authority within the firm will ensure compliance with feedback.” Alter- natively, CSIs can be conducted by a skilled outside consultant.
There are five stages to an effective CSI pilot program:
Design for success. “Initially, work only with partners who understand how this process can bring them more work,” said Zimmermann. “Never twist the arms of reluctant or hostile partners to make them participate in your pilot. They will just drag you down – along with the entire process.”
Start with just five clients. “Do not try to do too much at first,” said Zim- mermann. “Aim to do a focused job with five clients rather than spreading yourselves too thin with many clients.”
Use a tiered system. “Consider putting the firm’s clients into three tiers,” said Zimmermann. “Tier one might include clients that are largest in terms of revenue. Tier two might include sat- isfied clients with potential for growth. Tier three might include clients with known issues – troubled relation- ships that the firm wants to get back on the rails. For your pilot, choose clients from tier two.”
Sell your success. “Empirical and anecdotal evidence of success (from your carefully selected, tier-two, low- hanging fruit) should be shared throughout the firm,” said Zimmermann. “Use this evidence to demonstrate how the CSI process works and the value it provides – and to sell the initially wary partners.”
Get ready for business. “Once you have demonstrated success with your pilot program, expect a second wave of interested partners to line up at your door,” said Zim- mermann.
Because of the challenging economic environment, general counsel are expecting much more from their law firms – and are much more likely to abandon firms that do not take active steps to meet those expectations
16
CSIs are a best practice among successful law firms -- and part of the bedrock of any solid cli- ent-care and loyalty program.
Janet Ellen Raasch is a writer, ghostwriter and blogger (www.
constantcontentblog.com) who works closely with pro- fessional services providers – especially lawyers, law firms, legal consultants and legal organizations – to help them achieve name recognition and new business through publica- tion of keyword-rich content for the Web and social media sites as well as articles and
books for print. She can be reached at (303) 399-5041 or
jeraasch@msn.com.
“Work only with partners who
understand how the Client Satisfaction Interview can bring them more work.”
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