The key to client retention is on your desktop

When it comes to client management (and, more importantly from a commercial perspective, client retention and client development), there is simply no substitute for spending
time with people.

Profitable long-term
working relationships cannot
be established unless the required level of trust has
been established and both parties are comfortable
enough to discuss even the
most difficult issues. That level
of relationship can only be established if you are prepared to sit down with your clients
at regular intervals throughout the year and just chat.

We are often faced with something between shock
and horror when we suggest setting up regular (and agenda-free) client care visits. We hear solicitors say: “Our clients are
as busy as we are, they don’t have to sit down and talk.”

‘Clients, not numbers’ is a
view vehemently dismissed
by the clients themselves who, when interviewed as part of a client service review programme, always say that they would openly welcome the opportunity to talk about what’s going on
in their business.

These visits make your
clients feel like valued customers rather than file numbers. A
real personal connection is established and, as a result,
the likelihood of retaining
that client for life increases.

However, retention is only
one half of the CRM conundrum. The other is development.

Ask about current performance and future expectations. Ask about growth plans and the structural changes that will need to be made to the business to facilitate those changes. Ask about the impact the proposed changes may have on their family and the additional planning that may involve. Ask if there’s anyone they’d like to meet or you could introduce them to make sure the future is realised as easily as possible.

Gold dust

Every response is gold dust to a solicitor. They will open up opportunities for new work, cross-selling and referral opportunities: all the ingredients required to grow your practice.

Technology can play a significant part in this
process, and in all probability, you already have the tools
you need to support client management more effectively.

It is easy to lose track of time, and the coffee with a client you thought happened a few weeks ago actually happened six,
12 or even 18 months ago. This
can be avoided by using your Outlook calendar.

When you do meet someone, always try to sort out a date for your next meeting and get it
into Outlook. Allowing the
client to lead frequency is
always a good PR move and making the phone call ahead
of the meeting to confirm makes it more comfortable for both parties. If a date isn’t agreed,
put in a reminder for three months hence to get back in touch and arrange a follow-up.

Coffee plan

Microsoft Excel is something else you have already. Over the last year or so we’ve developed a simple ‘coffee plan’ for our clients. This single sheet lists
key contacts (client and referrers) down one side and the months of the year across the top.

It lets you plan contact
across the year in a more pictorial way. It’s easy to follow, quick to update and, being
Excel, it counts up how many appointments were planned and how many actually happened.

Technology can also help you maintain visibility between face-time. LinkedIn is now a mainstay of business life but can you honestly say you are using the functionality to best effect?

Liking a contact’s posts reminds them that you’re still there, but the best function is the update box. Posting a couple of times each week will act as a passive advertising campaign, keeping you in your contacts’ eyeline. Both take a matter of seconds each day to manage and, when you consider the potential fees at stake when it hits the right person at the right time, it is a minimal investment.

Personal touch

There are also a number
of inexpensive and easy-to-use email packages online that make sending relevant news from your own account with a personal-looking note fast and efficient. The ‘I saw this and thought of you’ approach to personalised marketing yields
a far higher level of response than traditional e-marketing.

Next time you discuss your approach to client management, think traditional with the benefit of technology. When you think technology, use what you already have more efficiently rather than investing in a complicated system that
many may underuse.

The time and budget you
have available will always
deliver a higher return if it’s
spent on seeing your clients rather than managing them electronically. SJ

Douglas McPherson is a director at Size 10 1/2 Boots