Practice Development
Take a Big Risk: Guarantee Your Service Quality
Improve Your Client Relations with a Simple Guarantee
In the book 1001 Ways to Market Your Services: Even If You Hate to Sell, Rick Crandall suggests shifting some of the risk in the relationship from your client to yourself. With the sense that you are prepared to put something on the line yourself, clients will trust you and your practice will profit.
The first service guarantee in the legal industry was adopted by the Chicago law firm of Ungaretti & Harris in 1995. There were two benefits in a short time: tremendous media coverage and increased business in a flat market.
The U&H service guarantee reads:
We guarantee that as a client of Ungaretti & Harris you will receive cost-effective legal services delivered in a timely manner.
We promise to involve you and communicate with you regularly.
We cannot guarantee outcomes; we do guarantee your satisfaction with our service.
If Ungarett & Harris does not perform to your satisfaction, inform us promptly. We will resolve the issue to your satisfaction, even it is means reducing your legal fees.
Crandall says, "A believable guarantee makes it safe for prospects to give you a try. Very few people will exploit a generous guarantee compared to the extra business it generates."
If you fear your clients would take advantage of this guarantee, you are not being picky enough when you choose your clients!
