Bail Bonds Have Tricky Marketing

At the end of the day, bail bonds are a commodity

. The act of posting a bail bond is similar from one bail bondsman to the next. The procedures and protocols are dictated by courts, jails and state law, not the bondsmen themselves. Furthermore, the price charged by a bail bondsman is controlled by each respective state. So the battle for clients is won with marketing rather than superior products and pricing.

As an industry with no pricing power, bondsman marketing relies upon many creative guerrilla marketing methods not seen elsewhere. Conversely, as an industry intertwined with the legal system, it also is restricted from doing many things widely accepted in other places. Earlier this year, the Orange County Bail Bonds Association sued the city of Santa Ana and Orange County for allowing some bail agents to solicit business in front of the courthouse and jail. What was the reason? The bail association took issue with the practice of aggressive flyer distribution and other guerrilla tactics near the government buildings.

More recently, a Santa Ana bail bondsman was arrested for allegedly soliciting bail business from inmates by mass mailing flyers to the Orange County jail and trying to arrange referral relationships with attorneys. Oddly enough, in California, bail bondsmen aren't allowed to solicit business in jails, where it would seem they would be most likely to find their clients. In addition, California prohibits bail bondsmen from referring clients to attorneys even if they are not compensated for doing so.

More recently, a Santa Ana bail bondsman was arrested for allegedly soliciting bail business from inmates by mass mailing flyers to the Orange County jail and trying to arrange referral relationships with attorneys. Oddly enough, in California, bail bondsmen aren't allowed to solicit business in jails, where it would seem they would be most likely to find their clients. In addition, California prohibits bail bondsmen from referring clients to attorneys even if they are not compensated for doing so.

The bail bond agencies that balked loudest at the County Bail Agents Association lawsuit were, of course, new businesses. They claimed that they were being targeted for taking the initiative to grow their business and do something that is a common practice elsewhere. They blamed larger, established bail bond agencies for putting the County Bail Agents Association up to the lawsuit.

While CA law clearly prohibits the referral of attorneys from bail bond agents, should that practice be illegal? Don't bondsmen have valuable insight into the reputations and abilities of lawyers that they interact with? Referrals aren't usually prohibited in other industries unless there is compensation involved.

While the debate over guerrilla marketing and aggressive bail bonds solicitation practices rages on, the law is clear in what it allows. Those bail bondsmen that stay within the law, yet are creative and innovative will ultimately succeed. However, the competition probably won't like it.

by: Sandra Ryder.

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