What Others Are Saying About You (Part IV)
What Are Others Saying About You?
Building A Legal Practice Designed To Last, Part IV
Jeffrey Gitomer wrote in his book Customer Satisfaction is Worthless Customer Loyalty is Priceless “when you say it about yourself it’s bragging. When someone else says it about you it’s proof.”
Building any business, including a legal business, designed to last is based on what others are saying about you. It’s much like life, you need a good reputation to succeed.
- Do you care what your clients are saying about you, your staff, and your business?
- Do you care what other attorneys are saying about you and your business?
- Do you care what other professionals are saying about you?
The good news is that the bar is not set terribly high in terms of people’s expectations of an attorney. How many good things do you hear people saying about attorneys? Have you listened to any attorney jokes recently? In terms of vileness the generic attorney at the butt of every attorney joke currently ranks in between Hitler and Satan on the all time hate list. You need to change your client’s perception of attorneys. Show that you care, that your office is human.
With every client that walks in the door you create a referral relationship.
That client is either (1) going to refer people to come see you or (2) he is going to refer people to anybody else.
According to Gitomer, if a client is asked about your services by a friend he will do one of three things:
- Complain about your services – if so, your business stinks.
- Say nothing or state that your services were satisfactory – if so, your business still stinks.
- Tell everyone about your excellent service – if so, you have created a practice designed to last.
Poor service is exponentially harmful.
When you give bad customer/client service, you not only lose 1 client, but you lose 10 because of the negative reviews that client will share with others both in person and online.
When you give excellent service, you not only create 1 client that would come back in the future, but you are going to get additional clients because of the rave reviews that client will share with his friends and family, and with the entire world online.
The most powerful advertisement is no longer a billboard, a radio or TV commercial, or even the fanciest website, it is a sincere and authentic two thumbs up review from an ecstatic client. The tough thing is that this is not the type of advertisement that can be bought. It must be earned.
The power of the world wide web, combined with the rise of online customer reviews, means that businesses, including law firms, can no longer provide mediocre, and definitely not bad, service. If you build a business on the premise that outstanding client satisfaction is key to the core of your business’ Mission, you’re your vision will be shared by the happy client.