There’s love in the air when your clients’ case finally resolves. Hugs, smiles and good wishes are exchanged before you part ways, but how many lawyers take a few minutes to get feed-back? Almost none.
Simplicity is the key to measuring client happiness. Following up with your clients only takes a single question (a/k/a the “Net Promoter Score”):
“On a zero to ten scale, how likely is it that you would recommend us to a friend or colleague?”
Make sure you tell your clients that you absolutely insist upon brutal honesty–if you didn’t blow them away, you want to know. And don’t ask your clients to complete the Net Promoter Score in your presence; mail the Net Promoter Score to them and ask them to take their time. You can add a space for comments and criticisms, but tell them that additional comments aren’t required.
Clients responding to the Net Promoter Score are placed in one of three categories:
- Promoters: 9-10,
- Passives: 6-8, or
- Detractors: below 6
Those clients responding with a nine or ten are identified as “Promoters”, and are far more likely than “Passives” or “Detractors” to be ambassadors, or even evangelists, for your law firm. The “Promoters” are those clients who will be sending new cases to you for years to come. The goal is to identify the “Promoters” among your former clients, and nurture and cultivate those relationships long after your lawyer-client relationship is over.
Motivating Your Staff with the Net Promoter Score
The Net Promoter Score is much more than a measure of client satisfaction. The main purpose of the Net Promoter Score is to motivate your employees and inspire them to provide a “WOW” experience for your clients. Keep a tally of the scores and celebrate small moments of progress when you receive a 9 or 10.
Make sure your staff is aware of the results and when the scores drop below 9, use the Net Promoter Score to motivate your staff to work harder on client happiness. Random acts of kindness are the key: tell your receptionist to call one client every day just to say “hi”—nothing fancy, but it shows you care and no other lawyers are doing this. Make sure every employee is touching base with your clients, ideally on a bi-weekly basis and at least once a month.
Keep the average score of the Net Promoter Score and report the average at the end of the year. If the average Net Promoter Score is above 9, celebrate by throwing a party for your staff. Better yet, write the average of the Net Promoter Scores on the scratch-pad in your break room and keep a running tally throughout the year.
Our Net Promoter Score
Thank you for the opportunity to represent you.
At the end of every case, we like to assess what we could have done better through a simple, one-question survey. If you would rather not answer the question, we understand and there are no hard feelings. If you can take a few moments to answer the question, we only ask that you are brutally honest with us. We want to know if we didn’t live up to your expectations–it’s okay to tell us that our breath stinks.
“0” is the lowest score (“Never”), “10” is the highest score (“Definitely”) and “4-6” is “Maybe”. Don’t be shy to pick the number on the scale that represents whether you would recommend our law firm to a friend or family.
“On a zero to ten scale, how likely is it that you would recommend us to a friend or colleague?”
0 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10
Never Maybe Definitely
Please circle the number on the scale that indicates whether you would recommend our law firm to a friend or family and return the survey to us in the enclosed, self-addressed stamped envelope.
It’s not necessary, but if you’d like to add specific comments or criticisms, they will be appreciated. You can add a comment or criticism in the space provided below.
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Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey.
Best always,
John H. Fisher
photo credit: Women In Tech – 72 via photopin (license)
