May 4, 2005
Client Satisfaction
After reading a number of articles dealing with methods for measuring client satisfaction, a good friend and associate, Amy Flaherty, asked for my comments on the subject. She also mentioned that she read somewhere that 50% of law firm clients do not return to the same law firm.
If we are not hearing from a client, we tend to assume that everything is okay. Experience teaches the opposite. It is the clients that you don’t hear from that are at risk. Client satisfaction depends on communication; without communication no relationship can be built that goes beyond the immediate work you are performing for that client. Complaints can actually be good. They give you an opportunity to demonstrate how you respond to put things right, to clear up misunderstandings, to agree on expectations, etc. It is even better if you proactively ask the client how we (the law firm) are doing. What would you like us to do that we aren’t doing? What do you like least about how we are working with you as our client? What do you like best?
Attorneys like to think that the professional services rendered speak for themselves. But client satisfaction doesn’t just depend on the quality of the services provided or the results achieved. When it comes to client retention and business development, what counts most is not what you did for me but how you did it. Is working with your firm comfortable for me? Do I feel like you are focused on me and not just on the task at hand? Do you keep me informed? Do you give me options? Are you focusing on the best result for me versus just winning? When you send me a bill, is it a surprise or have you prepared me all along the way and clearly explained what you are billing me for at this time, etc.?
The fact is, existing clients are the best and lowest cost source of new business provided that those clients are happy with their experience
Larger firms measure performance through surveys and they find a way for the results to influence compensation. More and more firms are institutionalizing face to face “how are we doing” visits to the law firm’s clients. They often have a partner or attorney, other than those involved in working with the client, make that visit to determine client satisfaction.
The objective of client satisfaction measurement is client retention and development. In this case, there is no question of which comes first “the chicken or the egg”. We know that, first, you have to have a happy client! Then you have the opportunity to develop additional business from that client.
There are many books and articles dealing with measuring client satisfaction and with marketing to existing “happy” clients. I will pass along some of the better ideas in future postings. For now the message is a simple one. First you have to have happy clients!
PS: Amy Flaherty is Regional Vice President of Juris, Inc. She works with law firms in the mid-Atlantic area to increase their per partner income.
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Filed under Marketing by Tom Collins