<b><i>The Voice of the Client:</i></b> Fruitful Feedback.How to Talk to Your Client So That Everyone Benefits

“94% of global law firm clients were not asked for any formal feedback from their primary law firm.” ' Acritas' Sharplegal research

“53% of law firms do not have a formal client feedback program.” ' Citi 2013 Law Firm Leaders Survey

From the survey results noted above, it seems that many law firms aren't doing a particularly good job of talking with their clients. Why do so many firms fall down here?

I think one reason why so many firms don't have formal (or even organized informal) client feedback programs is that they have a hard time deciding what kind of program to develop and implement. There are decidedly different schools of thought: Some firms feel strongly that these kinds of conversations are best had between the firm's managing partner or law firm chair and the client; other firms believe that the “relationship partner” should be the main interface, as he or she knows the client best; still other firms hire outside third-party professionals to handle client service interviews (CSIs). In the interests of full disclosure, I am decidedly in the “third-party” camp ' and my experience with implementing a CSI program at one of my firms was overwhelmingly positive. I honestly don't see how clients can offer truly candid feedback to either a relationship partner or a managing partner ' or anyone who is on the payroll of the firm asking for the feedback.

Rather than rehash what's been written about CSIs, I have outlined two areas that might provide some practical (and perhaps unique) advice for law firm marketers who want to embark on the client feedback journey.

Tips from the Experts

There are a number of legal industry consultants who offer client service interviews (either conducting them or helping firms develop their own programs) as part of their service offerings, so I reached out to some of them and ask for their best advice. Here's what a few of them had to say:

Nat Slavin, Partner and Founder, Wicker Park Group

• The number one thing you have to do when you initiating conversations with clients about client service interviews is that you have to be prepared to act. The worst thing you can do is ask for feedback and then not act on it.
• While it's important to include key and top clients in your client service interview program, they already receive a lot of attention. The next tier of clients, those outside of the top 25, not only receive significantly less attention, but actually have tremendous untapped potential. The firm is typically doing less work, or a narrow band of work, and the clients have a narrower sense of the firm's abilities. Through CSIs, needs are identified, and in that next tier of clients there is an even greater potential to expand the relationship than those top clients where the relationship is already naturally deep.
• Invest in training. Almost all firms invest in media training, business development training, and pitch workshops, but few invest in educating attorneys to be good interviewers. Conducting a client service interview is dissimilar to taking a deposition, so if attorneys are to be effective in conducting the CSIs, train them to be efficient interviewers (and good listeners).
• Invest in clients of lateral partners. One of the best ways to engender positive feelings for clients of a new lateral ' to create a sense of importance and value from their attorney's new firm ' is to create a client service interview. It's a great way to make clients feel positive about their attorney's new firm from the very beginning.

Lonnie Zwerin, Partner, Zeughauser Group

• When a client says he only has half an hour for an interview, you may end up spending twice that amount of time if you've developed rapport and the client quickly senses the benefit of the interview. The lesson here is be careful about your scheduling ' give yourself adequate time in between interviews.
• Developing rapport right up front is critical. It's essential that you and whoever you are interviewing make some kind of connection in the first 3-4 minutes.
• Hopefully, you will conduct the interview in the client's office. If that happens (and you can even suggest it), you'll likely see family photos, awards, vacation photos, whether the client has a tidy or messy desk, etc. These kinds of personal insights can be invaluable in developing that rapport that is so critical for an open, honest conversation. You can also report back some of this detail to the relationship partner so she can get a better sense of who that person is, his personal style, and outside-the-office interests.

Aric Press, Founder and Principal, Benero & Press; former Editor in Chief of The American Lawyer

• Prepare: don't go in cold. Learn as much about the client and the firm's relationship as possible, in advance.
• Listen: you're there to listen and learn. We tend to learn more with our mouths closed.
• It's only a script: go in with a list of prepared questions and topics. But often the subject will veer off into an unexpected and interesting direction. Follow it. Don't insist on sticking to your script.
• If you don't understand: ask for an explanation. This isn't an SAT test and frequently the subject will amplify and clarify if you ask for help.
• Connect: As you talk with the subject, look for points where you can connect with a brief comment or observation. The more this session resembles a conversation and the less a deposition, the better you're apt to do.

