Page 140 - 2019 - Leaders in Legal Business (27g)
P. 140
Unhappy Clients Are Jack Newton1
Hurting Your Business
Co-Founder & CEO, Clio
How satisfied are your clients? The data indicates most lawyers don’t know. When we
surveyed nearly 2,000 lawyers in the U.S., we discovered 37 percent don’t collect client feedback
at all — and for the firms that do, 42 percent collect feedback casually and informally in person,
meaning they may only be hearing positive feedback affected by courtesy bias. The implication of
this is that poor client satisfaction could be the most critical blind spot for today’s law firms.
Poor satisfaction is what ruins businesses. If your clients aren’t satisfied, there’s little
chance they’ll hire you again or recommend you to someone else — and they may even deter
others through word of mouth or negative online reviews. It’s a bad prospect for any law firm that
wants to succeed.
On the other hand, the types of businesses
that thrive in today’s digital economy are the ones
obsessed with customer satisfaction. The internet
has leveled the playing field, and your competitors
are just a click away for your prospective clients;
more than ever, your clients need to see a clear
reason to hire you over another firm. Law firms
that earn the satisfaction of their clients are the
ones that see significant momentum in the future
success and profitability of their business.
The State of Client Satisfaction in the Legal Industry
To better understand the state of legal services in the 21st century, we set out to assess
client satisfaction on an industry-wide scale by using a metric known as a Net Promoter Score
(NPS). Research has shown that NPS is one of the most reliable predictors for business growth,
and it’s based on more than just satisfaction or loyalty — it’s based on the likelihood to
recommend. Given that lawyers typically rely heavily on referrals, NPS should be considered
especially salient for law firms.
How satisfied are your clients? The data indicates most lawyers don’t know. When we
surveyed nearly 2,000 lawyers in the U.S., we discovered 37 percent don’t collect client feedback
at all — and for the firms that do, 42 percent collect feedback casually and informally in person,
meaning they may only be hearing positive feedback affected by courtesy bias. The implication of
this is that poor client satisfaction could be the most critical blind spot for today’s law firms.
1 Jack Newton is the founder of Clio and a pioneer of cloud-based legal technology. Jack has spearheaded efforts to educate the legal community
on the security, ethics and privacy issues surrounding cloud computing, and has become a nationally recognized writer and speaker on these topics.
Jack also co-founded and is acting President of the Legal Cloud Computing Association (LCCA), a consortium of leading cloud computing
providers with a mandate to help accelerate the adoption of cloud computing in the legal industry.
125
Hurting Your Business
Co-Founder & CEO, Clio
How satisfied are your clients? The data indicates most lawyers don’t know. When we
surveyed nearly 2,000 lawyers in the U.S., we discovered 37 percent don’t collect client feedback
at all — and for the firms that do, 42 percent collect feedback casually and informally in person,
meaning they may only be hearing positive feedback affected by courtesy bias. The implication of
this is that poor client satisfaction could be the most critical blind spot for today’s law firms.
Poor satisfaction is what ruins businesses. If your clients aren’t satisfied, there’s little
chance they’ll hire you again or recommend you to someone else — and they may even deter
others through word of mouth or negative online reviews. It’s a bad prospect for any law firm that
wants to succeed.
On the other hand, the types of businesses
that thrive in today’s digital economy are the ones
obsessed with customer satisfaction. The internet
has leveled the playing field, and your competitors
are just a click away for your prospective clients;
more than ever, your clients need to see a clear
reason to hire you over another firm. Law firms
that earn the satisfaction of their clients are the
ones that see significant momentum in the future
success and profitability of their business.
The State of Client Satisfaction in the Legal Industry
To better understand the state of legal services in the 21st century, we set out to assess
client satisfaction on an industry-wide scale by using a metric known as a Net Promoter Score
(NPS). Research has shown that NPS is one of the most reliable predictors for business growth,
and it’s based on more than just satisfaction or loyalty — it’s based on the likelihood to
recommend. Given that lawyers typically rely heavily on referrals, NPS should be considered
especially salient for law firms.
How satisfied are your clients? The data indicates most lawyers don’t know. When we
surveyed nearly 2,000 lawyers in the U.S., we discovered 37 percent don’t collect client feedback
at all — and for the firms that do, 42 percent collect feedback casually and informally in person,
meaning they may only be hearing positive feedback affected by courtesy bias. The implication of
this is that poor client satisfaction could be the most critical blind spot for today’s law firms.
1 Jack Newton is the founder of Clio and a pioneer of cloud-based legal technology. Jack has spearheaded efforts to educate the legal community
on the security, ethics and privacy issues surrounding cloud computing, and has become a nationally recognized writer and speaker on these topics.
Jack also co-founded and is acting President of the Legal Cloud Computing Association (LCCA), a consortium of leading cloud computing
providers with a mandate to help accelerate the adoption of cloud computing in the legal industry.
125
