5
FROM THE FOUNDER
Referrals
If you want more “word of mouth” advertising, assess how your firm measures up against these six critical factors.
B ecause I have been involved in this industry for so long – as a manager, owner, board member, consultant, plus had my own locally-oriented design/build/development/ contracting firm – I regularly get asked by friends and acquaintances for referrals to engineering, architecture, planning, surveying, and environmental consulting firms. It probably happens a couple times a month.
Mark Zweig
Here are the things I consider every time before I make a referral: 1. Specialization. I don’t want to refer anyone to
using a municipal-oriented civil engineer on a site development project. His solution to a tricky site problem was not even remotely on target and cost me a lot of money for unnecessary improvements. I could give dozens more examples. 2. Responsiveness. Nothing is more frustrating than service providers who don’t return phone calls and emails. I have been burned so many times on this issue. I may know a design professional or firm that I think would do an outstanding job for the client, but my experience with them is that they are slow to respond so I cannot make the
a client who doesn’t have a specialization in working with clients like them. It doesn’t matter if we are talking AEC firms or physicians, you don’t go to providers who haven’t had extensive experience in solving that specific problem, or serving that type of client and doing that type of project. I know there are architects out there who honestly believe they can do anything, but this is absolutely fundamental for me. I don’t want anyone learning at my expense. Plus, I have had way too many problems myself with non- specialized providers. One of the worst cases was
See MARK ZWEIG, page 6
THE ZWEIG LETTER MAY 5, 2025, ISSUE 1584
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