Monday, March 30, 2009
Client Feedback Forum: April 23 - University of Chicago
Using Client Feedback and Opinions to Develop Winning Service Strategies
April 23, 2009
University of Chicago Gleacher Center
Chicago, IL
The most successful law firms have the deepest relationships with their clients. Most often those relationships are based on in-depth feedback programs and are tied to higher client retention and increased profitability. This unique master class is designed to provide you with the tools to help your firm make the critical connection with your clients’ opinions and feedback to build greater loyalty, uncover hidden opportunities and increase referrals.
Attendees will learn how to:
• Utilize outstanding service to retain important clients and develop the kind of client loyalty that results in more and better business
• Adapt your business strategy to better manage and assess the expectations of your clients in order to meet their short and long-term challenges
• Overcome and respond to common concerns and objections
• Mine opportunities to create new services and pricing models uniquely suited to the pressures that your clients are facing
• Master the do’s and don’ts in launching new client service strategies aimed at delivering seamless service that adds true client value
• Understand the client-centric view on service and what differentiates leading law firms from the others
Who Should Attend This Master Class?
Managing partners, marketing and client service partners and practice group leaders whose firms want to be ranked as the top outside firm for more of their clients. Participants will explore the common themes from client feedback with an emphasis on relating each element back to retaining clients, growing profitable business and increasing referrals. Specific case studies will illustrate how a firm can gain client feedback and develop highly responsive strategies that add true value for the client while cementing client loyalty and increasing business for the firm.
For more info: http://usa.ark-group.com/mp_introduction.asp?ac=623&nc=1&fc=167
This Master Class Will Be Facilitated By:
Nathaniel E. Slavin, Founder & Partner, Wicker Park Group
He is the former publisher of InsideCounsel (Corporate Legal Times), the management monthly for corporate legal executives, as well as a series of specialty publications. His monthly column, Interactions, explored the issues that challenge legal departments and their law firms and businesses advisors. In 2005 he led the sale of Corporate Legal Times LLC to a New York based private-equity sponsored publishing company. He remained executive vice president and publisher, and a member of the senior management team at Wicks Business Information until his 2006 departure. In 2007, he formed the Wicker Park Group.
He was also co-founder and publisher of Business Without Borders. He is the author of more than 100 articles on legal department management and frequently speaks on legal department management and marketing strategies. He regularly works with law firm leadership to advise on marketplace trends, consults with corporate legal departments and is intimately involved in the creation of innovative brand initiatives for a variety of consultancies, technology companies and law firms. Previously he was founding editor and publisher of U.S. Business Litigation. From 1992-2006 he held a variety of editorial and management positions at Corporate Legal Times LLC and its predecessor company Giant Steps Media.
He served as the 2007 president of the International Board of Directors of Legal Marketing Association, is on the Board of Directors of the Poder Learning Center, and taught bi-lingual/bi-cultural English & History in Southern California.
Nancy Mangan, Senior Consultant and ClientGrowth Specialist, Wicker Park Group
As a former instructor with the WJF Institute, Nancy trained attorneys individually and in groups to help them perfect their business development skills. She also facilitated Client Team Planning Sessions to assist firms in strengthening and expanding key client relationships.
As a former client relations executive for top firms such as Baker Botts, Nancy worked with lawyers and practice groups in dozens of fields and in multiple geographic markets. She helped law firm leaders realign marketing resources to develop highly targeted client satisfaction, retention and growth strategies. Her experience includes restructuring and managing marketing and business development functions, integrating clients from mergers, training marketing professionals and attorneys, developing industry specific marketing strategies, facilitating groups of attorneys, and helping groups identify emerging opportunities and parallel markets for existing legal strengths.
Nancy is a former practicing lawyer with an extensive pre-law background in marketing and corporate communications. She served in various marketing and corporate relations roles for publicly and privately held organizations. Her work included marketing communications functions as well as employee, shareholder and media relations regarding financial results, product lines and corporate acquisitions.
She is a frequent speaker at marketing partner and managing partner conferences, and legal business development conferences.
