Page 194 - Leaders in Legal Business - PDF - Final 2018
P. 194
Client Services
In order to build revenue, firms need to not only focus on securing new business, but also
on retaining current clients. According to Harvard Business School and BTI,1 profits will
increase by 25 percent or more when client retention rates are elevated by 5 percent.
When focusing on client retention, one way for firms to differentiate is through client
service. Legal marketers continue to play an important role in this function by implementing
client service initiatives using the following techniques:
1. Establish Client Service Standards Immediately – Instituting a process for client intake,
therefore ensuring a smooth onboarding with the firm, can really set a positive tone for a
client relationship.
2. Understand the Clients’ Business – In addition to helping attorneys study and grasp client
objectives, industry trends, news, and policies; legal marketers also recommend attorneys
take time to visit the client and really ingrain themselves in the working of the company.
3. Keep Clients Informed – Attorneys should be the source of information pertinent to a
client’s business. Rather than relying on general firm emails as a means of informing
clients of legal developments or upcoming events/webinars, legal marketers counsel
attorneys to email content directly and/or pick up the phone to discuss. They also
recommend that attorneys establish benchmarks for delivering regular status updates on
legal work. Feeling uninformed can result in client frustration. Clients should never have
to ask for an update.
4. Request Feedback – Legal marketers work with attorneys to conduct post-matter reviews
so they can hear directly from the client what the firm did well and what could be
improved upon. Legal marketers make note of the feedback, develop a tailored action
plan for the next matter, and leverage that information across firm clients. Conducting
annual client assessments are another avenue for securing feedback on the firm’s overall
performance, responsiveness, quality, and consistency. These in-person meetings
typically yield valuable, actionable client intelligence, and are often more open and
productive with legal marketers in attendance to help facilitate the conversation and
provide an objective assessment.
Communications
Effective communication includes knowing the audience; communicating in a clear,
concise, and timely fashion; maintaining a good demeanor; ensuring accuracy (and moving
quickly to correct any inaccuracies); and maintaining a resourceful mindset.
Consider this: A marketing liaison on a high-profile project that involves a firm’s IT
department and senior partners is instantly faced with three different audiences, each with its
1 Frederick F. Reichheld & Phil Schefter, E-Loyalty: Your Secret Weapon on the Web, HARVARD BUS. REV. (July-Aug. 2000), excerpt available
at https://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/the-economics-of-e-loyalty.
180
In order to build revenue, firms need to not only focus on securing new business, but also
on retaining current clients. According to Harvard Business School and BTI,1 profits will
increase by 25 percent or more when client retention rates are elevated by 5 percent.
When focusing on client retention, one way for firms to differentiate is through client
service. Legal marketers continue to play an important role in this function by implementing
client service initiatives using the following techniques:
1. Establish Client Service Standards Immediately – Instituting a process for client intake,
therefore ensuring a smooth onboarding with the firm, can really set a positive tone for a
client relationship.
2. Understand the Clients’ Business – In addition to helping attorneys study and grasp client
objectives, industry trends, news, and policies; legal marketers also recommend attorneys
take time to visit the client and really ingrain themselves in the working of the company.
3. Keep Clients Informed – Attorneys should be the source of information pertinent to a
client’s business. Rather than relying on general firm emails as a means of informing
clients of legal developments or upcoming events/webinars, legal marketers counsel
attorneys to email content directly and/or pick up the phone to discuss. They also
recommend that attorneys establish benchmarks for delivering regular status updates on
legal work. Feeling uninformed can result in client frustration. Clients should never have
to ask for an update.
4. Request Feedback – Legal marketers work with attorneys to conduct post-matter reviews
so they can hear directly from the client what the firm did well and what could be
improved upon. Legal marketers make note of the feedback, develop a tailored action
plan for the next matter, and leverage that information across firm clients. Conducting
annual client assessments are another avenue for securing feedback on the firm’s overall
performance, responsiveness, quality, and consistency. These in-person meetings
typically yield valuable, actionable client intelligence, and are often more open and
productive with legal marketers in attendance to help facilitate the conversation and
provide an objective assessment.
Communications
Effective communication includes knowing the audience; communicating in a clear,
concise, and timely fashion; maintaining a good demeanor; ensuring accuracy (and moving
quickly to correct any inaccuracies); and maintaining a resourceful mindset.
Consider this: A marketing liaison on a high-profile project that involves a firm’s IT
department and senior partners is instantly faced with three different audiences, each with its
1 Frederick F. Reichheld & Phil Schefter, E-Loyalty: Your Secret Weapon on the Web, HARVARD BUS. REV. (July-Aug. 2000), excerpt available
at https://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/the-economics-of-e-loyalty.
180
