Category: Marketing

Surveys – The Good and Ugly

In a recent blog post, I commented that you should talk to your clients – do a survey of them to determine if they think you are meeting their expectations.

On a recent trip to Castle Inn, in Newport, Rhode Island, I was very impressed with their facilities. I was there for a conference. The weather was cool and clear and scenery exquisite. Castle Hill is on the point of a bay. Let your imagination flow. It was that pretty.

But, I digress. The day after departing, I received an email with a request to take a survey. Most often, I ignore these. But, this time, I did respond. I wanted to let them know that their food was superb; the chef had been accommodating to my request to prepare a vegan menu for me in addition to the exquisite quality of the food in general. But, I had been mildly upset by their absence of a workout facility on the premises.

No more than a day later, I received a follow up letter from their manager, thanking me for my response. This was not a form letter. This letter i) thanked me for my response; ii) said my compliments about their food would be conveyed to the chef, with their appreciation; and iii) explaining their rationale for not have a fitness room on premises.  My survey response had been read and a personal note in reply was crafted. That has never happened to me before.

In asking for survey responses, be sure you act. In some fashion, respond to the survey responders. Let them know what  you will do with their voluntary critiques, given at your request. There are 3 responses possible:  1) Thank you, we will consider and review your comments, and let you know what we intend to do;  2) Thank you, we disagree with your suggestion or we are unable to make the modification you suggest because of …..;  3)  Thank for pointing this out to us, we will make the change you suggest in the very near future.

People want to know what you will do with the response that you asked for. Theirs was not an unsolicited piece of advice. You have an obligation to continue the dialogue. Failure to do so will cause more enmity than if you had never asked questions.

Service beyond

While in law school, the marketing mantra we learned was do good work and the world will beat a path to your door. This mantra is seductive because it suggests that you have to do only that which you love … legal work.

This philosophy suggests you don’t have to market your services, you don’t have to speak in public, you don’t have to write articles, and you don’t have to be concerned with clients’ wishes, even if their desires conflict with what you think they really need. In today’s world, irrespective of the past, that clearly is not the case.

In my earlier days, owning and operating manufacturing companies, my focus was to serve my customers. By doing so, I am proud to say that I earned not just their continuing business, I also earned their loyalty. That loyalty assured my companies’ continuity and growth.

As a lawyer, what are  you doing to earn the respect and loyalty of your clients? If you can’t answer quickly with specifics, you ought to go back to the drawing board. Better yet, you ought to ask your clients how they feel. In some circles, this is called a survey … However, I don’t mean the traditional survey … More on this in a later post.

Before I conclude here, though, I want to share an example of the type of service I’m talking about. Several weeks ago, during a trip Chicago, I shopped at Paul Stuart, a menswear store. (I’ve purchased clothes there before). This time, I bought an raincoat. The sleeves needed to be shortened. The first opportunity I had to wear the coat was in the wet and cool climate of New York two weeks later. To my surprise, the sleeves were cut too short.  I called Paul Stuart in Chicago. To their credit, their immediate response was to suggest I either go to their New York store or to a trusted tailor and then send them the bill.

I chose to go directly to the New York store; we were close by; we explained what had happened. They looked at the coat, agreed it was too short, and checked to see if it could be repaired. They said it could not be and offered to replace the coat with a new one. The sales manager, Mr. Barry Goldsmith, and his colleagues who assisted us were all very pleasant, professional and conciliatory — exactly what I would expect from a quality organization. While I expect this, I also know that it is rare to find in today’s business world.  I appreciated the attitude and actions of the Paul Stuart staff. This approach usually creates loyalty … and more business. And it did here.

Growing Your Law Practice in Tough Times

Remember: The “Growing Your Law Practice in Tough Times” contest is running through the entire month of April, so there’s still plenty of time to enter!

It’s easy (and fun!) – in a nutshell, all you have to do is become a fan of LawBiz Management on Facebook and post a photo with you and the book on the Facebook wall or…for more points, write a review on our publisher’s site and post a link to it on the Facebook wall.

The winnings for this contest are big, so don’t forget to enter! The first place winner will receive a Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300 Mobile Scanner – valued at $295! Second place will get a half hour coaching session with me (which is priceless), and the third place winner will get my set of 4 Special Reports (PDF versions), which retails at more than $200!

But only those who enter will win…

Find success by looking in the mirror

In today’s newsletter, I talk about how to find success in growing your practice. The column is entitled Finding Success By Looking in the Mirror. 

It’s also the time of year to wish y’all the best for the holiday season. My wife and I, and our latest family entrant, Bandit, of our photo contest fame, have come together to express our thanks for what we have, hope that you are enjoying the fruits of your labor and to wish that the contentiousness of 2009 fades away into a more peaceful 2010.

Press coverage is good

My father, when I first started my law practice, gave me sage advice: Be by the phone when a customer calls.’

The same advice is true for when the press calls for they have deadlines that generally can’t be moved. If they reach you, you are likely to get quoted. If they don’t reach you, you’ll read someone else’s quote.

This week, I was fortuitously by the phone when two reporters called.

The article in the LA Times (and the following day in the Chicago Tribune, the Times’ parent) was about Facebook.

The CNN.com article was about the employment plight of recent law school graduates.

Very cool to sit by the phone and actually have it ring with a reporter at the other end.

Of course, reporters don’t call people who have little expertise. The challenge, then, is to increase one’s expertise and to increase the awareness of that expertise by others. As marketing folks have told me for years, it’s a "snowball effect." Once the ball starts rolling, others will see who you are … learn how much you have to offer your client base … and then seek you out even more.

Thanks go to all of my clients and readers.

Civil Gideon statute – Are we ready for this?

California now has the nation’s first “Civil Gideon” statute, which provides a lawyer to people who cannot afford one in civil cases related to critical basic human needs.