April 23, 2009
University of Chicago Gleacher Center
Chicago, IL
The most successful law firms have the deepest relationships with their clients. Most often those relationships are based on in-depth feedback programs and are tied to higher client retention and increased profitability. This unique master class is designed to provide you with the tools to help your firm make the critical connection with your clients’ opinions and feedback to build greater loyalty, uncover hidden opportunities and increase referrals.
Attendees will learn how to:
• Utilize outstanding service to retain important clients and develop the kind of client loyalty that results in more and better business
• Adapt your business strategy to better manage and assess the expectations of your clients in order to meet their short and long-term challenges
• Overcome and respond to common concerns and objections
• Mine opportunities to create new services and pricing models uniquely suited to the pressures that your clients are facing
• Master the do’s and don’ts in launching new client service strategies aimed at delivering seamless service that adds true client value
• Understand the client-centric view on service and what differentiates leading law firms from the others
Who Should Attend This Master Class?
Managing partners, marketing and client service partners and practice group leaders whose firms want to be ranked as the top outside firm for more of their clients. Participants will explore the common themes from client feedback with an emphasis on relating each element back to retaining clients, growing profitable business and increasing referrals. Specific case studies will illustrate how a firm can gain client feedback and develop highly responsive strategies that add true value for the client while cementing client loyalty and increasing business for the firm.
For more info: http://usa.ark-group.com/mp_introduction.asp?ac=623&nc=1&fc=167
This Master Class Will Be Facilitated By:
Nathaniel E. Slavin, Founder & Partner, Wicker Park Group
He is the former publisher of InsideCounsel (Corporate Legal Times), the management monthly for corporate legal executives, as well as a series of specialty publications. His monthly column, Interactions, explored the issues that challenge legal departments and their law firms and businesses advisors. In 2005 he led the sale of Corporate Legal Times LLC to a New York based private-equity sponsored publishing company. He remained executive vice president and publisher, and a member of the senior management team at Wicks Business Information until his 2006 departure. In 2007, he formed the Wicker Park Group.
He was also co-founder and publisher of Business Without Borders. He is the author of more than 100 articles on legal department management and frequently speaks on legal department management and marketing strategies. He regularly works with law firm leadership to advise on marketplace trends, consults with corporate legal departments and is intimately involved in the creation of innovative brand initiatives for a variety of consultancies, technology companies and law firms. Previously he was founding editor and publisher of U.S. Business Litigation. From 1992-2006 he held a variety of editorial and management positions at Corporate Legal Times LLC and its predecessor company Giant Steps Media.
He served as the 2007 president of the International Board of Directors of Legal Marketing Association, is on the Board of Directors of the Poder Learning Center, and taught bi-lingual/bi-cultural English & History in Southern California.
Nancy Mangan, Senior Consultant and ClientGrowth Specialist, Wicker Park Group
As a former instructor with the WJF Institute, Nancy trained attorneys individually and in groups to help them perfect their business development skills. She also facilitated Client Team Planning Sessions to assist firms in strengthening and expanding key client relationships.
As a former client relations executive for top firms such as Baker Botts, Nancy worked with lawyers and practice groups in dozens of fields and in multiple geographic markets. She helped law firm leaders realign marketing resources to develop highly targeted client satisfaction, retention and growth strategies. Her experience includes restructuring and managing marketing and business development functions, integrating clients from mergers, training marketing professionals and attorneys, developing industry specific marketing strategies, facilitating groups of attorneys, and helping groups identify emerging opportunities and parallel markets for existing legal strengths.
Nancy is a former practicing lawyer with an extensive pre-law background in marketing and corporate communications. She served in various marketing and corporate relations roles for publicly and privately held organizations. Her work included marketing communications functions as well as employee, shareholder and media relations regarding financial results, product lines and corporate acquisitions.
She is a frequent speaker at marketing partner and managing partner conferences, and legal business development conferences.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Client Feedback Programs That Deliver Quantifiable Results
Law firms can benefit greatly by systematically and consistently seeking client feedback. At the LMA Philadelphia Chapter meeting on February 19, 2009, Laura Meherg and Nancy Mangan from Wicker Park Group outlined many of those benefits plus tips for creating and sustaining a successful client feedback initiative in law firms.
