How many of your clients do you know by name? Do you understand why you know the ones you do? Chances are the ones you remember by name are the repeat clients and big clients. Although it’s nice to reel in the big fish now and again, it is the business your firm derives from repeat business that should be its bread and butter. Remember, it costs significantly more to bring in new clients than it does to retain the ones you already have.
Retaining clients can be more difficult than it sounds, however. On the surface, it requires that your firm produces quality work, but beyond this, it should be a continual process. You should always think in terms of collecting feedback from every client after every case to assess what your firm did well and those areas that can be improved. And one such way to obtain that feedback is through a client-survey program.
Client feedback is a quality-control audit
The beauty of the client survey is that it can be tailored to give as much or as little data from the client as you feel you need. Properly constructed, the survey can provide for results on how well you and your support staff served your clients, and how well the group performed on a particular file. A more detailed survey might also look at operational components of the practice, including how quickly you responded to the client’s phone calls and how well you communicated complex information.
Keeping clients happy with your services (although they may not be happy with the outcome of the legal matter) is key to keeping their business and obtaining referrals from them. Various surveys indicate that in recent years personal referrals are the major source (as much as 80 per cent) of legal business.
A client survey, therefore, becomes one of the best ways to learn how well you are doing and how likely your firm is to benefit from repeat business and personal referrals. Think of it as a regular service-quality audit.
Be willing to change
Your survey must convey a clear message to clients - that it is important for you to know how well you met their expectations, and perhaps more importantly - that you are prepared to respond to their comments in a positive or constructive way.
This last point is crucial. If you are not prepared to hear a client’s complaints and act upon them to improve your service, you are more likely to do damage by sending out your survey than to benefit from it.
Finally, client-survey program allows you to cross-market other types of legal services that you offer or to investigate the potential in new service areas you would like to offer. If you focus on a particular area of practice, your survey is an opportunity to test the waters to see which new area of practice may be worth your consideration.
What to include: the client survey checklist
We gave you the different reasons why a firm should perform client surveys and how to set objectives for your surveys. Now, we’ll provide you with a checklist for designing the questions for your survey.
Does your survey:
- ...take into consideration short- and long-term objectives?
A short-term objective is: being able to return calls on the same day consistently. A long-term objective may be in the form of “consistently receiving good value” for legal services.
- ...allow the respondents to judge your performance based on their own expectations?
Lawyers assume that a client will value excellent legal work. Clients, however, take that for granted. Depending on the client, they may have more significant expectations about how you communicate and explain the various legal issues surrounding the case.
- ...give your clients a way to express freely how they feel about certain matters?
The survey should not be about ranking services alone. You have to allow clients to tell you their concerns from their own perspective and in their own words. In many cases, these comments are the most valuable portion of your survey.
- ...clearly communicate how you intend to resolve any concerns that they may have?
You must prove to clients that you do care about their concerns. You should ensure that you have a pre-planned set of actions that you will undertake to respond positively to their concerns.
- ...include questions that probe which other areas of practice they would like your firm to offer?
If you have been wondering whether to expand into another area, this is one place to research it. Over time, the practice areas in the most demand become apparent from these surveys. Do not be afraid to change the list of areas of practice that you want inquire about.
- ...ask about matters that you cannot change at this time?
Don’t do it. Clients will judge you harshly on whether you respond to their concerns. Don’t raise matters that are currently beyond your abilities to change.