would be a referral from a regional bus line who does not travel on a
particular route, to another regional carrier who does. Complementary
referrals occur in circumstances such as when a taxi driver is asked for
a referral to a local hotel or a ‘bring your own’ restaurant recommends
a nearby wine merchant.Reciprocal referrals
Historically, the existence of professional ethics in many of the pro-
fessions, such as law and accounting, have precluded advertising
and aggressive competition. Up until the 1980s most of the profes-
sions were highly restricted by their professional bodies with
respect to their marketing activities and had to rely extensively
upon referrals from third parties. As a consequence, referrals have
often constituted the principal source of work for professional
service firms. Thus the professions represent an interesting sector to
consider from the perspective of referral markets.
Some referrals, especially those between professional firms, are
mutually dependent and referrals may be made backwards and for-
wards between firms. Under these circumstances a referral system
exists, where referrals are made between one organization in one
profession such as an accounting firm and other organizations such
as law firms and banks, and vice versa.
The nature of a referral system varies considerably across differ-
ent industries with respect to the members of groups, their relative
importance and the degree of potential symmetry between referrals
given and referrals received. These are some of the referral system
members for a law firm and a non-retail bank:
●A law firm referral system:
●accounting firms
●banks and building societies
●social security agencies
●consulting firms
●other law firms.
●A non-retail bank referral system:
●insurance companies
●property brokers
●accountancy firms
●surveyors/valuers
●other banks.
230 Relationship Marketing