Law Practice Management Asked and Answered Blog

John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC

Aug 07, 2019

Listening to Law Firm Clients – Number One Marketing Initiative for Institutional Clients

Question:

Our firm is a sixteen attorney insurance defense in Louisville, Kentucky. We represent approximately twenty-five insurance companies in property casualty and personal injury cases. We handle products liability and medical malpractice cases as well. Our firm is in second generation and all of the founding partners have retired. Virtually all of our clients were inherited and none of the existing partners have brought in any new clients since the founding partners retired eight years ago. While we are trying to do what we can to cultivate new clients we want to insure that we retain our existing clients and don’t have any client defections. Do you have any suggestions?

Response:

We have done numerous client satisfaction interviews with law firm insurance company clients. The category where most firm rank the lowest is understanding clients needs. For law firms one way of achieving a competitive advantage is to have a better understanding of the wants and needs of clients than does the competition. This understanding comes from an open dialog with your clients. In other words ask them.

Recently I had a law firm client who’s business was suffering due to the client’s operations shifting to adjacent states. The firm was considering an additional office location to serve these clients and was debating where and how to locate this office. I advised, why don’t we ask the clients. In our interviews we asked this question and the clients told us where their needs were and where to locate the office. It was not where the law firm was thinking of locating. Six months later a mini merger was done in the location where the clients advised us there needs were.

This is best accomplished by having an ongoing systematic structured client feedback system that tracks client preferences, desires, and requirements. Here are a few ways that this can be accomplished:

Structured client telephone interviews
Face to face interview with clients by senior partners
Engagement team debriefings
Attending client industry meetings
Client user groups
Market research

There are several articles on our website – see links below – that discuss client satisfaction survey programs and how to get started.

Click here for our article on analyzing survey results

Click here for our article on developing your client service improvement plan

Click here for our article on tips for rewarding and recognizing employees

Nov 21, 2018

Client Feedback from Law Firm Clients

Question:

I am the owner of a four attorney, myself and three associates, estate planning firm in Charleston, West Virginia. I spend the majority of my time managing the business and developing business and very little time servicing clients. This has been intentional as I enjoy the business aspects of the practice more than providing legal services. I conduct comprehensive written and face-to-face performance reviews with my associates annually and in real time as needed. These reviews are used as an associate performance management tool and a client service quality control tool. While the performance reviews include a performance rating category for client satisfaction I have no real way of determining client satisfaction. Do you have any thoughts on how to measure this?

Response:

Much can be learned by soliciting feedback from your clients. Structured telephone interviews and other forms of surveys conducted by a neutral third party can provide many surprises as well as answers. Client satisfaction surveys can be the best marketing investment that you can make. In addition, client satisfaction surveys can be used to quantify and measure client satisfaction with individual attorneys in your firm.

Our law firm clients have found their clients to be impressed that the firm cares about their opinions. It is good business to listen to your clients. Understanding what bugs people about your services and those of your competition can be the most valuable input to strategy development you can get your hands on.

Many of our law firm clients that represent individual clients use a short two page survey document that is mailed or provided online at the conclusion of a matter. The survey poses a series of specific questions that addresses performance in several categories and rates performance on a 1-5 scale which allows a performance grade to be calculated for the firm and the attorney handing the matter. The survey also includes an area for comments. Paper surveys mailed back from clients are compiled in spreadsheets and a running score determined for the firm and individual attorneys.

If you use a paper survey mailed to clients I suggest:

Send a cover letter with the survey attached with a postage paid return envelope.
Thank the client for their business.
Ask them to think of you again when they have future needs.
Ask them to refer business to you.
Ask them to complete the survey and return to your office.

A better approach, if your clients are e-mail and computer friendly is to use an online survey tool such as Survey Monkey and send clients an email with the contents listed above with a link to the online survey. Client feedback would automatically be compiled and would save you the cost and effort of mailing out surveys, postage, staff cost of compiling the surveys in a spreadsheet, and make it easier for clients.

Click here for our article on analyzing survey results

Click here for our blog on human resources

John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC

Oct 24, 2018

Law Firm Client Surveys – Developing a Client Service Improvement Plan

Question:

Our firm is a twenty-four attorney litigation firm in Pittsburgh. We represent insurance companies and business firms. We recently conducted a client satisfaction survey of our top tier clients via telephone and face-to-face interviews. We have discovered that we have numerous issues regarding client satisfaction. Where do we go from here?

