What sets your firm apart from all the other law firms in your community? If you want to build a successful practice, your focus should be on creating, preserving, and nurturing deep relationships with your clients.
One of the biggest mistakes lawyers make is focusing on attracting new clients, to the exclusion of keeping the clients they have. Why is this important? Because not only are lifetime clients an invaluable revenue source for you, they’re also your best source for referrals. The flip side of this is that on average, a dissatisfied client will tell 10 to 20 people what a horrible experience they had with your firm. Not exactly great advertising.
How can you upgrade your clients’ experience so that they wouldn’t dream of going anywhere else… and they’re raving about your firm to their family and friends? The first step is to take an honest look at your firm through your clients’ eyes. What do they see when they first walk through your door? Are their phone calls returned promptly? Are documents ready when they’re promised?
Once you get a picture of what your clients’ current experience is, you can work on upgrading every part of that experience. Sit down and brainstorm – what would make you, as a client, say “Wow!” about your firm? Get your staff involved… you may be surprised at their insights. When our members did this, they came up with numerous ideas for improving client experiences. Here are just a few of these ideas:
- Greet the clients by name as they walk in the door
- On a client’s first visit, ask them what their favorite beverage is and then put it in a database so that it will be remembered the next time they visit
- Have an annual client appreciation event, and include your clients’ friends and family.
You may come up with completely different ideas, but the key is to really think about what will make a difference to your clients, come up with a plan, and implement it.
Creating, nurturing and preserving deep relationships with your clients is just one of the topics we’ll be covering in our August 10th teleseminar for non-member attorneys. If you’d like to join us, you can send an e-mail to info@aaepa.com, and we’ll get you the registration information.
Robert Armstrong
President & Co-Founder
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
6050 Santo Road, Suite 240
San Diego, CA 92124
(800) 846-1555
www.aaepa.com
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You are right on about creating memorable client experiences. Doing just what you’re contracted to do is no longer enough to keep clients loyal.
Another good idea is to let your clients KNOW how much you enjoy and value working with them. Don’t take for granted that they already know. Even a simple handwritten note expressing your thanks goes a LONG way! Oh, and make this effort at a time other than the December holidays; it will be that much more unexpected and impressive.
A few years ago, after I received about four dozen “corporate Christmas cards”, I decided that the next year I was going to write personal thanksgiving cards to every client who came in that year. The feedback was wonderful: people had never heard of such a thing. There’s a trick to it, though, unless you want to end up taking a week in November writing hurried cards: Write the card after the conclusion of their matter and stick it in a box. Then, four days before Thanksgiving, drop them in the mail; and don’t forget to hand-address them. I got a good feeling from going it too. Some clients can drive lawyers up a wall, but they are paying our salaries. In my view, they deserved thanks for trusting their life’s savings to my skill and dedication to getting their work done properly.