Beyond (or Instead of) CSIs

While CSIs are the feedback method du jour, there are other ways that you can gain valuable insights, while strengthening relationships with clients (and even prospects')

Post-mortems

If you haven't had the opportunity (or even thought about) conducting post-mortems on RFPs and pitches, definitely give it some thought. Basically, post-mortems work like this: If the firm receives news that it was not awarded a piece of work, ask the lead attorney if he or she would allow you to contact the client to ask a few (perhaps four or five) questions about the RFP or pitch, and why your firm was not selected. You'll be very surprised by the amount of information clients/prospects are willing to share in a post-mortem conversation.

Managing Partner/Chairs Visits

These kinds of visits are distinctly different than CSIs ' and they serve an equally important purpose. Having a managing partner visit a client sends a clear message: You are important to us and we value our relationship with you. It is possible that this kind of visit will uncover some service issues, but the real rationale for a managing partner to spend her time traveling and visiting clients is to make sure clients feel connected to the firm and know that the firm and firm leadership value and appreciate the client.

Client Focus Groups

Ad agencies and marketing consultants have been using focus groups for years to gather customer feedback and insight. Why shouldn't law firms do the same thing? The organizational side of focus groups is a bit complicated, but if you can gather three-to-four clients together in a room (preferably not competitors, but maybe clients from the same industry) and initiate dialogue on about what's keeping them up at night, you'll gain candid insights and your clients will enjoy chatting with each other. It's not often clients get to talk with their peers or hear what challenges their colleagues in other companies are facing.

Matter Surveys

If you are not surveying clients at the conclusion of a matter, then you're really missing out on some valuable information. Even if it's five short “yes or no” questions, surveying a client about the results of a matter can help you develop some actionable metrics. Some firms are also looking at conducting surveys midway through a matter. That may be a more complicated process and it may be harder to get clients to respond, but midpoint surveys can be the difference between success and a happy client and failure and a former client. A tool as simple as Survey Monkey can handle these kinds of surveys ' or even e-mail marketing platforms (like Concep) can handle these simple assessments.

Former or Potential Clients

While it makes logical (and financial) sense to focus on current clients, consider asking former or potential clients if they would be willing to participate in a client feedback interview. The questions are different than a CSI and the results may be a bit less tangible ' but you may reinstate a former client or secure a new one.

John J. Buchanan, a member of this newsletter's Board of Editors, is a seasoned professional services marketer with more than 25 years of experience across a broad spectrum of marketing, communications and business development activities. He can be reached at [email protected].

“94% of global law firm clients were not asked for any formal feedback from their primary law firm.” ' Acritas' Sharplegal research

“53% of law firms do not have a formal client feedback program.” ' Citi 2013 Law Firm Leaders Survey

From the survey results noted above, it seems that many law firms aren't doing a particularly good job of talking with their clients. Why do so many firms fall down here?

I think one reason why so many firms don't have formal (or even organized informal) client feedback programs is that they have a hard time deciding what kind of program to develop and implement. There are decidedly different schools of thought: Some firms feel strongly that these kinds of conversations are best had between the firm's managing partner or law firm chair and the client; other firms believe that the “relationship partner” should be the main interface, as he or she knows the client best; still other firms hire outside third-party professionals to handle client service interviews (CSIs). In the interests of full disclosure, I am decidedly in the “third-party” camp ' and my experience with implementing a CSI program at one of my firms was overwhelmingly positive. I honestly don't see how clients can offer truly candid feedback to either a relationship partner or a managing partner ' or anyone who is on the payroll of the firm asking for the feedback.

Rather than rehash what's been written about CSIs, I have outlined two areas that might provide some practical (and perhaps unique) advice for law firm marketers who want to embark on the client feedback journey.

Tips from the Experts

There are a number of legal industry consultants who offer client service interviews (either conducting them or helping firms develop their own programs) as part of their service offerings, so I reached out to some of them and ask for their best advice. Here's what a few of them had to say:

Nat Slavin, Partner and Founder, Wicker Park Group

• The number one thing you have to do when you initiating conversations with clients about client service interviews is that you have to be prepared to act. The worst thing you can do is ask for feedback and then not act on it.
• While it's important to include key and top clients in your client service interview program, they already receive a lot of attention. The next tier of clients, those outside of the top 25, not only receive significantly less attention, but actually have tremendous untapped potential. The firm is typically doing less work, or a narrow band of work, and the clients have a narrower sense of the firm's abilities. Through CSIs, needs are identified, and in that next tier of clients there is an even greater potential to expand the relationship than those top clients where the relationship is already naturally deep.
• Invest in training. Almost all firms invest in media training, business development training, and pitch workshops, but few invest in educating attorneys to be good interviewers. Conducting a client service interview is dissimilar to taking a deposition, so if attorneys are to be effective in conducting the CSIs, train them to be efficient interviewers (and good listeners).
• Invest in clients of lateral partners. One of the best ways to engender positive feelings for clients of a new lateral ' to create a sense of importance and value from their attorney's new firm ' is to create a client service interview. It's a great way to make clients feel positive about their attorney's new firm from the very beginning.