Response:

Nothing is more important to your firm’s future than exceptional client service. An effective client service improvement program is one of the most important marketing initiatives that a firm can undertake. National studies demonstrate that approximately 70% of clients who stop using a particular attorney do so because they feel they were treated poorly or indifferently and 30% changed attorneys because their previous attorneys weren’t available. Clearly, from what law firms’ clients are telling us in our telephone interviews with them – attorneys and law firms need to improve client service by integrating a client-first service focus into everyday practice.

Frequently when we mention action plans and implementation to a group of attorneys we get the following reactions and responses:

Lets create a committee and study the matter further
We need more time
We don’t have enough data or information
We have always done things this way and we don’t want to change
We don’t have time to do it
We are already busy – we don’t need any more business – everything is fine the way it is

Moving from debate to action planning and implementation is difficult for attorneys. However, unless a firm can move from debate and ideas to actual accountability and implementation it will remain anchored in the past in a field of dreams, obsolete practices, and unhappy clients.

Here is a road map to help you get started:

Assemble the client service improvement team
Review the issues discovered from the client survey
Identify and write a client service mission statement and client service goals
Brainstorm solutions you can and are willing to implement
Put together the client service improvement plan
Implement the plan
Notify clients, especially the clients that were interviewed, of the changes that the firm will be implementing.

Click here for our article on developing your client service improvement plan

Click here for our article on analyzing survey results

John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC

May 16, 2018

Law Firm Client Surveys – How to Collect and Report the Data

Question:

Our firm is a sixteen attorney firm in Chicago. Our marketing committee has been discussing implementing a client survey program. We are not sure where to start or how best to collect and report the data. Your thoughts would be appreciated.

Response:

Surveys can be used for a variety of purposes including the following:

Client satisfaction survey
Key client survey
Lost client survey
Market survey

I assume that you are planning on doing a client satisfaction survey in order to solicit feedback on how well the firm is meeting client needs, quality of services being provided, and additional needs that the client may have where the firm can provide services.

The type of survey will depend upon whether your clients are individuals or institutional clients such as corporate or governmental. If your clients are institutional I recommend that you conduct telephone structured telephone interviews with these clients using a interview questionnaire consisting of quantitative and qualitative questions. If you have a large number of institutional clients then you may want to consider conducting these interviews with your top fifty, twenty-five, or ten top clients and use a paper mail survey or online survey for the remainder. For individual clients you may want to use a paper survey or online survey for your entire database of individual clients and thereafter a paper mail survey or online survey at the conclusion of a matter. Another option would be to survey a random sample of your clients.

Once the surveys are completed – whether telephone interviews or paper mail or online surveys the questionnaires/surveys will need to be tabulated and provided in some form of a report. Some firms use two Excel spreadsheets – one for the quantitative responses and one for the qualitative/narrative responses for interview and paper mail questionnaires. Then averages, percentages, and other summary statistics can be calculated for the quantitative responses. If you use an online survey service such as Survey Monkey the tabulation and the statistics will be done already for these surveys. If you have a Survey Monkey account you could also enter your interview questionnaire and paper mail questionnaires responses into Survey Monkey and use it rather than Excel. If you want more sophisticated statistical analysis you might want to look into statistical software such as SPSS which is sold and marketed by IBM.

Once you have summarized analyzed the questionnaires you may want to prepare a summary report document using your word processing software. Include the tabulation, statistical calculations, charts, etc. as attachments to the report.

There are several articles on our website – see links below – that discuss client satisfaction survey programs and how to get started.

Click here for our article on analyzing survey results

Click here for our article on developing your client service improvement plan

Click here for our article on tips for rewarding and recognizing employees

John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC

Apr 12, 2016

Law Firm Client Satisfaction – Exceeding Client Expectations

Question:

I am owner of a four attorney firm in Amarillo, Texas. We represent both individual and institutional clients. Recently, we have had numerous complaints from clients advising us that our services took longer than expected and fees were also higher than expected. I would appreciate your thoughts?

Response:

Based upon client satisfaction surveys (telephone interviews) that we do for law firms we find that one of the biggest problems is that the attorneys are doing a poor job of managing client expectations. Your clients get frustrated when you promise one thing (timeline or fees) and the result is very different – especially when the work takes longer than promised or the fees are higher. Even though you don't structure it as a promise your clients take it that way. The key is to under promise and over deliver. I suspect that upon the initial client meeting you are under estimating the timeline and low balling the fee range. Reduce the promise – increase the - timeline and fee range and then shoot to deliver under that range. This will do wonders for improving the client relationship.

