a PI allows you to use your skills for a noble cause, without having to sacrifice any part of yourself or compromise on the values that you believe in and uphold as a person.
Tons of potential clients
If you’re looking to make money from home or an office near your home, a private investigation business is an option. You might not get as many clients as a big corporate company, but your cases will have more impact on your income than if you were working for a big company.
Control over the type of cases you take
Perhaps the best thing about being in the private investigation business is that you can choose the types of cases you want to work on. You can also turn down cases that aren’t interesting to you or that don’t fit into what your business specializes in. This level of freedom gives you more control over your own life and career path than most other businesses offer.
Build your caseload
Unlike traditional work where you have one boss and one set of duties, running your own private investigation business allows you to create your caseload by accepting jobs from clients who need your help. You can specialize in the area that interests you.
Access to privileged information
The thing that many people do not realize is that private investigators have access to a lot of privileged information that is not available to the general public. If you run into someone who is attempting to hide their assets or liabilities, a private investigator can be vital in building the necessary evidence needed to prove something fraudulent is going on.
Main Private Investigation Business Challenges
Building your brand and getting credible
Most of your customers will likely be referrals from current clients. However, you should always look to build your brand by placing ads in local newspapers or on local radio stations to let people know who you are and what you do.
Having adequate business insurance
You will have to have adequate insurance to protect yourself against personal liability issues that could pop up as an investigator or even a business owner.
Getting and securing accurate information
This is essential for any kind of investigation work that you do for your clients. If you can’t get accurate information, then how can you possibly hope to conduct effective investigations?
Operating costs
When starting a private investigation business, you’ll need to budget for the costs associated with operating your business. These expenses include licensing fees, equipment, and other essentials to get started.
Pros and Cons of Private Investigation Business
Pros
- You can make a good living.
- You have the power to choose your hours.
- You have a lot of flexibility in where you work.
- You can set your price structure.
- There is a growing demand for private investigators.
- The field is wide open for new people with new ideas.
- It’s an exciting job.
- You won’t always have the same thing to do from one day to the next.
Cons
- Clients are irrational and emotional.
- In most cases, you aren’t allowed to carry guns so your safety is at risk.
- Seeing sad stories every day takes a toll on your mental health.
- You are doing something that is generally illegal and unethical.
- You must be able to find people who often don’t want to be found.
- Licensing, legal, and insurance.
- Finding the right staff.
- Developing case management systems.
Best Private Investigation Marketing Strategies
Get your business listed on all review websites
Whether you’re a small business owner or an entrepreneur, having a positive online image is crucial to promoting your brand and reaching out to customers. One way to improve your online presence is by submitting listings to review websites and directories.
In this section, we’ll talk about how to get your business listed on review websites as a personal investigation marketing strategy.
Visit popular review sites and make sure your business isn’t already listed there.
If you’re not listed on any of the popular review sites yet, try searching for your business name on Google Maps and see if you find any listings. This will tell you if you need to create a listing, or if it’s already been created without your consent or knowledge.
Don’t be afraid of competitors’ fake reviews. If you notice that there are fake reviews on the directory, don’t let it discourage you from posting your listings with honest feedback. It’s better to have something than nothing at all.
Don’t follow the crowd when creating your listing descriptions; don’t use the same keywords everyone else does! Make sure you include all of the elements that are important for that particular site to ensure that your listing shows up in search results.
Advertise in local publications
With the popularity of the internet and the emergence of social media, you could be forgiven for thinking that print advertising is a dying art. However, it is still very much alive and kicking. Namely, there are still millions of people out there who prefer to read newspapers and magazines as opposed to online publications.
Taking this into account, it might not be a bad idea to start thinking about how you can use print advertising to promote your business in the future. There are lots of advantages to doing so.
For example;
1) It’s easy to get started If you want to get found more easily by customers in your local area, then you should think about advertising in local newspapers and magazines. The great thing about this method is that it’s really easy to get started – all you need is a few hundred dollars for a classified advertisement!
2) they’re cheap. Not only are local newspaper advertisements cheap (compared with other forms of print advertising anyway), they’re also cost-effective. You pay per word or character in the ad and can choose how much space you want to buy. This way, you can spend as much or as little money on an ad campaign as you want to.
3) Local newspapers may be read by more affluent customers than those who would be attracted to flyers left on car windscreens, so always make sure that advertisers’ names are displayed so readers can find out more about them. This may also be a good opportunity to add a photograph of yourself to the advert which will help people remember you better when they see you around town.
TV Commercials
Another marketing strategy for your business is to do television commercials. This costs more money than the radio commercial, but it can be effective if done right. It just takes some experience to be able to find out what will work and what won’t.
Put yourself in the audience’s shoes. Think about what kind of advertising will grab your attention, and make sure that you are targeting the right demographic.
Be careful how you word your message. Remember that you have only a few seconds to get someone’s attention, so you need to think about how you want to present your company.
Have a well-thought-out plan for filming TV commercials. You can do it yourself or hire a film crew, but either way, make sure that you have everything ready and organized before you start shooting so that you don’t waste time when you are on set.
Don’t overdo it with special effects and graphics. To keep your commercial cost-effective, try not to add effects that are too expensive or time-consuming.
