Why Client Reviews Matter to Law Firms
Reviews from clients are important to law firms, as they help shape the reputation and public perception of the firm. While reviews have existed for years, their importance has become even more essential to a firm’s growth and success in today’s digital world. This is partially due to the sheer number of people using the Internet and relying on online reviews when making purchasing decisions. In fact, according to Bright Local’s Local Consumer Review Survey, 86% of consumers read reviews for local businesses. In addition, after reading positive reviews, 73% of consumers say that they trust businesses more and 68% say that reviews make them trust local businesses more than ever.
With reviews at the forefront of most consumers’ minds , it is not surprising to see how much impact they have on a law firm’s reputation and client acquisition. Bright Local’s survey suggests that reviews lead to increased trust in a firm, with 61% of consumers saying that they read reviews to find out about a business’ negative aspects, indicating that their opinion could easily go sour if any negative reviews are found. Furthermore, 84% of consumers trust online review as much as a personal recommendation. With this type of feedback in a consumer’s pocket, they will almost certainly turn to reviews before hiring a new lawyer or deciding whether or not to enlist a firm’s services.
How Do Clients Leave a Review? A Quick Guide
Law firm reviews can be left online in several places. The following is a brief list of the most common areas where they appear.
Google
By far the most common and important reviews for lawyers appear on Google. If left, a review will usually appear under your firm or lawyer profile on the right side of the screen when you are searched on Google. Google also shows its reviews when the office phone number is searched and from Google Maps. It will also sometimes show the reviews are coming from Facebook in addition to Google depending on where you search. Lawyers can also solicit reviews using the "Write a Review" button inside of the Google My Business dashboard. The button does not show up in the listing.
Yelp
Commonly known as a restaurant directory, Yelp also serves as a legal directory. With a highly motivated tech savvy audience, Yelp can be highly beneficial for those who don’t mind the idea of some potentially negative reviews. Yelp uses a proprietary algorithm to weed out fake reviews as an added protective layer. Reviews accepted by Yelp have been known to be converted into clients in as little as 24 hours.
Facebook
Many Yelp users believe Facebook to be an impartial reviewer. If you are on Facebook, you should consider going here for reviews. These reviews appear on the left-hand side of your firm’s Facebook profile. Facebook does not provide a button, so all requests must be manually generated.
Avvo
The largest legal directory on the Internet, Avvo now has a question and answer section that allows visitors to ask questions and have them answered by legal professionals. Clients are often referred to a lawyer or law firm through this type of resource. Reviews on Avvo appear on the right side of the screen when a lawyer’s name is searched. This site provides a button that can be placed on the firm’s website to solicit reviews.
Lawline
This legal directory currently has only 295 lawyers and 15 law schools. As the site grows, the value of reviews may as well.
Key Components of a Meaningful Law Firm Review
A law firm review is like a job performance review, only there is no opportunity to defend yourself. Your entire livelihood depends on the impressions of your clients. My clients seem to be happy with me, and my office is very busy. But imagine if you received a review from your best client describing you as "a horrible lawyer with the attention span of a goldfish and the work ethic of a hibernating bear." What are some of the characteristics of valuable feedback from clients?
Specificity
The more specific a review is, the better. A review that states, "John Smith was a great divorce attorney," lacks detail. But which parts of the divorce were such a positive experience? Did he resolve the entire matter in mediation? Did he achieve his client’s goal of keeping his or her child in the same school district? Was the billing process clear and easy to understand? Feedback that includes details about the attorney’s approach to the issue is much more helpful to others in a similar position.
Honesty
Reviews are not always going to be the perfect five-stars. Part of what makes an attorney’s work valuable is the fact that he can tackle any problem that comes his client’s way. A review can include negative comments about the experience without obliterating the rating. Clients want to see how you handle any bumps in the road.
