Customer Service 101: How to Keep Your Clients Happy, Part 5
By Nina Kaufman, Esq.Customer Service 101 for Lawyers involves more than just doing legal work. It includes:
- Choosing clients who are the right fit for your firm’s size and expertise
- Keeping current, not just on law but also on trends affecting your clients’ issues
- Clear and timely communication
- Thinking creatively
It’s a tall order. But if you can wrap yourself around that, you’re bound to have a stable of very happy clients.
Ways to Keep Current
Yes, keeping current is time-consuming, but there are added benefits, too! Here are a few suggestions:
- Attend courses. It helps to attend courses in your areas of expertise. But you can gain a lot from an area that might be complimentary to your practice. Use that to network with possible referral sources (or the panelists).
- Write articles. Sometimes, the best way to learn about a subject is to share it with others. Writing articles – whether for publication on your website/ezine or otherwise – is a good way to both explore an issue and communicate it.
- Speak in public. Educating others helps you stay current and discuss issues eloquently. Consider teaching a class, serving on a panel, or leading a CLE course.
- Start a blog. Wrestling with a subject daily is sure to turn you into an expert in short order. Blogging requires regular content submissions – although not necessarily as long (or in as scholarly a tone) as written articles. It also forces you to read what’s already being written on your subject.
- Bar Association sections. Join (or chair!) a committee that focuses on your practice area. In addition to the ABA, there are often state, county, and city bar associations to choose from.
- Go online. Depending on your expertise, there may be federal, state, or local agencies with websites on your area. Also, law.com and hg.org have articles on a wide range of topics. Don’t forget non-legal websites, as they can help you spot upcoming issues.
- Attend conferences. Whether law-related conferences or business conferences with a legal component (or breakout session), these are a terrific way to network with other people who are interested in your area and to find out about the latest trends.
- Network with other attorneys. If they don’t practice in your area, they could be a good referral source. If they do practice in your area, they could become part of your brain trust. Meet them for lunch – it’s a conducive environment for collegial discussion.
- Talk to your clients. Ask them about their business. What trends are they seeing? What do they read? Where do they network? After all, the flow of expertise needn’t be a one-way street.
Want to learn more about Kaufman Business Law? This is the video to watch.