Lonnie Zwerin, Partner, Zeughauser Group

• When a client says he only has half an hour for an interview, you may end up spending twice that amount of time if you've developed rapport and the client quickly senses the benefit of the interview. The lesson here is be careful about your scheduling ' give yourself adequate time in between interviews.
• Developing rapport right up front is critical. It's essential that you and whoever you are interviewing make some kind of connection in the first 3-4 minutes.
• Hopefully, you will conduct the interview in the client's office. If that happens (and you can even suggest it), you'll likely see family photos, awards, vacation photos, whether the client has a tidy or messy desk, etc. These kinds of personal insights can be invaluable in developing that rapport that is so critical for an open, honest conversation. You can also report back some of this detail to the relationship partner so she can get a better sense of who that person is, his personal style, and outside-the-office interests.

Aric Press, Founder and Principal, Benero & Press; former Editor in Chief of The American Lawyer

• Prepare: don't go in cold. Learn as much about the client and the firm's relationship as possible, in advance.
• Listen: you're there to listen and learn. We tend to learn more with our mouths closed.
• It's only a script: go in with a list of prepared questions and topics. But often the subject will veer off into an unexpected and interesting direction. Follow it. Don't insist on sticking to your script.
• If you don't understand: ask for an explanation. This isn't an SAT test and frequently the subject will amplify and clarify if you ask for help.
• Connect: As you talk with the subject, look for points where you can connect with a brief comment or observation. The more this session resembles a conversation and the less a deposition, the better you're apt to do.

Beyond (or Instead of) CSIs

While CSIs are the feedback method du jour, there are other ways that you can gain valuable insights, while strengthening relationships with clients (and even prospects')

Post-mortems

If you haven't had the opportunity (or even thought about) conducting post-mortems on RFPs and pitches, definitely give it some thought. Basically, post-mortems work like this: If the firm receives news that it was not awarded a piece of work, ask the lead attorney if he or she would allow you to contact the client to ask a few (perhaps four or five) questions about the RFP or pitch, and why your firm was not selected. You'll be very surprised by the amount of information clients/prospects are willing to share in a post-mortem conversation.

Managing Partner/Chairs Visits

These kinds of visits are distinctly different than CSIs ' and they serve an equally important purpose. Having a managing partner visit a client sends a clear message: You are important to us and we value our relationship with you. It is possible that this kind of visit will uncover some service issues, but the real rationale for a managing partner to spend her time traveling and visiting clients is to make sure clients feel connected to the firm and know that the firm and firm leadership value and appreciate the client.

Client Focus Groups

Ad agencies and marketing consultants have been using focus groups for years to gather customer feedback and insight. Why shouldn't law firms do the same thing? The organizational side of focus groups is a bit complicated, but if you can gather three-to-four clients together in a room (preferably not competitors, but maybe clients from the same industry) and initiate dialogue on about what's keeping them up at night, you'll gain candid insights and your clients will enjoy chatting with each other. It's not often clients get to talk with their peers or hear what challenges their colleagues in other companies are facing.

Matter Surveys

If you are not surveying clients at the conclusion of a matter, then you're really missing out on some valuable information. Even if it's five short “yes or no” questions, surveying a client about the results of a matter can help you develop some actionable metrics. Some firms are also looking at conducting surveys midway through a matter. That may be a more complicated process and it may be harder to get clients to respond, but midpoint surveys can be the difference between success and a happy client and failure and a former client. A tool as simple as Survey Monkey can handle these kinds of surveys ' or even e-mail marketing platforms (like Concep) can handle these simple assessments.

Former or Potential Clients

While it makes logical (and financial) sense to focus on current clients, consider asking former or potential clients if they would be willing to participate in a client feedback interview. The questions are different than a CSI and the results may be a bit less tangible ' but you may reinstate a former client or secure a new one.

John J. Buchanan, a member of this newsletter's Board of Editors, is a seasoned professional services marketer with more than 25 years of experience across a broad spectrum of marketing, communications and business development activities. He can be reached at [email protected].