Technology to avoid the seven-year itch—client retention

Bad service is one of the primary reasons clients fire their lawyers, said technology experts Toby Brown, Fulbright and Jaworski LLP; and Carolyn Elefant, Law Offices of Carolyn Elefant, who shared how technology can improve client satisfaction during the program, “Client Retention: Technology to Avoid the Seven-Year Itch,” at the 2008 ABA TECHSHOW in Chicago in March.

Good service starts with keeping clients informed of developments with their case and your practice, said Brown and Elefant. Even without an ongoing legal matter, it pays to remain present in clients’ minds. Staying connected with clients builds a long-term relationship that helps to ensure that you are the first person they call whenever a legal matter arises.

Today’s technology includes several effective and low cost communication tools to reach clients—without becoming a pest or seeming like a salesperson.

• Create a blog. Many sites, such as Feedblitz.com, host blogs free of charge, and offer easy instructions for set-up. Regular posts are important to build an audience. Elefant spends a few hours on the weekend, creating eight or so posts for the week. She suggests signing up with a legal news feed, such as Lexology.com, which can provide daily fodder for your posts. Other ideas for content include client profiles, news about your practice and announcements of upcoming speaking engagements.
• Produce an online newsletter.User-friendly services, such as ConstantContact.com and Icontact.com, guide users through the creation process for a modest price. Connecting the newsletter to a client database makes e-mail distribution a snap.
• Join online social networks. Social networking sites, such as LinkedIn.com and Facebook.com, are an increasingly popular way to stay in touch. Interact with clients directly on the sites, and discover commonalities by browsing user profiles.
• Use news aggregators. These online tools pull information on topics you request from newspapers, blogs and Web sites, then send the findings to you. Select the name of your client or her competitor as keywords to track information posted on the Internet. Both Google and Yahoo! offer such services. Sending something of interest to your client with a personal note is a great relationship builder.
• Host a webinar or teleconference. New, inexpensive collaboration tools available online, such as those offered by Zoho.com, Yugma.com and GotomyPC.com, simplify the production of such sessions. Freeconferencecalls.com allows up to 100 people to connect at one time, while also digitally recording and transcribing the conversation. Another service, Activa.com, can even set-up and manage event registration.
• Create a video channel. Magnify.net can provide a customized video channel for your firm, while Billablehour.com and Legalspam.com offers video content.
• E-mail a survey. Software offered on Zoomerang.com can help create an online survey to find out how you well you are serving your clients.

  This presentation and additional information on managing client relationships are available here.

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  © 2008 American Bar Association