It happens every year about this time. Dana, the friendly and efficient office manager who works in my doctor's office, calls to tell me I need to schedule an appointment. The game begins.
I always ask her why in the world she thinks I need to book an appointment. She always chuckles and tells me the appointment is for my annual check-up. I always tell her I totally forgot. She always says she knew I would forget, so that's why she's calling me. I book an appointment and I always tell her how much I appreciate her calling. Great follow-up!
So, what does any of this have to do with working as an office professional -- in a law firm? Well...it can mean a lot to your firm.
No, no...I'm not suggesting you call all your clients to book yearly appointments to come in and visit with their attorney. What I am suggesting -- is that you take some time to check-up with the clients to ask them how they feel about the services they've received.
When I refer someone to an attorney, I follow-up with a client survey letter. The client survey letter is a good way to find out what's going on -- with the client -- and with the attorney too.
We thank the client for using our referral service. We know that most of the time, potential clients can locate attorneys for themselves, so we let them know we appreciate their business.
We tell the clients that we're always trying to improve our service and we'd like their feedback. We ask simple questions. We provide plenty of paper space on the letter. If the client has any comments, suggestions, or would like to elaborate about their experience, there's room on the letter for them to tell us. We provide a self-addressed, stamped envelope so it's convenient for the client to respond. Part of doing business is good follow-up.
When was the last time a business contacted you for some feedback? Can't remember? Wouldn't you like to get a letter from a business asking for your thoughts on how they rated in your eyes?
Maybe you need to think about scheduling an Annual Client Check-Up. If you make your check-up friendly, easy to read, easy to respond to, and convenient to return -- you might be surprised what your clients have to say!