Maintaining Client Loyalty

If you relocated your residence or office 1 mile further from your doctor or dentist, would you continue to go to him/her for your future medical or dental needs?  What if you move 10 miles away?  25 miles away?  50 miles away?  100 miles away?  1,000 miles away?

Let's look at it a different way.  If your clients were to relocate their residence or office 1 miles further from your law office, would most of them continue to come to you for their future legal needs?  What if they moved 10 miles away?  25 miles away?  50 miles away? 100 miles away?  1,000 miles away?

In our previous post entitled "Creating Client Loyalty," we asked the question, "What, if anything, do you do to create loyalty in your clients.?"  In other words, assure that they keep coming back to you for their future legal needs.

So, let's assume that you ARE able to create loyalty in your clients.  The real question is, "How sustainable is that loyalty?"

In our opinion, TRUE loyalty has two essential components: (1) loyalty has to be initially established or created, and (2) it then has to be maintained or sustained over a prolonged period of time.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the word "maintain" as "...to keep in an existing state" or "preserve from failure or decline."

So, if your clients would not continue to utilize your good services if they were to relocate 10 miles further from your office, how loyal, really, are they to you?

It is the "maintainability" part of the equation where "the rubber meets the road" regarding loyalty.

It is a fact that loyal, repeat clients are the backbone of every law practice.  Yet, for various reasons (most of them false), lawyers typically tend to place more emphasis on courting new clients then they do in retaining repeat clients.

Lawyers often fail to exert much time, effort or expense in retaining existing clients even though it is the existing clients who (a) are typically easier to deal with, because they have already established a working relationship with you and already trust you, (b) and thus, are more likely to refer other clients to you, and (c) have an established payment history - - whereas all of this is yet unkown with new clients.

So, how can a lawyer develop and maintain a STRONG sustainable loyalty with a client?  Here are some suggestions:

1. GET FEEDBACK.  Since the object is to make clients happy, and to keep them happy, ask your clients for feedback.  They may tell  you things that you might not like to hear, but which you should hear.  And, when you do hear what they have to say, make necessary adjustments (if possible) to keep them happy.
2. BE AWARE OF MILESTONE DATES.  Find reasons for picking up the telephone to give your clients a call, send a note, or an email (if you must), for little things (like birthdays, anniversaries, etc), just to let them know that you still think of them from time to time.
3. REWARD LOYALTY.  This may be difficult to do, but if possible, give loyal clients something that lets them know that they are being treated "special."

In the long run, a few simple steps, designed to keep you focused on your existing client base, can be more cost-effective than spending all of your time, energy and money trying to recruit new clients.