Ignore them and they will go away.

According to the respondents of Canadian Lawyer’s most recent corporate counsel survey, 72 percent of law departments had not been asked in the last year to complete a written, over-the-phone, or in-person client satisfaction survey.

I would argue that all 72 per cent of respondents are at a high-degree of risk of leaving their primary law firms for one that is actively interested in how to meet their unique needs.

Canadian Lawyer reports that some firms – large and small – are doing it right and investing in client relationships and looking for ways to recalibrate their services to better align themselves with their best clients. Over time, these firms will enjoy a higher percentage of client retention, provided they are conducting their client satisfaction surveys thoughtfully and responding to any client concerns effectively and with due care.

I recall a stat from a US survey report (sorry, I don’t know which one) a few years ago that 90% of clients leave a firm due to neglect. I was speaking to a client of mine recently about this and he was as surprised as I first was when I heard this stat. Clients weren’t leaving because of bad legal advice or poor results on a file, they were leaving because of neglect. They didn’t hear from their lawyer frequently enough and didn’t feel their lawyer was actively thinking, or concerning him or herself, with their most pressing matters.

If those same clients were surveyed, not only would they not be neglected, we might uncover the client’s feelings of neglect by their firm and lawyer and a corrective plan can be implemented without delay, potentially saving an important client.

Many in-house legal marketing professionals are well-positioned to guide their firms through the client interview process if they have strong support from their managing partner. Done right, a client satisfaction program is carefully designed and executed; just don’t let the process paralyze the firm from taking action – even on a small scale — on this important initiative.

Tags: Canadian Lawyer, client interviews, client surveys, legal marketing

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