Client Retention Marketing Campaigns

Your greatest opportunity for new law firm business is hidden in your existing accounts. Legal Expert Connections will help you protect the business you have worked so hard to develop.

Client retention is the art of protecting the clients you have, while working to attract new business from existing and prospective clients. Your "client retention rate" is an important predictor of your long-term success. While a 90% year-to-year retention rate may sound good, that means that every 10 years you must build a totally new book of business!

New legal business obtained from current or past clients tends to be more profitable, due to a lower cost of acquisition and a higher likelihood of successful completion.

Here are five of the many client retention steps that we will help you implement to generate new revenue from current clients:

1. Take a client to lunch (off the clock). Invite a high-potential legal client to join you for a meal at a nice local restaurant. Demonstrate your interest in their business or personal challenges, competitive environment and future plans. Listen carefully to determine how your legal expertise can help the client better achieve their goals.
   
   
2. Up-sell and cross-sell more law firm services. Many clients may not understand the full range of legal services your firm offers. For example, family law attorneys may also educate clients on wills and estates. If you handle Intellectual Property matters, encourage clients to consider proactive trade secret protection available through your employment law practice.
   
   
3. A quarterly direct mail campaign featuring substantive legal updates will work to reinforce your client relationships. This could take the form of a newsletter, client alert, or client letter.
   
   
4. Identify and protect “at risk” accounts. In any book of business, some accounts are in danger of leaving. You can identify these accounts by a decrease in billing patterns or less frequent communication. Take action to prevent these clients from leaving and you will improve your profitability and retention rate.
   
   
5. Re-establish inactive accounts. It’s natural that over time some clients drift away. Identify these accounts and contact them to see what happened. Invite former clients to start using your law firm again, or at least to refer others who might use your legal services.

Here’s another secret to successful marketing: not every client is a good client. Create an “ideal client profile” and do not accept cases that you know from experience are not right for your firm.

Call us toll-free at 1-866-417-7025 or email us to talk about your client retention goals.