Even as we celebrate the holiday season with family and friends, the end of the year offers us an excellent chance to reflect, closing a few chapters as we prepare to open new ones. Along that line, here’s a question you should already be asking yourself:
What will I do differently for my clients in 2019 than I did in 2018?
In other words, how will you improve your services next year? What additional value can you add to your clients? Where can you shore up any gaps in your services and workflow to provide maximum impact?
Why You Should Ask This Question
Perhaps you’re wondering, Why do I need to do anything differently for my clients? My law firm is doing well and my clients seem happy. While the adage “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” certainly applies here in some capacity, you should still be asking the question for a number of reasons:
- Innovation is a key to continued growth. No matter how satisfied your clients might be, you can bet your competition is looking for ways to outdo you. Small business (including law firms) should always be looking for new ways to innovate and add value so their clients won’t even be tempted to look elsewhere.
- You can always do better. No law firm is serving all their clients perfectly. You can always find ways to improve, even if they are small tweaks. The new year is the perfect opportunity to make those changes.
- Your clients expect it. Whether they consciously think it to themselves or not, today’s consumer/client assumes businesses will continue to upgrade their offerings. If a business does things the exact same way for 20 years just because it “works,” they’ll grow stale and eventually fail.
Some Ways You Can Innovate in 2019
So what does “doing differently” for your clients look like? Let’s look at some common ways you can add more value in 2019 without a lot of additional investment on your part:
- Implement quicker response times
- Offer a free review of your client’s package/portfolio to see if any changes need to be made
- Change your pay structure (e.g., offer a monthly flat-rate subscription as an alternative to billed hours)
- Be more proactive with your clients—identify and solve potential problems before they have a chance to take root
- Expand your office hours
The actual improvements can vary according to your law firm’s situation and client’s needs; the important point is that you find some way to treat your clients better, to offer them more perceived value. Most importantly, whatever those innovations are, communicate them to your clients so they understand staying with you into the new year will benefit them even more.
The saying “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is really only a half-truth. A better approach would be, “If it ain’t broke, improve it.” If you make 2019 better for your clients, you’ll make it better for your firm.
