CLIENT SURVEYS & INTERVIEWS
One of the most cost-effective marketing and practice management tools available to law firms is a survey of client needs and perceptions. With this deeper understanding of what your client really wants and really thinks, your firm can leverage its strengths, address its weaknesses and solidify client relationships.
Altman Weil is a pioneer in conducting client surveys for law firms. Over the past 40 years, Altman Weil has surveyed more than 150,000 clients of law firms. This vast body of knowledge gives us the insight to translate survey results into valuable, concrete guidance for your firm.
Our surveys and expertise help you focus on your clients’ needs, identify opportunities, anticipate change and pursue timely, appropriate, cost-effective marketing and planning strategies.
Our surveys can help your firm:
- Evaluate present client satisfaction and identify cross-selling opportunities.
- Establish clear, more productive relationships with clients.
- Identify specific new business development opportunities.
- Uncover information that may affect the firm’s practice areas or growth strategy.
- Develop programs and services that lead to additional, profitable business from existing clients.
- Prepare strategic or marketing plans based on client growth and needs.
- Assess problem areas with major clients, offices or practice areas.
Besides the valuable insights client surveys give you, they also project a clear signal to clients that you are committed to delivering quality service. Conducting a client survey helps distinguish a firm from its competition.
Client Survey Methodologies
Depending on the scope and objectives of the study, we conduct primary client research using one or more of these methodologies:
Web-based Surveys
A web-based survey is the most cost-effective way to reach the greatest number of clients. It is both efficient and personalized and usually achieves an excellent response rate. Altman Weil provides a standard draft survey that is then tailored to meet the law firm’s specific strategic, business development and planning objectives.
Interviews
Web-based surveys generally provide quantitative data while interviews provide qualitative information. Looked at another way, surveys are broad in that they allow comparisons among groups and to standards, while interviews are deep, providing detailed information about one client at a time. Combining the two can be very powerful.
In-Person Interviews
Many law firms ask Altman Weil to conduct in-depth interviews with key clients. We conduct these interviews in the client’s workplace and each interview lasts one hour or more. After the interview, Altman Weil provides the law firm with a written report and recommendations tailored to the client and the firm.
Telephone Interviews
Altman Weil telephone interviews take two forms: an open agenda using questions similar to the individual interview or an interview based upon the web-based questionnaire. Telephone surveys allow the interviewer to probe certain issues in depth and provide an easy, cost-effective alternative to in-person interviews.
Client Survey Report and Follow-Up
The ability to translate findings into actionable strategies may be the most important reason to use an objective, third-party advisor for client survey research.
Once the web-based survey is concluded, Altman Weil will prepare an analysis of your clients’ perceptions of the firm and its practice areas. Summaries of any interviews will be included in the analysis process, along with recommended strategies for maintaining and building the client relationship for each client interviewed. You will also receive an Opportunities Report which sets forth specific business development opportunities by client.
We will work with you to present survey information to firm stakeholders, focusing on performance metrics as well as new client opportunities and how you can capitalize on those. The client survey will provide a road map to opportunities that clients may not have discussed with the firm before. These opportunities include referrals to others within the client’s organization or industry as well as specific requests to handle additional business.
The success of the client survey program depends not only on the information collected, but also on the effectiveness of the firm’s follow-up program. Altman Weil offers training sessions as requested to increase the firm’s return on its client survey investment.
How You Benefit
Besides the invaluable insights client surveys give you, they also project a clear signal to clients that you are committed to delivering quality service.