Click here for our article on the topic

Dec 29, 2015

Law Practice Management – Goals for 2016

Happy New Year and Best Wishes for a Personal and Professional 2016

As 2015 comes to an end we begin with a clean slate for 2016. As with anything new – the uncertain future can be scary and exciting at the same time. Year-end provides an opportune time for reflection on the past year and setting goals for the next year – both personal and professional. Goal setting can improve your personal life and your practice.

Setting and achieving goals is one of the best ways to measure your life's and practice's progress and to create unusual clarity. The alternative is drifting along aimlessly with hope and a prayer.

I am a strong believer in the power of goals. This year I finished writing my book, The Lawyers Guide to Succession Planning published by the ABA which is scheduled to be released in January. I never would have even started, alone completed, such a project without very specific goals and timelines.

I strongly suggest that you established a few SMART goals for both your personal life and your practice for 2015 where each goal is:

S = Specific
M = Measurable
A = Attainable
R = Realistic
T = Timely (on a timeline with a deadline)

A goal without a number is just a slogan – so it is critical that you develop a system for measuring. For example, if you goal is to improve client satisfaction and loyalty you might administer an end of matter client satisfaction survey with a rating scale from 1-5 for key performance indicators, enter completed surveys into a spreadsheet, and then generate a quarterly report reflecting actual performance scores. If your goal is to meet with ten clients or referral sources during a month – develop a tracking system and generate a monthly report.

While goals can help focus you and your practice in 2016 – too many goals can have the opposite effect. Start with baby steps and identify three to five goals for 2016 and then focus intensively on these goals and their accomplishment.

Focusing on a few targeted strategic goals could take your practice to the next level.

Click here for our archive blog on strategies

John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC

Oct 14, 2014

Law Firm Client Service Standards

Question:

I am the managing partner of a 14 attorney business law firm in Baltimore, Maryland. Our marketing committee has been discussing marketing initiatives and is planning on a client service initiative. Where do you suggest that we start?

Response:

You might want to start by putting in place some basic client service standards. For example:

Phone calls will be returned within 2 hours.
Be client friendly. Treat clients like you would like to be treated. Eliminate arrogance in manner and tone.
Answer phone calls by the third ring.
Provide status updates monthly.
Send out billing statements monthly.
Send clients copies of all documents created or received on his or her behalf.
Ask clients how you are doing.
Smile – whether on the phone or in person.
Ask a client their name and always use it.
Thank clients for their business.
Go out of your way to make it easy for clients to do business with the firm.
Do what you promise and when you promised.
Don’t make promises you can’t keep.

Look for ways to become your client's trusted advisor rather that their hired gun that they only call on when they are in trouble.

Click here for our blog on marketing

Click here for our blog on marketing

John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC

Aug 04, 2014

Law Firm Client Telephone Satisfaction Interviews in Insurance Defense Law Firms

Question:

I am the chair of our firm's marketing committee. We are a 24 attorney insurance defense firm in Houston. While we solicit feedback from some of our larger insurance company clients at lunch and face to face meetings – the sessions are not structured, data is not really tabulated, and only a handful of clients are usually involved. We have been thinking of embarking on a more structured process. I would appreciate your thoughts:

Response:

Our firm recently completed client satisfaction interviews for several of our insurance defense law firm clients. Here are a few quotes and a summary of what these insurance company law firm clients told us:

We want to work with proactive attorneys that aren’t afraid to try cases.
Limit the number of people working on a file. I like consistent assignments.
I expect attorneys to get back to me by the next business day.
I like one partner and one associate per file.
Most of our billing issues with law firms is due to excessive use of associates time.
I get upset with attorneys that want to settle right before trial.
The primary reason that we terminate our relationship with our outside attorneys is not reporting to us in a timely fashion and poor communications.
I find that many lawyers are poor at managing their files and have poor basic communication skills. I work with lawyers that can do both of these things well.
I think that it is important that law firms provide value added services such as newsletters, legislative updates, e-alerts, seminars, etc on a “no charge” basis. These services are provided by most law firms these days. Such services help us do our jobs better, improves communications and the overall relationship between our organization and the law firm, keeps us up to date on changes in the law, and helps the law firm stay abreast of emerging needs in our business.
I will pay higher fees to lawyers that aren’t afraid to try cases.

Much can be learned by talking to your clients. Structured telephone interviews conducted by a neutral in-house law firm marketing employee or outside third party can provide many surprises as well as answers. Client satisfaction interviews can be the best marketing investment that you can make.