Detail
We all know that clients have busy schedules and have their sights on many different projects at one time. This is why detailing the experience can provide great value to the reviewer. Today, most people evaluate reviews based on a quick scan of the top two or three sentences. If those sentences are not full of details, there is a good chance the review is not noticed. Having a review that is filled with details about the experience can assist in providing a quick initial evaluation.
Accuracy
It also helps if the review is accurate. If the client mentions that his or her case went to trial and it was decided in four minutes, but you know it actually went to trial over a 5-month period and was resolved over a weekend, the review is not going to be credible. Reviews that contain inaccuracies, especially ones that seem obvious, detract from the overall value.
Common Themes in Favorable Law Firm Reviews
Although the reviews are all unique and specific to individual experiences, a number of themes emerge. While there are positive and negative aspects to the reviews, positive reviews usually revolve around a few core elements.
Exceptional service: People appreciate it when you go above and beyond. What is apparent from positive reviews is that clients enjoy it when their law firm delivers service over and above their expectations. Things like a quick response time to urgent issues or serving them on weekends and holidays is noticed and appreciated by clients.
Exceptional work: When you have won multiple cases or have secured substantial settlements or verdicts, that too can be a strong basis for an excellent review. In general, positive law firm reviews are heavily influenced by how well the attorney does their job.
Communication: Another aspect of a positive review is how well the attorney communicated with the client throughout the process. Keeping people up to date on developments throughout the process is appreciated and can be the difference between a good and a great attorney review. Even better are frequent communications before the client has to ask and being proactive about scheduling an appointment for the next step. That level of training can make a huge difference.
Overall, most people look for two things in an attorney. They want someone competent that they feel gives them their full attention. That may seem obvious, but the level of service and communication by even top attorneys is truly where they distinguish themselves and get great reviews.
Don’t Fear Bad Client Reviews, Part 1
When a law firm receives a negative review online, it’s important to be proactive. According to an article titled "Responses matter when clients post negative reviews" by James Williams at The Lawyerist, two-thirds of reviews are considered a complaint.
Negative reviews on YouTube and Facebook "had a more negative influence on client choices than any other attributes," according to a study by journalist Greg Sterling, cited by Williams. Naturally, the client’s age and gender defined their sensitivity to negative reviews.
Williams shared the words of Doug Bend, a California bar attorney and business coach, who recommends law firms consider their options carefully when it comes to negative reviews. For one, it’s important to remember that you may be tempted to contact the user directly, but you must also remember that "there are nearly 7 billion people who can view each and every review," Williams wrote. Your reply must therefore be professional at all times.
A defense lawyer, who prefers to write under the pseudonym "Edward Write," says: "I publish all reviews, positive or negative, but I see two strategies I would work between, depending on the specifics of the review." He presents two options.
– Option 1 – The review has some merit, but, over time, we’ve improved the service that’s lacking now. In this case, I’d just reply with a humble apology and note how we’ve worked hard to make things better.
– Option 2 – I know this client is wrong factually, even if he or she believes they’re correct. In this case, I’d reach out to the customer directly and ask them to reach out to me instead of with a public comment. If they do not then reply publicly with the pardon to this person’s ignorance .
In either scenario a personal touch beats a corporate line — at least according to Williams, who gave the same scenarios, but suggested a different course of action: Respond publicly and in much the same way that a well-funded candidate for mayor might treat a Critical Review in the New York Times, he said. "Respond with grace, professionalism and humility, showing character as a consumer and a lawyer."
Williams suggests that if you consider the review to be unfair, find out who the reviewer is, using his or her review name, and engage them privately via email or phone. If their review was based on some factual issues, such as pricing, try to negotiate a revised review in return for resolving the issue. If the review was based on a character issue, like a rudeness or insensitivity, respond to the review privately with an apology.
In a worst-case scenario, your client has not only left a negative review, but their family and their friends have heard about your horrible service, treating them unfairly, and your general rudeness. Even worse, your firm has typically dealt with this type of situation in the past by ignoring the reviewer and leaving the negative review to hang there unfettered.
