How to turn legal clients into raving fans – Part 2 of 5

Based on a series of surveys on the satisfaction of law firm clients, BTI Consulting reports that client satisfaction is declining, and these are the most important reasons why:
Not keeping up with changing client needs
Doing a poor job or articulating and delivering value
Poor communication between law firms and clients.

BTI’s Marcie Borgal has a great piece online which goes beyond these basic findings to describe five ways that law firms can deliver more value, without reducing their fees:

1. Increase efficiency. This includes assigning the most appropriate lawyers to each matter, paying more attention to the budget, and avoiding duplication of effort.

2. Increase responsiveness. You can’t give clients what they want unless you know what they want, so responsiveness starts with understanding client preferences, whether it’s the nature of a weekly report or the format of a monthly bill. As Paul Newman put it in the movie Cool Hand Luke: “What we have here is a failure to communicate.” Some lawyers think that responsiveness means returning phone calls promptly. That is certainly one element, but there is a whole lot more. As Client Services Advisor Iris Jones at Akin Gump told me in an interview for an article coming soon in Law Firm Inc: “One thing that’s different these days is that clients demand to be much more involved in decision making. There was a time when clients expected lawyers to handle matters for them, and were not as involved in the details. The client’s role was simply to pay the bills. Now clients are looking for efficiency, cost savings, and value added.”

3. Offer more resources - As internal departments find their head count squeezed, there are times when they just need more heads. Some firms have developed “loaner programs” in which associates and junior partners may work onsite with the client for months at a time. The benefits to the law firm are also huge, since this encourages relationships and a level of knowledge which is only possible when people work side by side, day after day.

4. Offer “one stop shopping” – I’ve written in the past about how the Dupont model has encouraged many clients to reduce the number of law firms they use, and to rely on a smaller number of firms for a wider array of services. This works to the advantage of large firms that offer high quality service in a variety of areas. For smaller firms, this may mean creating partnerships with complementary groups, as long as they can be offered in a way that is simple and easy for clients (e.g. a single bill.)

5. Client-centered billing - This means providing bills in the form that each client wants, whether that means e-bills, or special formatting. Bills must come often enough to allow clients to manage costs. They should also include enough detail that clients feel that they know what they are paying for. In some cases, clients may want to review a draft invoice before a bill is formally submitted.

This material was adapted from my new book Legal Business Development: A Step by Step Guide, which will be published in September, and can be ordered now on my web page. For additional details, see Marcie Borgal’s article “How Clients Hire, Fire And Spend” in The Complete Lawyer.