Read any law firm marketing jargon lately? Websites, blogs & social media are all the rage. These technologies promise to help you find new clients and improve your business. While I do agree that a website is a basic in today’s marketing tools, I’m not quite sure if the time put into blogging and social media will really pay off for the small firm or solo lawyer. Before you can assess if it’s worth your time and effort, look at how you get your clients. If most of your revenue comes from existing clients and referrals, you time may be better spent looking inside instead of out.
As I meet and speak to more and more people just like you we find out that everyone agrees that the success of the firm is about creating long term relationships that continually feed the referral fire.
Building relationships is about anticipating the needs of your clients and then exceeding the expectations. If you do this over and over for each of your clients you will have a strong and prosperous practice. Now doing this when you had a dozen clients wasn’t too difficult, but as times change and you have to take on more and more clients how do you keep that personalized level of service without working double days? The answer may lie in the Internet.
Creating excellent customer experiences starts with transparency and accessibility. Transparency is sharing what goes on in the inside. Clients want to know what is going on at all times and you hate those continuous phone calls. But a status update, a note about progress, a question, a response – all keep the client in the loop and let them know that they are top of mind for you. By proactively sharing interactions and giving clients a way to make inquires will go a long way to enhancing your relationship.
Transparency is not the only driver for the client. They also want accessibility. In the Internet age large companies have trained clients that information is available at the touch of a button. Look at how on-line banking set the stage. Bank statements, tax documents, check records and more are available 7 days a week 24 hrs a day.
How do you provide this same level of service to your clients? Email isn’t the solution – it’s insecure and hard to manage. You need something better, but as a small company you don’t have an IT department and you don’t have thousands to spend on hardware and software.
The solution lies in what is called Software as a Service. This new type of software delivery where a software vendor creates an on-line application and make a small section of it available to you (Google does it with Gmail for example). At Mio Partnerz our solution is called MioWorks.com and it helps you build strong long term relationships with clients. Simply put, this is a web application (like on-line banking) where you can keep track of your clients and information about them. You can selectively share information like documents and files. You can request approvals and even allow your clients to ask/answer/view questions, problems and requests. Our solution looks at both the law firm and the client sides of the equation. We offer a free 30 day trial to get you started and see how MioWorks.com could have a positive impact on your practice.
As you figure out how to take advantage of the Internet, keep your eye on what matters most to you. Build strong relationships and make your clients happy. You do those two things and your practice will thrive.
Posted by David Abramowski 