Benefits
One of the most important benefits of the client feedback process is to protect a firm’s most valued client relationships. If you aren’t talking to your clients, another firm most certainly is.
With increased pressure to reduce costs, in-house counsel are working harder with fewer resources. It is more important than ever to learn their needs and pressures exactly how those pressures impact the decisions they make in working with their outside counsel.
Other benefits include:
Benefits
One of the most important benefits of the client feedback process is to protect a firm’s most valued client relationships. If you aren’t talking to your clients, another firm most certainly is.
With increased pressure to reduce costs, in-house counsel are working harder with fewer resources. It is more important than ever to learn their needs and pressures exactly how those pressures impact the decisions they make in working with their outside counsel.
Other benefits include:
- Preventing potential erosion or loss of work;
- Identifying opportunities for growth;
- Demonstrating service credibility;
- Competitive Intelligence;
- Strategic decision making and resource allocation; and
- Creating promoters and increasing loyalty.
Getting Started
The success of client feedback programs requires leadership buy in and top down support. When asking for feedback and opinions from clients the firm is making a promise that it will respond to the feedback; both good and bad. Some of the most frequent comments clients relate address staffing concerns, succession planning, investments in training and making sure that outside counsel follow in-house guidelines.
Each client requires a different service strategy. And law firms also have distinct cultures and should consider what type of client feedback initiative will work best given the resources available at the firm. Key questions as you start a program include:
- Who will conduct the interviews - representatives from within the firm or third party consultants?
- Who will be the program manager and/or driver?
- What is a realistic goal for the number of interviews that can be conducted?
- How will the firm prioritize clients to interview? Some common categories include top revenue, new relationships, changing relationships or policies, succession challenges, specific industry, practice or market.
- Is the firm willing to respond to the feedback and take action? How?
Most successful initiatives begin with a pilot group that must include enthusiastic partners. Start small and establish realistic goals such as interviewing just one client company a month. Share the results and especially the glowing feedback internally broadly and often.
Pre-interview preparation and research should include internal interviews with relationship attorneys to understand the goals and assumptions related to each client. Utilize accounting reports, file and conflict resources, experience databases, CRM systems, research tools as well as company websites and annual reports to prepare.
Results
Recent results from interviews conducted by Wicker Park Group include:
- Prevented a potential RFP with a new GC;
- Identified serious succession planning issues impacting firm’s largest client; and
- Smoothed a conflict conundrum.
Simple Strategy
Ask clients what they want and need.
Deliver it in an extraordinary way.
Go back and ask how you did!
Friday, March 20, 2009
Online Impressions Count When It Comes To Law Firm Evaluation
A recent survey of the web habits of general in-house counsel has revealed that almost 90% of them agreed that a law firm’s website plays a key role in influencing a purchasing decision.
The survey was conducted by Wicker Park Group on behalf of Hubbard One, a Thomson Reuters business that provides services for marketing and business development efforts at leading law firms.
In a series of in-depth, face-to-face interviews with general counsel from industry-leading multi-national companies, the survey uncovered a number of web usage trends:
100% of respondents indicated that they always review a firm's website when evaluating and purchasing legal services
90% of general counsel reported that lawyer biographies are the most important section of a law firm's website
Sharing know-how matters: nearly all participants confirmed that they read law firm alerts
“Nearly all of the general counsel interviewed stated they make broad use of the web at work, primarily for research, including competitive intelligence gathering, industry information, legal research and information from legal and trade publications,” says Jason Parkman, General Manager at Hubbard One.
Of most significance was the role a law firm’s website plays when a client is making the decision to hire outside counsel. Nearly 90 percent of general counsel surveyed said that quality websites made a lasting impression. One General Counsel commented: “I look at every firm’s site we consider. The smart firms push a lot of content through their site. It helps in the search results. If a firm has a bad Web site, it makes a bad impression without even meeting the firm’s attorneys.”
