Professionals who lose sleep over “client satisfaction” would seem quite likely to seek feedback so they can improve their level of service and results.
Both a recent Lexis Nexis poll and remarks by in-house counsel at a major legal industry event seem to indicate just the opposite is common at most law firms.
At the 2016 annual convention of the Legal Marketing Association (LMA), three general counsel from major corporations on a panel all said they want to be surveyed or interviewed by their outside law firms. They also said no firm had ever come to them for feedback. They begged (one actually said “I’m begging”) the marketers in the audience to go home and tell their firms that in-house lawyers say this effects retention and billing rates. And, getting feedback from associate general counsel is as important as talking with a company’s chief legal officer, they said.
Our partner, Amber Vincent, was at the LMA event and reported what was said afterward. Coincidentally, the day she did, we had just read about a Lexis Nexis survey recently taken at the ABA Tech Show. That survey revealed the leading reason lawyers report losing sleep is because they have concerns about “client satisfaction”.
We recommend clients conduct client surveys every two to three years. They are an integral part of every firm or practice group marketing plan we write. Ongoing client interviews are also a best practice we recommend.
Perhaps the disconnect here lies in a lawyers’ training in mitigating risk. It makes sense that someone who is trained to avoid risk would be shy about asking about how clients feel about their fees and service.
We find that clients of all types, lawyers and non-lawyers, from entities large and small, those new and long-standing, want to be surveyed. They are happy to fill out electronic questionnaires and/or to sit down for an interview with a prepared questioner. After all, we live in the age of electronic reviews so most everyone is used to e-surveying. Interviews about complex services, often by phone, are hardly unexpected.
Plus, who doesn’t want to sleep better.
Contact us to discuss your marketing plan, for a best marketing practices review, or about client surveying and interviews.