An attorney in Arizona, Greg McLawsen, deals with this type of review in his article "The most important part of dealing with negative online reviews: Responding."
McLawsen suggests responding as quickly as possible. Not only will search engines serve up the latest response, even to older postings, but online reputation management companies say that two-thirds of negative reviews are posted in "binge" thinking. This means that the user who posted the negative review (and their family and friends) may check back repeatedly in the days following the negative review.
"Because of this ‘binge’ behavior, Yelp says that responding to only a single negative review can boost your star rating by 0.16 stars," according to McLawson, who writes on his blog The Lawyerist about strategies for building a profitable practice.
Using Reviews to Improve Your Firm and Boost Marketing
The most common way to generate reviews for law firms is for a lawyer to request the review directly from a client. If the request is presented at the right moment, you are likely to get the review. Generally, it should be after your client is satisfied with what you have done for them. It is also important, however, that you ask for the review in an easy to use format. I currently practice in two different jurisdictions and I ask my clients to leave a review on both Avvo and Martindale-Hubbell. I send a link to my clients through e-mail for both sites. The best option is for your client to click on the link and rate your services. The link from Avvo is very easy and straightforward. For the most part, you have to log-in to your account with the site to leave the review. For Martindale-Hubbell, the form is direct and uncomplicated as well. However, my clients do have to create an account with the site. The process is simple, but I do not get as many reviews on that site as I do on Avvo.
I have found that I get the most reviews when I ask my clients to leave them in person after a successful interaction. A verbal request seems to be the best way to request a review. If your client agrees to leave a review, get their contact information so you can follow up with the link to the review site. The key here is to not let your client forget that they promised to leave a review – so you need to follow up with the request. I try to request a review from each client after every significant interaction, or as soon as it is appropriate while the experience was still fresh. Although I sometimes forget to ask for a review, my clients have been very responsive to the request when I remember.
Once you have a variety of reviews from a few different sources, you can begin adding your "social proof" to your website or other advertising. Potential clients are always looking for existing happy clients to support your business. Have you ever chosen a restaurant due to its reviews? People regularly choose their legal providers based on what other people say. Adding reviews to your website that are trustworthy will help you gain favor with potential clients. In addition, I use a few websites to gain exposure. Avvo and Martindale-Hubbell are two. Net-Case is another website for lawyers. On that site, you can set up a profile page and link your account to Avvo and Martindale-Hubbell. My favorite feature of Net-Case is the availability to enter information relating to your awards and achievements. By doing this, I received a free article about me and my accomplishments in my local paper.
There are many ways you can use client reviews to improve your law firm. For one thing, you can use positive reviews to help attract new clients. You can also use negative reviews to find out how you might improve your practice. Many times, these reviews alert you to a problem you may not have considered before and make your practice better.
How to Motivate Clients to Leave a Review
To be clear, getting a review is a close interaction with a client, so you want to proceed with caution and in accordance with the ethical guidelines in your jurisdiction. I cannot and do not pretend to give mechanical legal advice on this issue but I do advise that a client cannot be compensated for a review , nor can you ask them or expect them to compensate you for a review. I advise that you don’t offer a discount on future legal services in exchange for a review. I do recommend that you ask. A simple email or printed note (which should be included with the final invoice or at the end of your attorney-client relationship) asking clients to let you know how they think you performed (or how someone on your staff performed) is an easy and reasonable approach. I have seen these types of communications include a link to your Google+ page or your Yelp page or any other online directories you would like to see a review on. Including such a line at the bottom of a final invoice seems to me to make sense: "Please take 5-10 minutes to tell me/us how we did: GOOLGLE+ page link; YELP page link; AVVO page link; SUPER LAWYERS Page link." This strategy has worked quite well for some firms in the past. Some law firms bring in business development people who are dedicated to obtaining business from satisfied clients (and past clients) by asking clients to provide online reviews.
