An Actionable Plan to Formulate and Automate Your Processes with Matt Spiegel
Do you need help improving your law firm's client journey? Are you finding it hard to get clients? In this episode, Matt Spiegel, the co-founder and CEO of Lawmatics, discusses the importance of providing excellent customer service in the legal industry and improving the client journey.
It is evident that lawyers are not CEOs. They don't run businesses. But, Matt emphasizes the need for law firm owners to run their practice like a business. Law firm owners need to go out and find clients to grow their firm just like a CEO would go out and make connections to grow their success. Part of growing your business and law firm ensures the client is always happy because a happy client equals a happy practice. Matt delves into the ways to prioritize the happiness of a client.
1 | Client Begins
The client journey begins the moment a client reaches out to your firm via email or phone. This is part of the “client intake phase”. This phase is crucial to getting a client because they are reaching out to multiple firms at once. You need to ensure staff are engaging right away so they don't lose the client. Immediate engagement shows the client exactly how you will respond to them throughout the process. It shows that those in the firm care and are ready to provide the client with what they need, even if it's just basic legal information.
2 | Active Client
The “active matter phase” is the communication throughout the length of a client's case. Like phase one, communication is key to getting and retaining a client. It is important to provide the client information throughout the journey. Make it a habit to market to them. Send them information like newsletters that include things that are external to your firm. It is a good idea to set up a client portal, where individuals can go into a system and get updates on their case. If email communication is too much (and it can be in this industry), a client portal is a great way to input all necessary information and the client can retrieve it on the other end.
3 | Former Client
The “former client phase” is a neglected but important phase in the client journey. 75% of clients come from referrals. Even when a client’s case is complete, the relationship between the attorney and client needs to continue. There are many ways to maintain a good relationship with a former client. Send a birthday and holiday email every year or add them to a mailing list for networking events. What this does is let the client know the firm has their best interests in mind even after the working relationship ends.
Matt speaks about only doing things in your law firm that you can measure. You need to be able to back up your success with KPIs and numbers. Think about the conversion rates of initial screening calls that lead to actual clients. This will measure how successful the intake process is for your firm. Cost per lead and cost per client is another metric to consider to ensure the amount it takes to bring a client on board and how much you are making from that client makes sense.
Take a listen!
6:57 Immediate engagement and rapid response to create a positive first impression
8:45 Focusing on maintaining the relationship with a former client
8:58 Providing excellent customer service from the very first contact with a client
9:53 Delighting clients through effective communication during the active matter phase
17:29 The importance of automation
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