1. Client Feedback: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You!
The Delaware Valley Law Firm Marketing Group
Client Feedback: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You!
Cole Silver, Chief Client Officer, Blank Rome
Stacy Clark, Stacy Clark Marketing LLC
Melissa Margulies, Client Service and Professional Development Counsel, Ballard Spahr

2. Bios
Cole Silver serves as the Chief Client Officer for Blank Rome. With over 25 years of experience as a General Counsel to several high growth companies, Cole brings an insider's view of clients' key legal concerns and what they want and expect from their outside counsel.
Stacy West Clark, Esq. started her consulting firm over 25 years ago at the request of law firm clients. Prior to that, Stacy served as the first Director of Client Relations for Morgan, Lewis & Bockius. The firm created the position based on a proposal she submitted to the its Management Committee. Prior to 1986, Stacy was an associate in the firm where she practiced environmental and health care regulatory law. Stacy is a Fellow of the College of Law Practice Management. She is also one of the founders of the Delaware Valley Law Firm Marketing Group.
Melissa Margulies serves as Ballard Spahr's Client Service and Professional Development Counsel. In this role, Melissa seeks feedback from clients regarding the firm's service and how the firm can continue to provide the highest-quality representation to its clients. Also, she seeks feedback from clients after significant matters conclude. Melissa uses the feedback to guide the lawyers on exceptional client service, often including client satisfaction improvement. Melissa developed the firm's Strategic Account Management ("SAM") program. Melissa also has overall responsibility for the strategic vision, management and execution of the firm's associate professional development initiatives. She also counsels lawyers individually, providing guidance on career development and advancement.
12/24/2018

3. Are You Properly Engaging with Clients?
Is your law firm engaging with your clients in a way that benefits both clients and the law firm?
Are you using proper techniques to obtain a deeper understanding of the client's business, their concerns and what they think of your delivery model?
Are you effectively ascertaining the level of client satisfaction and/or areas where your firm can improve in service delivery before you lose the client?
Is your firm really listening to the client and responding proactively to their concerns and issues?
12/24/2018
Basic BD Training 11.14

4. Key Objectives of Today’s Meeting
Discuss the different types of feedback
To learn how to work collaboratively with the lawyers to offer a comprehensive feedback program
Overcoming obstacles
Process issues for an effective feedback program
Proposed feedback questions
Discuss client feedback programs that work
To act on and be responsive to, what you learn
To help Firm leaders communicate about feedback results
To distill best practices on client feedback program
12/24/2018

5. Goals of a Client Feedback Program
Show you really care
Prevent loss of work
Better understand how they feel about your service delivery and work product
Identify opportunities and threats
Increase credibility and visibility
Measure overall performance
Turn clients into raging fans and advocates
12/24/2018

6. Other Uses for a Feedback Program
To explore attitudes about the firm’s brand, image and reputation
To test demand for a firm’s proposed practice, industry or geographic expansion before spending time and money
To ascertain new business opportunities
To assess a specific client or industry team’s performance and client relationship and/or to kick off a client team initiative
To assess progress against previous market research or interview feed
Client feedback interviews support the 80/20 axiom that 80% of a lawyer’s marketing time should be spent with existing clients
12/24/2018

7. Client Feedback: Benefits for Clients
Enhanced value and service levels once the firm has a deeper understanding of the client’s business and industry issues
Greater investment by the firm in the relationship and an increased willingness to share risk or partner on key initiatives
These partnerships often foster innovation in legal service delivery
Closer alignment of the client’s expectations for the process with the law firm’s delivery of legal services
12/24/2018

8. Market Evidence on the Benefits of Client Feedback
The 2018 State of the Legal Market by Peer Monitor stated the usual issues like lower demand and overall growth, the growth of the in-house bar, alternative legal service providers and legal process outsourcing all causing disruption.   
When asked “what can be done”, the Report concluded it is essential that firms listen carefully and respond proactively to the concerns of their clients. 
The ROI for law firms conducting formal client feedback is staggering: when firms conduct formal client feedback across a broad swath of their clients, relationships with the firm’s largest clients are 4x–6x larger than firms not taking the time to reach out and objectively listen to their clients. Research from BTI shows client investment in your relationship translates into:
     • 30% higher profits      • 7% rate premiums across all staffing levels      • 2x the fees from a single client      • 35% higher client retention
This means more business at higher rates, much higher client retention AND superior client relationships.
12/24/2018

9. Types of Feedback Programs
Engagement:  Thanking client for the trust in hiring us 
Pendency of Matter:  During the matter to ensure client satisfaction on strategy, communication, personnel, etc
End of Matter: Determine client’s impression about results, responsiveness, strategy, etc. 
Annual:  Annual visits to ensure awareness and prioritization
Problem Clients Leaving: Proactive meeting to avoid loss of client
12/24/2018

10. Overcoming Obstacles & Objections
Show me the money
Over 90% of firms that do it say it’s extremely important
Drives client centricity around the core client base that achieves a high profitability target
Must come from the top of the house
Helps ensure that all clients receive high levels of service quality and value
Drive a strong brand identity
Can make the Firm stand apart from the competition
12/24/2018

11. Client Feedback Process
Communicate Program Rollout
Select proposed client(s) for interviews based on use of services, potential for growth, realization rates, and relationship’s attorney’s willingness
Assemble internal and market information on client
Interview the relationship’s attorney to learn about his/her goals for the client and to reiterate the process
Relationship attorney to contact client to introduce concept and gain client’s agreement for interview
Have internal or external (“Interviewer”) schedule interview with client
Interviewer conducts the interview (phone or in-person)
Immediately after the interview, Interviewer discuss key “takeaways” and provides comments to billing attorney and team to provide quick overview of interview
Interviewer provides complete written “Client Feedback Report”
Parties collectively develop “Follow-Up Plan”
Leadership analyzes and report on commonalities, concerns and client preferences to assist lawyers and staff members to deliver better service to clients
12/24/2018

12. Key Questions What do we do well?
Overall, how satisfied are you with the quality of service provided by the Firm?
What could we do differently to serve you better?
What do other law firms do that impresses you? Makes your life easier?
How well do we deliver what we promise?
How often do we do things on time?
How quickly do we respond to your request for service?
How accessible are we when you need to contact us?
How helpful and polite are we?
How well do we listen to you?
How hard do you think we work at keeping you as a client?
How much confidence do you have in our service?
How well do we understand and meet your special needs and requests?
How would rate the experiences of our office, people, service, communications, etc?
Overall how would you rate the quality of our service?
How willing would you be to recommend us?
What parts of our service are the most important to you?
12/24/2018

13. Final Thoughts One size does not fit all
How do we make our clients life easier
Client feedback is not about finding fault in a relationship
Bad news never gets better with time. So act fast, as much as it may hurt
Show lawyers this works!
12/24/2018

14. Thank you It’s all about client service! Cole Silver Melissa Margulies
Stacy Clark
12/24/2018