70% of Clients Dissatisfied With The Service They Get
Posted By Rob Millard - 0 Comments -
According to the latest BTI Consulting Survey, client satisfaction levels amongst Fortune 1000 clients, with the law firms that serve them, plummeted nearly 15% last year! An astounding 70% of clients are dissatisfied to a greater or lesser degree!
Client dissatisfaction is a very serious issue. The fact that the levels of dissatisfaction are increasing is especially so. Firms with even mildly dissatisfied clients face far greater pricing pressure than those whose clients fall into the 30% who are satisfied. Their clients also tend to defect to competitors with far greater ease. Of course, we all know this.
Marcie Borgal of BTI Consulting has posted an article on the survey results titled The Declining Client Satisfaction Antidote at Larry Bodine's The Law Marketing Portal. Want a lisence to print money? Take note of her main reasons for client dissatisfaction and then make sure that they do not apply to your firm. They are:
Not keeping up with changing client needs.
Client needs and priorities change every 18 months. Their law firms lag behind.
Doing poor job of articulating and delivering value
Clients are becoming masters at driving hard bargains. Either accept your fees being driven to below cost (fire a few more secretaries to reduce overheads even more,) or not only provide superior service but make sure that you are seen by your clients to be doing so, by proactively demonstrating and communicating the value that you are providing. Value "added" is not of any benefit to you if the client is not aware of it.
Poor communication between law firms and clients
More than 30% of clients pointed to communication-related problems as the one thing that most drives them crazy about their law firms. Enough said.
The required response is not intellectually taxing and has been so often repeated as to be almost inane. Quite simply, it is for firms to find out what their clients really think of them, and how (very specifically) they can improve their levels of service. Then to do what their clients suggest. The focus should be primarily on those few 'crown jewel' clients that most firms have, who are responsible for most of their fee revenues. Sound obvious? Sure it is. But if it is so obvious, then why are client satisfaction levels plummetting? (Not too strong a word, I think, for a 15% dip.)
For those firms that already do all this and know that they are amongst the 30% that are providing stellar service, a far more interesting option exists. That is: to aggressively approach some of the prospective clients that you would love to have and promise them service levels that you can prove that you deliver, that you competitors do not. The chances of them being able to suddenly catch up to you in this area are remote.
Marcie's article is well worth reading in its entirity. Comments, as always, are most welcome and may be posted below. This posting is being written 50 meters from a crisp white beach in Freeport, Bahamas.
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