Social media has obtained a lot of interest lately in legal firm marketing circles.However buried beneath all the publicity is one everlasting truth:Selling legal services however still requires a mutual dialogue. While LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook can assist to widen the conversation (and help build your reputation), if you are not communicating directly to your clients and referral sources, then you are losing important opportunities to build your relationships. Direct client communication is essential to the practice of law. If you are morally obligated to carry out your client's wishes, then somebody has to supervise the client relationship and ensure that everyone on the legal team fulfills those objectives.
Inspite of these ,there needs to be several questions that needs to be tackled such as:
•How can you confirm if the client is genuinely happy?•How do you understand if the client is likely to use your services the next time he has a need?
•Are you sure if the client will refer other potential clients?
Good service providers recognize the importance of feedback from clients. Many lawyers dont seem to give much importance to that factor. Failing to methodically obtain feedback from your best clients can be an awful business decision. Here we discuss 2 crucial factors regarding client feedback.
• Problems can be uncovered and opportunities identified through client interviews:
Client interviews can divulge personality conflicts or service troubles that need to be sorted , while there is still time to fix these problems. Interviews can reveal future needs that the client may have that the firm might be able to serve.This can be an opportunity to convey to the client regarding the other capabilities of your firm. Infact just asking your clients if they can be interviewed is a tremendous way to display that you are truly concerned about their needs. Other than making the client feel special, a good quality interview offers the client a chance to reflect on the services that they procure.
Thus,client interviews is an immense way to build the bond as the best way to build a relationship is listening.
• Utilize an esteemed partner or a trusted consultant with strong interpersonal skills:
Client interviews need to be done by someone other than the relationship partner.You are seeking frank answers that will offer insight into how to fortify the connection.If there are problems occurring beneath the surface of the relationship, they are less probable to appear if the relationship partner does the questioning. The interviewer should be a person in solid leadership or an outside vendor. What is most important is that the person has the capacity to rapidly put the client at ease and help them to open up.The interviewer should be expert in inquiring beneath the surface of the answers and should have some understanding of the client's industry, the type of the work that is being performed for the client as well as the capabilities of the law firm.
Its highly important to choose the apt person for taking client interviews.
