If you provide a product or service that isn't needed or used regularly, what do you do?
I have a friend who's a personal injury attorney specializing in vehicle accidents.
This isn't a service you need every day.
In fact, most people hope they'll go their whole lives without ever needing to meet him.
But when they do need him, it comes on suddenly—and they need him right now.
That's why personal-injury attorneys spend so much money on branding and image advertising: billboards, bus benches, TV spots, radio, sponsorships.
All of it is just to (hopefully) be "top of mind" at the exact moment someone needs them.
That's a pretty expensive proposition… especially when every other attorney in town is trying to climb into the same spot in your prospect's mind.
Luckily, there's a shortcut.
Once somebody has had the experience of working with you—even if they hope they never need you again—they're suddenly in a very valuable position inside their own inner circle.
They've been there. Done that. Got the T-shirt.
They are uniquely positioned to be the leader for the next person who needs to know what to do.
"In a crisis, people don't go to Google first—they go to the people they already know and trust and ask, 'What should I do?'"
Think about what happens when someone is in a serious accident.
The news spreads fast—family, friends, church, the group text, the Facebook thread… and in many communities, it races through the prayer chain.
The most valuable thing that can happen in that moment is that someone in that chain has the awareness to say:
"You need to call [YOUR NAME]."
I was having this exact conversation with my friend Steve in his boardroom.
We talked about how, in a crisis, people don't go to Google first—they go to the people they already know and trust and ask, "What should I do?"
Whoever they recommend, wins.
So if you're in any business that isn't used every day—attorneys, financial advisors, restoration companies, funeral homes, specialty medical practices, emergency home services—your real marketing job is simple:
Keep yourself top of mind with the people who already know you, like you, and trust you.
Make sure that when they hear someone talking about a situation where your help would be valuable, they reflexively think of you… and they know exactly what to do next.
Maybe that means a simple "If anything like this ever happens to someone you care about, call me or text and I'll walk them through it" conversation.
Whatever the format, the goal is the same…
When the news starts racing through the prayer chain, your name is the one that gets mentioned.
That's the real key to penetrating the prayer chain.