Law Firm Marketing:
Becoming Client-Centric
SUMMARY
OF THIS ARTICLE:
- Don't just foucs on the legal issues. Pay attention to the
client's practical and immediate "life" concerns that brought them to your
office to begin with.
- Context Marketing requires that lawyers focus on their
clients' experiences first and foremost.
- Customer-centric service starts with perceiving what clients
expect from their lawyer and his/her firm.
- Only those lawyers who become masterful at understanding
client expectations are in a position to exceed them.
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Context Marketing requires that we focus on clients'
experiences first and foremost. The range of their concerns is illustrated in Figure 3.3.
 The outside circle
represents the functional aspects of the legal matter for which the client has sought
counsel. Within this ring we find such tasks as drafting and preparing documents,
rendering legal advice and appearing in court.
For example, if the reason the client is
seeking counsel is a divorce, most lawyers will see their scope of responsibility as
falling within the limited confines of the outer ring—the legal task
presented—to the exclusion of most other client concerns. However, by limiting the
scope in this way, lawyers limit their opportunities to provide a higher level of service.
The client may need to relocate and find
new housing quickly. Sufficient storage might be an issue. A counselor or psychologist may
be needed. For many clients, legal issues represent the onset of a profound change in
their lives and often come with emotional upheaval. Rarely, however, will lawyers offer
insight, encouragement or guidance into what they consider the practical and mundane
concerns that are secondary to the legal issue at hand. They ignore the client's life
context, and in doing so, they lose a valuable opportunity to serve their client at a
deeper, more personal level.
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If we are to define what excellent service
means, a good starting point is to examine how our clients perceive the firm and its
services — specifically, what it is your clients expect from you and your firm. This
is the first step in becoming client-centric.
The objective and subjective sides to
service are meaningless unless we understand the underlying context in which they operate.
This means first knowing the full dimension of the life events and circumstances that gave
rise to the client's specific needs and wants. And second, it requires understanding the
emotional implications associated with the client's changed circumstances. This is being
client-centric at its best.
It is when you become masterful at
understanding your law clients' expectations that you are able to go beyond them — to
perform the unexpected! When you do this, clients will not only remain loyal, but also
make sure that every piece of their legal work goes your way — and they will spend
more time talking up your firm than most of your partners do! Combine this with
intelligent promotion strategies, and your firm has the power to be -unstoppable.
This article is an excerpt from Marketing the
Legal Mind (LMG Press) by Henry Dahut. Henry Dahut is the founder of www.GotTrouble.com,
a law and financial trouble portal. He can be reached at henry@henrydahut.com and www.henrydahut.com.
This article is reproduced here by Divorce
Marketing Group with their full permission. Copyright - 2007 All Rights Reserved www.HenryDahut.com.This
material is copyrighted and is NOT in the public domain. You may not reproduce or
otherwise publish this material or any part thereof, in any form or manner without prior
written consent of the author.
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