"We just talked to our top clients and we got really great feedback", said the practice group leader.
"Terrific," said Managing Partner. "What did our other clients and prospects say about your practice group?
"Oh, we didn't talk to anyone else. We wanted to hear from our best clients only because they know us and what we do for them."
Of course, clients speak volumes. They speak with their business, their loyalties, their referral efforts and their payment practices. Clients are also a firm's best source of useful market research information. But are their actions and comments enough to tell the full story?
Let's consider one of the biggest trends in law firm marketing: client feedback interviews. These interviews are often used for strategic planning purposes, where (usually) an independent consultant asks a series of questions to selected clients about the firm for whom it is doing work.
Although these interviews can be very useful to assess client satisfaction, compare and contrast competing law firms, anticipate a client's future services needs, and help create strategic plans, among others, they are but one element of a market research program. Done well, they can help a firm immensely, but they can lead firms astray if conducted improperly or performed in isolation.
Lest I be accused of pooh-poohing client feedback initiatives, I will go on record formally to say "Absolutely. Talk to your clients, all of them, often. Find out who they are, what they need. And what they're thinking. Find out what their perceptions are. Use the feedback they give to you to plan for your firm, your resources and your strategic direction.
"Develop client teams and client profiles. Host client roundtables and create a client board of directors. Conduct surveys, annual file reviews, client satisfaction interviews and pre- and post-file performance reviews. Yes, yes, yes."
But here are my caveats.
Mix interviews by practice group, lawyer and location. By their very nature, existing clients may have experiences with a firm that could be repetitive or fairly similar in nature. This is particularly the case should one practice group or geographic location be favoured for interviews. Firms with multiple offices - where cultures, work styles and client types often vary - should cover off the appropriate sections of the firm that are under scrutiny.
Beware of skewing the results. A lot of firms tend to self-select positively. For example, one particular firm only interviewed its top 20 clients, which was nice for them but not necessarily the perfect demographic to gain insight. Test those assumptions, and don't just select the big-billing, likely happy clients. Rather, interview clients from the broad swath of the firm - top clients, mid-level clients, new clients and yes, even the clients from hell.
Get out of the clients-only rut. This is another nifty technique to avoid skewing results. Interview opinion leaders who aren't clients of the firm. These could include industry leaders, CEOs of prospect firms, referral sources and business leaders. Finding out what their impressions are, and comparing them to existing clients' feedback, can be and often is, extremely instructive.
Hire well. If you contract out the feedback gathering process, find people who can relate to your clients. They should know your markets, the business climate and the environments in which your clients operate. Also, ensure that interviewers are professionally accredited as market researchers, not just as law firm consultants. Make no mistake, there's often a difference in quality, and research firms are often less expensive once exchange rates are factored in.
No matter what, use the feedback constructively. Clients or otherwise, there is no use asking people anything unless there is a purpose to gathering the information. Don't let your feedback or opinion leader research languish in a binder on a shelf to gather dust; share your information with all lawyers and staff in the firm. Make changes where change is necessary, and use the information to chart your course for the future.
Elizabeth Cordeau is president and principal of Lexcore Communications Inc., a Calgary-based management consulting firm: (403) 277-5543 or ecordeau@lexcore.ca.