Know the Real Score: Survey Your Clients Regularly

The short opinion survey is one of the easiest, cheapest, and least used client development tools available to the law firm.

In a 1995 Harvard Business Review article entitled “Why Satisfied Clients Defect,” the authors pointed out the important distinction between satisfied clients and completely satisfied clients.  In markets where competition was intense, they noted a tremendous difference between the loyalty of satisfied and completely satisfied customers.  For instance, in the auto industry they found that even a slight drop from complete satisfaction resulted in an enormous drop in customer loyalty.

This phenomenon is not limited to manufactured products.  It also occurs in the service industry.  Anyone who has ever gotten a really bad haircut can understand how this concept plays out in real life.  If you have a lot of other options, you’re not going back to the place where you had the bad experience last time.

The key to maintaining complete client satisfaction (and loyalty) is to survey your clients regularly about how they feel you and your staff are serving them, and then meet with them to discuss how you plan to implement the feedback they give.  And then make sure you do it.