Radio Commercials
When you’re trying to get information out about your investigation company it’s a good idea to look into doing radio commercials.
There are numerous ways to do this but these are some tips on how to do radio commercials as a personal investigation marketing strategy when you’re working for a PI firm.
If you have never done any radio commercials before or you are looking to update your current commercial strategy, then take some time to learn the basics.
To create a good radio commercial you must create a memorable jingle/song. If you want people to remember your business name, this is the first step! A catchy jingle will help people remember your company even after they leave the room! This can be accomplished by using an actual song or original tune that sticks in people’s heads.
Another vital aspect of creating an effective radio commercial is a professional voice-over actor. A good voice-over will speak clearly and with enthusiasm about your business. The listener should feel like the voice is talking directly to them about the benefits of your products and services.
Research has shown that humor in advertising works! You want to make sure that if you choose to use humor in your commercial it is appropriate for the type of business you have. You might try calling a friend who does not know about your business and ask them what comes to mind when they hear your company name.
Guerrilla marketing
Guerrilla marketing is a marketing strategy that uses unconventional and often disruptive tactics to get people’s attention.
Guerrilla marketing can be used as an investigation marketing strategy if you are trying to gain information about your subject.
Here are some steps on how to use guerrilla marketing as a personal investigation marketing strategy:
1. Ask yourself what you want to accomplish with the guerrilla tactic. Are you trying to gather information about your subject, like their name or address? Or are you trying to be seen by a specific target audience?
2. Choose your location carefully. It should be somewhere that will get you noticed, but not so much that it will get you arrested for trespassing. Here are some ideas:
3. Decide if you want to go solo or if you want someone else to help, like an assistant or photographer. If you don’t do it right, it can backfire on you in a big way. People can think you’re crazy. Or they can start following you around, wanting information, too!
4. Come up with a creative name or handle for yourself. You don’t want your real name or business name associated with your guerrilla effort unless it’s part of the plan.
5. Make sure you have permission from anyone who owns the property where you will be doing your guerrilla marketing campaign. This means that if you want to put up some posters on a wall at the local park, you need to make sure that it’s OK with the person who owns the wall or sign in question.
Lead Generation using Facebook
Facebook can be used for lead generation. It’s a powerful tool that can help you generate leads and promote your business. Facebook is a social network where the members are in the millions.
The great thing about Facebook is that it doesn’t allow minors to be part of their network. You cannot market to under 13-year-olds on Facebook. The first step to generating leads is making sure your business page is set up correctly.
This includes having the right profile picture, description, and cover image. All of these elements have different functions but they all work together to create an image of your business.
The next step is to upload a post that will get people interested in your business and entice them to come to your website by clicking on your link.
When you make an original post, it helps you gain more likes. When people like what they see, they will want to learn more about your company, which means they’ll click on the link that you embedded in the photo or status update.
When using lead generation on Facebook, it’s important to remember that you want people to click on the link that you embedded in your post rather than copy and paste it into their web browser.
Outreach to local businesses
Reaching out to businesses in your area is a great way to “get your foot in the door” for personal investigation marketing.
As a freelancer, it’s important to find clients and business opportunities locally. The more people you know, the more opportunities you have – so it’s in your best interest to put yourself out there and start making connections!
When you do this outreach, make sure that you’re following proper local lead generation techniques so that you don’t get blacklisted.
Below are some tips for effective local business outreach:
1. Reach out by phone.
2. Be friendly and polite.
3. Introduce yourself and be straightforward.
4. Mention how you found them.
5. Don’t be pushy or demanding.
6. Always follow up with a personalized email after each conversation.
7. Include a link to your website or social media page.
8. Ask if they want to schedule a call or meeting.
9. If they don’t respond, follow up one more time with another email asking if they received your message and/or providing another contact method.
10. Get their permission before sending them any of your content via email or social media.
Be consistent with your branding
If you’re starting a personal investigation agency, or if you’re working in a corporate environment and are trying to grow your brand, you need to make sure that it’s well known.
You don’t want to go through all of the efforts of branding yourself and then not be able to use it consistently.
Here are some things you can do to help keep your branding consistent.
Find a logo design that works for you There are lots of places where you can get a logo designed, but make sure that the process has been properly managed before you choose one. A good designer will talk through exactly what you’re looking for with you before they start designing. They should be able to incorporate your needs into something that looks great and also works well as a brand image on your business cards, letterheads, and other materials.
Use color consistently your color scheme must be used consistently throughout all of your branding materials so that people recognize them as yours. If people see something in one place, then see it again in another place, they’ll start to recognize it as being associated with your business. Make sure that colors are used in similar shades across all of your material so that people aren’t confused.
Decide on a tone for your brand Before you can be consistent with your branding, you need to decide on a tone for your brand. This will not only help you decide which colors to use and what type of logo would look good but will also determine how you should be addressing your audience when conducting personal investigation marketing strategies.
Final Thoughts
Marketing without the internet is like going on a road trip without a car. A great strategy from content marketing to PPC gives you a marketing machine but the lack of conversion may keep your business going round in circles.
You must research the market for your niche, similar businesses, and your competitors, not only what you can deliver to your customers but how.
Making sure you tailor your investigation marketing strategy to give you the best delivery of results is as important as any other aspect of strategy in marketing.