Counsel for a leading PC manufacturer confirmed, “Attention to detail is important. If a firm has not spent time and effort representing itself, what can I expect in terms of attention to detail and quality? Some websites are hard to navigate; others are simply very light on content, both with respect to attorney profiles and also with respect to substantive articles.”
Parkman says the research revealed that general counsel respect firms whose Web sites are content-driven, easy to navigate and have comprehensive lawyer biographies.
“Participants indicated that when reviewing a firm’s website, the biography section is the one they visit most frequently,” Parkman says. “For general counsel who have already hired a firm, attorney contact information is the most relevant content, followed by substantive content, such as publications. Other website sections deemed important were representative matters and practice profiles, two areas which the respondents said offered the best insights into a firm and the experience they offer.”
Other emerging web trends the survey highlighted included client alerts and the use of video. Respondents indicated that video on law firm websites was beneficial and the majority of respondents said client alerts that provided apt and concise industry information were a good value-add service.
“The overall finding that is particularly interesting is that the number of digital conversations law firms and clients are engaging in is expanding rapidly,” Parkman says. “There is a general awareness amongst the legal community of the potential of web tools to stimulate greater audience participation and to show the strength, distinctiveness and personality of a law firm.”
For more information:
Jen Bullett (formerly Frost)
Marketing Manager
Hubbard One
Thomson Reuters
Phone: +1 312 873-6875
Fax: +1 312 873-6801
jennifer.bullett@thomsonreuters.com
www.hubbardone.com
The survey was conducted by Wicker Park Group on behalf of Hubbard One, a Thomson Reuters business that provides services for marketing and business development efforts at leading law firms.
In a series of in-depth, face-to-face interviews with general counsel from industry-leading multi-national companies, the survey uncovered a number of web usage trends:
100% of respondents indicated that they always review a firm's website when evaluating and purchasing legal services
90% of general counsel reported that lawyer biographies are the most important section of a law firm's website
Sharing know-how matters: nearly all participants confirmed that they read law firm alerts
“Nearly all of the general counsel interviewed stated they make broad use of the web at work, primarily for research, including competitive intelligence gathering, industry information, legal research and information from legal and trade publications,” says Jason Parkman, General Manager at Hubbard One.
Of most significance was the role a law firm’s website plays when a client is making the decision to hire outside counsel. Nearly 90 percent of general counsel surveyed said that quality websites made a lasting impression. One General Counsel commented: “I look at every firm’s site we consider. The smart firms push a lot of content through their site. It helps in the search results. If a firm has a bad Web site, it makes a bad impression without even meeting the firm’s attorneys.”
Counsel for a leading PC manufacturer confirmed, “Attention to detail is important. If a firm has not spent time and effort representing itself, what can I expect in terms of attention to detail and quality? Some websites are hard to navigate; others are simply very light on content, both with respect to attorney profiles and also with respect to substantive articles.”
Parkman says the research revealed that general counsel respect firms whose Web sites are content-driven, easy to navigate and have comprehensive lawyer biographies.
“Participants indicated that when reviewing a firm’s website, the biography section is the one they visit most frequently,” Parkman says. “For general counsel who have already hired a firm, attorney contact information is the most relevant content, followed by substantive content, such as publications. Other website sections deemed important were representative matters and practice profiles, two areas which the respondents said offered the best insights into a firm and the experience they offer.”
Other emerging web trends the survey highlighted included client alerts and the use of video. Respondents indicated that video on law firm websites was beneficial and the majority of respondents said client alerts that provided apt and concise industry information were a good value-add service.
“The overall finding that is particularly interesting is that the number of digital conversations law firms and clients are engaging in is expanding rapidly,” Parkman says. “There is a general awareness amongst the legal community of the potential of web tools to stimulate greater audience participation and to show the strength, distinctiveness and personality of a law firm.”
For more information:
Jen Bullett (formerly Frost)
Marketing Manager
Hubbard One
Thomson Reuters
Phone: +1 312 873-6875
Fax: +1 312 873-6801
jennifer.bullett@thomsonreuters.com
www.hubbardone.com