What Do Your Clients Really Think?

Client Satisfaction Surveys

October 2009

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Client Satisfaction Surveys

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"And the Survey Says!...." There is only one way to know what value your clients are really getting, and that is to ask them. The article below tells you step by step how to get the feedback you need to improve your practice.

Sincerely,

Stephen Fairley
888-588-5891

P.S. Please join me for a complimentary teleseminar to learn the 7 Reasons Why Small Law Firms Fail and get a preview of what the Rainmaker Retreat is all about. Oct. 7th from 4-5pm PT/ 7-8pm ET

Want to find out what your clients really think?

Send Out An Annual Client Satisfaction Survey

Too many attorneys wait until their client is angry before asking if anything is wrong. By this time, it's often too late to repair the relationship.

The end of the year or the beginning of the year is the perfect time to send out a client satisfaction survey. We strongly recommend you do this every year to every client, but beware...

Only ask for people's opinions if you are going to listen to them and change your practice based on their feedback!

Most people enjoy giving you their feedback, but become quite upset if they do not see any improvements based on that feedback.

Here are two major reasons why every single law firm should send out a client satisfaction survey:

If you do it right you can generate business from it, and
You can identify referrals you can send to referral sources.

Here's how to structure it:

Gather all the email addresses for all your current and former clients (go back at least 3-4 years).
Write the survey. There are a few questions to help get you started below.
Set up and use Constant Contacts Survey feature or Set up an account at www.SurveyMonkey.com ($20 per month) and have your assistant type the questions.
Send out both a letter and an email inviting your current and former clients to respond to the survey. Allow at least 30 to 60 days and send out at least 3-4 invitations and reminders to clients to obtain the highest response rate possible.
Keep the survey open for at least a month or two to allow for the greatest possible number of respondents.
Analyze the data (Survey Monkey does much of this for you.) and write down the major findings and recommended action steps.
Send out a letter to your clients to tell them what you are going to do differently or how you are going to improve your services to better serve them.

Here is what you want to know from your clients...

1. Why did you choose our law firm?
2. On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being "Very poor" and 5 being "Excellent," please rate how satisfied with the following areas:

            How quickly were your emails responded to by your attorney?
            How quickly were your emails responded to by your paralegal/staff person?
            How quickly were your phone calls returned by your attorney?
            How quickly were your phone calls returned by your paralegal/staff person?
            How easy was your bill to understand?
3.   Were you adequately kept up-to-date on the progress of your cases?

4. Do you believe we are providing exceptional value for the fees we charge?

5. How were you treated on your most recent visit to the law firm?

6. What are the biggest areas where we need the most improvement?

7. Out of the following 5 areas, which ones do you anticipate needing in the next year?

8. Are invoices sent out to you on a regular basis?

9. Have you ever been surprised by the amount of an invoice?

10. What are 2 ways we could serve you better?

11. How likely are you to recommend us?

12. What key characteristics are you looking for in a successful law firm relationship?