Some Customer Service Strategies That Can Really Raise Your Revenue Per Lawyer (RPL)
As an attorney or a law firm owner, you may consider customer service as the last thing that you need your attention to be focused on. Whether you admit or not, your firm’s commitment to providing the highest standard of customer service may prove to be a vital factor in ensuring client retention and registering steady business growth. With the present-day law practice landscape being predominantly shaped by growing competition, transparency, and customers’ ability to access information, customer service excellence is undoubtedly a major differentiator that can make your law practice stand out.
Your first interaction with your client determines whether you are going to meet your client for the second time or you will lose him/her forever. When a client approaches you, he/she has a problem that he/she needs addressed and resolved. By expressing your interest in your clients’ emotional state and by establishing a connection in your first contact, you can build trust and establish long-lasting relationships.
Many law firms, such as McGuire Woods, even appoint independent third party professionals to conduct client satisfaction surveys to assess the standard of their customer service. Many law firms, such as Akin Gump, deploy dedicated “service teams” that cater to the needs of specific clients or specific industries and become expert in their individual area of operation. Some of the leading law firms do not just put emphasis on “understanding” their clients, but they go the extra mile to actually live with them. For example, lawyers at Kramer Levin often live with their clients in their quarters and McGuire Woods organize team meetings that involve clients as speakers. Many law firms uphold transparency as a vital means to cultivate a feeling of trust among their clients and recruits. For example, Quinn Emanuel expresses a generous attitude to share information through its website disclosures and this is reflected through its “Peruse Our Files” feature on its website.
With technology being the major driver of progress in the present business scenario, most modern law firms are finding ways to capitalize on technology in innovative ways. Whether you hire an after-hour answering service to respond to your clients’ queries on a 24/7 basis or you deploy client-relationship management software to monitor key relationship links, you move one step towards progressive growth that can help you strengthen your customer service in the long run. Additionally, some law firms even invest in developing state-of-the-art websites to provide news and updated information on a regular basis.
To sum up, there is no end to the strategies that you can implement to enhance your customer service and all you need to do is to ensure that you make the right move at the right time before your competitors do it and gain a competitive advantage.
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