Commonly, existing clients become a source of repeat business for many law practices. But they are also a top referral source for adding new clients, allowing your practice to grow. It may take significantly more money, effort and time to cultivate business from a new client as it does to add business from an existing client.

Introduce a Client Feedback Program at Your Firm

The secret to introducing an effective client feedback program is to find the best approach that will work for your practice. Some survey methodologies are formal and require an in-depth process. Others are informal and may provide for a quicker turnaround time in receiving client feedback. Bear in mind that not all attorneys may react favorably to the idea of soliciting client feedback. Accordingly, approaches should only be introduced that have a high probability of success.

Your firm is unique and has its own practice areas, goals and culture. That’s why developing, implementing and maintaining a client feedback program that is tailored to suit your firm’s needs is vital to maintaining competitiveness in the legal marketplace. Here are some factors to consider.

Why It’s Important To Ask

You should know -- directly from your clients -- what they perceive to be your firm’s strengths and weaknesses. A well-planned client survey can accomplish that goal. It can identify areas you can leverage, as well as highlight weaknesses that may need to be remedied.

A survey can be a valuable tool in identifying how a client perceives your services and why he or she chose your firm in the first place. The mere fact that you are conducting the survey demonstrates your commitment to providing quality, personalized service. You will be able to glean relevant information such as the level of client satisfaction with completed matters, as well as opinions of the specific staff members who worked on the case. Naturally, a vital goal of seeking client feedback is ascertaining a client’s degree of willingness to recommend your firm or use it in the future. You might find that clients know less than you assume about your services. Clients sometimes go elsewhere because they’re unaware of a firm’s capabilities. Simply asking questions based on your range of services helps to inform clients about the availability of those services.

There’s More Than One Way

There are many potential means by which your firm may conduct a survey to get client feedback: in person, by telephone or by ordinary mail or e-mail.

In-person or telephone-based surveys provide the potential for more personal, insightful and open-ended inquiries, but they also have their downsides, including staff time/cost. It is imperative that the employees who are selected to conduct the survey are able to represent your firm well. You also have the option of hiring a survey staff to conduct the survey rather than using your firm’s staff and resources.

In-person interviews are the most time consuming method and require carefully selected interviewers who will listen to the clients’ opinions but not discuss them. Of course, open-ended answers may be more revealing than mail e-mail and phone surveys. Regardless of who conducts the interview, however, it should be made clear that no billing for the time will follow.

From a practical and cost-containment standpoint, mailing or e-mailing a written survey and compiling the results are relatively easy, inexpensive and generally don’t require an onerous amount of staff time. Develop a methodology. You could take a comprehensive approach and survey all clients or take a random sample. Either way, it’ll give your firm the opportunity to improve client satisfaction, generate more business and build stronger client relationships.

This newsletter is provided by Somerset for our clients and other interested persons upon request. Since technical information is presented in generalized fashion, no final conclusion on these topics should be made without further review. For additional information on the issues discussed, please contact Steve Riddle, Tom Thieme, Rex Collins, Ken Stalcup or Doug Ayres of our Litigation, Valuation & Forensic Team. This document is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of avoiding tax penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer.

Somerset CPAs, P.C.
3925 River Crossing Parkway, Third Floor
Indianapolis, Indiana 46240
317.472.2200 • 800.469.7206 • FAX 317.208.1200
www.somersetcpas.com
info@somersetcpas.com

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